China to lead global polycarbonate capacity additions through 2030

China is poised to significantly expand its polycarbonate production capacity, driven by strong demand from the construction and automotive sectors. Accounting for about 70% of the expected capacity additions worldwide by 2030, China is expected to remain a dominant player in the global polycarbonate production, according to GlobalData.

GlobalData’s latest report, Polycarbonate Industry Outlook by Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Active and Planned Plants to 2030, shows that China is likely to witness total polycarbonate capacity additions of 2.07 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from eight planned projects and an announced project during 2026 to 2030. 

Nivedita Roy, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic polymer characterized by its lightweight, transparency, and exceptional impact strength, and finds applications in automotive components and construction materials. Due to its massive domestic demand from China’s electronics and automotive sectors as well as export demand, the country is witnessing significant capacity additions.”

In 2026 alone, China is expected to witness the commencement of seven polycarbonate projects. The highest capacity addition is expected from the “SABIC Fujian Petrochemical Zhangzhou Polycarbonate Plant”, which has a nameplate capacity of 0.29 mtpa. SABIC Fujian Petrochemical Co Ltd is the designated operator of this project proposed in the Fujian province.

The next two major projects starting in 2026 are being planned by Rongsheng New Materials (Taizhou) Co Ltd – the Rongsheng New Materials Taizhou Polycarbonate Plant 1 and the Rongsheng New Materials Taizhou Polycarbonate Plant 2. Planned in the Zhejiang province in the Rongsheng New Materials Taizhou Complex, each of these plants has a capacity of 0.26mtpa. 

CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals, and Hainan Huasheng New Material are planning one project each in Guangdong province and Hainan province, respectively. Both projects are in the construction stage, and each has a proposed production capacity of 0.26 mtpa.

Zhangzhou CHIMEI Chemical and Lihuayi Group are also aiming to start operations of one project each this year in the Fujian and Shandong provinces. Both of these projects are in the commissioning stage and have capacities of 0.18mtpa and 0.1mtpa, respectively.