Benefiting from the growth in lithium battery electrolyte shipments, the market demand for fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) has grown steadily.

Fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), also known as 4-fluoro-1, 3-dioxolane-2-one, is currently mainly used as organic solvents, electronic chemicals, and lithium batteries due to its excellent film-forming properties. Electrolyte additives are used, among which the application demand in the lithium battery field is high. FEC is used as an electrolyte additive in lithium electronic batteries. It can not only improve the cycle performance of lithium batteries, but also improve the safety performance of lithium batteries, so it has good application prospects.

According to the “2021-2025 Fluoroethylene Carbonate Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report” released by the Industrial Research Center , the current mainstream electrolyte additives in the market are VC and FEC, which account for about 64% of the total demand market. Benefiting from the continued growth in the production and sales of new energy vehicles, my country’s electrolyte additive market demand is showing a growth trend. In 2020, my country’s electrolyte additive shipments reached 16,000 tons, an increase of more than 38% year-on-year, showing a rapid growth trend. Among them, VC shipments were approximately 6,900 tons, while FEC shipments were 3,600 tons.

The FEC production process mainly includes fluorine gas fluorination method and halogen exchange method. Among them, the halogen exchange method includes direct fluorination and catalytic fluorination. Currently, the direct fluorination method is the mainstream production process of FEC, but this process will produce products such as monofluoroethylene carbonate during production, resulting in low product purity and affecting application. In addition, the direct fluorination method requires high reaction conditions, is highly dangerous, and has complex follow-up treatment processes. Therefore, the industry needs to explore new production processes.

In terms of application market analysis, FEC is currently mainly used in the power field, energy storage battery, and digital field. Among them, the application demand in the field of power battery electrolyte is higher, followed by digital electrolyte. Energy storage electrolyte is still in the early stages of development. At present, The demand is less, but the potential for future development is huge.

Globally, global electrolyte additive shipments reached approximately 19,000 tons in 2020. In the global market, the current electrolyte manufacturers mainly include Chuo Glass, Japan’s Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Korea’s Tempo, Ube and other companies, but overseas companies mainly produce products other than conventional additives such as VC and FEC.

my country is the main producer of electrolyte additives in the world, with relatively high FEC production capacity. Representative manufacturers include Aoki High-tech, Jiangsu Huasheng, Suzhou Huayi, Hankang Chemical, etc. Among them, Jiangsu Huasheng currently has the highest FEC shipments, accounting for With a market share of about 49%, it is the leading company in the domestic FEC field, followed by Hankang Chemical, with a market share of 28%, and Suzhou Huayi ranked third, with a market share of more than 10%.

Industry analysts said that as an electrolyte additive, FEC’s market demand continues to rise, driven by the development of industries such as electronics and new energy vehicles. The industry shows a stable development trend. In terms of production, my country is the world’s major FEC producing country. The domestic FEC market is relatively concentrated, the leading pattern is relatively obvious, and there are few opportunities for future market development.