During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's new energy industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 19%. At present, the self-sufficiency rate of high-end petrochemical materials involved in the new energy industry is only 60% to 70%, and there is still great potential for localization. Under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China's energy structure is in a critical period of transformation from fossil fuels to new energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydrogen. High end petrochemical materials will also become an important lever for traditional petrochemical enterprises to transform and upgrade, helping to develop China's new energy industry.

In 2022, the consumption scale of high-end petrochemical materials in China's wind, solar, and hydrogen energy sectors is approximately 2.3 million tons. Among them, more than 80% of the demand comes from the photovoltaic industry, with the largest demand being for packaging film and backboard materials in the photovoltaic industry, accounting for about two-thirds of the total demand for high-end petrochemical materials in the three industries;The demand for petrochemical materials in the hydrogen energy industry is the least, but the growth rate is the fastest. It is expected that by 2030, the consumption scale of high-end petrochemical materials in China's wind, solar, and hydrogen energy sectors will reach about 4.5 million tons.

1.Wind Energy Industry Chain

1.1 Overall Situation of Wind Energy Industry

In 2022, the global installed capacity of wind power were approximately 78GW, of which 69GW were onshore and 9GW were offshore; It is expected that the global installed capacity of new wind power will reach 135GW by 2025. With the acceleration of global energy transformation, the development prospects of China's wind power industry are broad. According to the Wind Energy Professional Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society, the new installed capacity of wind power in China is about 49.8GW in 2022; It is expected that during the 14th Five Year Plan period, the annual average installed capacity of domestic wind power will increase by about 70GW, and reach 650GW by 2025; It is expected to add approximately 100 GW annually after 2025 and reach around 1200 GW by 2030.

The wind energy industry mainly includes three major links: upstream raw material production, midstream component manufacturing and assembly, and downstream operation. The petrochemical materials required for wind energy are mainly used in the manufacturing of midstream wind turbines, which are mainly composed of blades, engine rooms, towers, cables, etc. In 2022, the high-end consumption scale of wind energy materials in China is about 450000 tons, involving more than 30 types of material products. It is expected that with a significant increase in installed capacity, the average annual growth rate of related material consumption during the 14th Five Year Plan period will be about 12%; During the 15th Five Year Plan period, the overall annual growth rate of material consumption in the wind energy industry is expected to reach around 9%.

1.2 The Application and Market Situation of Major Petrochemical Materials in the Wind Energy Industry Chain

1.2.1 Blade Material

The fan blades are mainly composed of the shell, main beam, web plate, core material, and coating. 

Beams, beam caps, and web plates with blades over 90 meters long are usually all made of carbon fiber materials; But some small or large-sized blades also have designs that use carbon fiber reinforcement locally, while others use fiberglass. Due to the high cost of carbon fiber, the market penetration rate of carbon fiber has slowed down as the performance of high-strength glass fiber continues to improve. Currently, over 90% of wind turbine blades use epoxy resin as the matrix; In the injection molding process, a large amount of process materials such as demolding cloth, diversion net isolation film, and vacuum bag are also needed. Structural adhesive, as an important material for bonding blades, main beams, and web plates, is mainly an epoxy resin system.

The core material accounts for about 4% to 7% of the weight of the blade, and the materials mainly include Balsa Wood, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyetherimide (PEI), styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), etc. At present, the mainstream fan blade manufacturers in the market widely use Balsa Wood as the main sandwich material and PVC foam as the auxiliary material. Due to the rapid price rise of Balsa Wood and the tight supply of PVC foam, PET foam has become a new development trend.

At present, the coating structure of fan blades is mainly divided into putty, primer, and topcoat. Polyurethane coating systems are most widely used due to their strong adhesion and oil resistance and wear resistance. At present, solvent based polyurethane systems occupy the absolute mainstream, and with the increasing environmental requirements, they will gradually develop towards water-based polyurethane systems in the future.

1.2.2 Engine Room Materials

The wind turbine engine room is mainly composed of mechanical components and equipment, while petrochemical material related components are mainly concentrated in the outer shell. Meanwhile, due to the involvement of sealing and mechanical operation, synthetic lubricants, sealants, and coatings are also required.

The typical casing of the wind turbine engine room is mainly composed of epoxy resin and fiberglass; The forming process is similar to that of blades, but also requires the use of process materials. In addition, the interior of the cabin is generally reinforced with reinforcing ribs through pre embedded resin injection, and in recent years, PVC core materials have also been used for reinforcement. According to calculations, the epoxy resin base material used in the cabin is about 190000 tons, and the core material is 32000 tons. It is expected to increase to around 15000 tons and 73000 tons respectively by 2030.

Due to the fact that fans are mostly located in harsh environmental areas, high quality requirements are placed on lubricating oil, mostly PAO lubricating oil. The main gearbox in the cabin requires the most lubricating oil, but with the increase of gearless fans and magnetic levitation bearings, the amount of lubricating oil used per machine tends to decrease. At present, the demand for PAO lubricating oil for wind turbines in China is about 20000 tons. With the rapid development of the wind energy industry and the expansion of installed capacity, it is expected to increase to around 40000 tons by 2030.

1.2.3 Tower and Foundation Materials

There are various types of wind turbine towers and foundation structures, especially offshore foundation structures, including single pile, jacket, multi pile, and floating structures. The tower and foundation structure are mainly made of metal, while the consumption of petrochemical products is mainly concentrated on the inner and outer coatings and grouting materials.

The internal and external coating systems for wind turbine towers and pile foundations are diverse, mainly using epoxy resin paint. According to estimates, the resin used for the foundation coating of wind power towers in China is about 10000 tons.

The connection between the jacket and the foundation pile is fixed by high-strength grouting material. Currently, the foundation of offshore wind turbines is mainly connected by cement-based material grouting. The amount of grouting material used for a single wind turbine varies depending on the diameter of the sleeve, marine environment, and seabed conditions. In 2022, the market for grouting materials for offshore wind power is expected to reach 800000-100000 tons, and may increase to over 200000 tons by 2030.

1.2.4 Cable Materials

The wind energy industry cables are mainly divided into onshore cables and offshore cables. At present, the raw materials for insulation materials related to onshore cables can be met domestically, while offshore cables require higher insulation performance. This article only focuses on high-end materials required for high-voltage and ultra-high voltage submarine cables.

Offshore wind power cables are divided into inter tower cables, collector cables, and external transmission cables, with different cables corresponding to different voltage, redundancy, and material requirements. At present, offshore wind power projects in China are mainly offshore projects with a distance of less than 50 kilometers and an installed capacity of 200000 to 400000 kilowatts; The consumption of high-end materials for submarine cables is mainly dominated by XLPE. The consumption scale of XLPE above 110KV is about 10000 to 20000 tons, which will increase to over 20000 tons by 2030. Most of the high-voltage and ultra-high voltage XLPE in China rely on imports, and the imported products mainly come from Nordic Chemicals.