NMP Market Analysis（1）

1. NMP product introduction:

N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP for short) is a nitrogen Heterocyclic compound, with the Molecular formula of C5H9NO and the boiling point of 204 ° C. It is a liquid with a slight ammonia smell, miscible with water in any proportion, and completely mixed with almost all solvents (ethanol, acetaldehyde, ketone, Aromatic hydrocarbon, etc.). NMP is a polar non proton transfer solvent with high boiling point, strong polarity, low viscosity, strong solubility, non corrosion, low toxicity, strong biodegradability, low volatility, excellent chemical stability, and thermal stability.

NMP was first made in the laboratory in 1907. In the 1930s, BASF and other companies in Germany successively realized industrial production. At present, NMP is a kind of bulk chemical in the foreign market, and its main manufacturers include BASF, Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd., Lyondell and ISP.

China's NMP production started relatively late, with a total domestic production capacity of less than 2000 tons before 1994, mainly relying on imports to meet domestic demand. After 2000, with the introduction of NMP technology, some production units were gradually built and put into operation, and NMP production increased year by year. After 2008, the increase in production capacity in the industry accelerated, and several large NMP production enterprises had a production capacity of 10000 tons. However, there were structural contradictions in the development of China's NMP industry at that time: customers had high requirements for NMP purity to ensure the performance of lithium batteries, and the technical level of production enterprises could not meet customers' requirements. Downstream manufacturers still needed to rely on a large amount of imports. In recent years, with the advancement of industry technology, breakthroughs have been made in improving the purity of NMP for different purposes. The production and sales of major enterprises in the industry have grown rapidly. Currently, the production and sales of NMP in China are ranked first in the world, and the products are widely exported to North America, Japan, South Korea, Europe, the   Middle East, and other regions.

At present, NMP is widely used in lithium battery manufacturing, aromatics extraction, purification of acetylene, olefins and Diene, solvent for polymers and polymerization medium, such as polyamide, polyimide, Polyphenylene sulfide and other engineering plastics and aramid fibers, as well as insulation materials, pesticides, pigments, electronic product production and cleaning agents. The lithium battery industry has the largest market demand for NMP, Approximately 80% of the total NMP demand.

2. Application and development of NMP in lithium battery industry:

lithium battery is a device that converts Chemical energy into electrical energy through lithium ion embedding and disengaging between positive and negative electrodes. It is mainly composed of positive electrode, negative electrode, diaphragm, electrolyte and battery shell. The positive electrode is the core part of lithium battery and the key factor determining battery performance The service life and safety have a direct impact, and it is also the most expensive part of lithium batteries, accounting for over 40% of the cost of lithium batteries. Positive electrode materials generally use polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the binder, while NMP is used as the solvent to dissolve the positive electrode material binder PVDF and the diffusion liquid of carbon nanotube conductive paste (CNT). NMP has an impact on the coating quality, effectiveness, and improvement of energy density in the lithium battery production section. As an essential auxiliary material for the production of lithium-ion batteries, NMP will rapidly increase its market demand in the lithium battery industry with the rapid growth of lithium battery shipments.

NMP, as a commonly used solvent for lithium-ion battery positive electrode materials and a necessary solvent for new conductive agents such as carbon nanotubes, has a large amount of usage. According to the research report of China Capital Enterprise Information International Consulting, 1700 tons of NMP are required per GWh of lithium battery production. The estimated demand for NMP in 2025 is 2.1515 million tons, indicating broad prospects for the future development of the NMP market.