The high-end material polyolefin elastomer (POE), known as the “industrial gold” Photo: Screenshot from China Media Group

The high-end material polyolefin elastomer (POE), known as “industrial gold,” has achieved large-scale production using the gas-phase method at Dushanzi Petrochemical in Xinjiang under the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Media Group reported on Monday, noting the breakthrough has effectively alleviated the country’s reliance on imports for the material needed in emerging industries such as photovoltaics.

According to the report, POE is a high-end material with unique properties, often described as a hybrid of plastic and rubber. It combines the processability of plastics with the high elasticity of rubber, making it a major raw material in strategic emerging industries such as photovoltaics.

China’s technical personnel began tackling POE technology as early as 2015. In 2024, the technology achieved the transition from laboratory research to industrial production. By 2025, Dushanzi Petrochemical had cumulatively produced 58,000 tons of POE, completing full-chain construction of an integrated set of technologies and processing procedure, the report said.

Fan Guofeng, vice general manager of the company, was quoted in the report as saying that its POE achieves a light transmittance of over 90 percent. When made into photovoltaic encapsulant films, the material can maximize the power generation efficiency of solar modules. In addition, its weather resistance and water vapor barrier properties effectively protect the internal circuits of the modules, extending the service life of photovoltaic panels from 25 years to more than 30 years, Fan said.

China’s POE has long relied on imports, with import dependency once exceeding 95 percent, according to the report. The breakthrough in industrialized production technology for the gas-phase polymerization process of POE fills a key domestic technological gap. 

Compared with mainstream international technologies, this self-developed process is more environmentally friendly, reducing overall energy consumption by approximately 40 percent. Based on current production capacity, annual electricity savings are equivalent to the total annual electricity consumption of about 120,000 households, the report said.

Currently, the complete set of POE technologies and processes are being rapidly implemented, gradually forming industrial cluster effects in the counry. It is expected that by the end of 2026, China’s total POE production capacity will exceed 300,000 tons, providing important safeguards for the supply chain security of emerging industries such as new energy, the report said.



Global Times