2026 chemical new materials investment map: 5 major competitions, hundreds of billions of market opportunities have come

the end of 2025, China's chemical industry is undergoing profound changes in technological innovation and application fission. In the face of 2026, which new material segments will usher in explosive growth? This article analyzes the technological breakthroughs, market drivers and investment opportunities of the five high-potential tracks from the perspective of the industry chain.

Supply-side breakthrough: capacity and yield double improvement

Third-generation semiconductor materials (silicon carbide, gallium nitride) are ushering in key breakthroughs. The global head enterprise 8-inch silicon carbide substrate production yield has exceeded 70%, the unit cost is rapidly declining. China's local enterprises Tianke Heda, San'an Optoelectronics, etc. are accelerating the expansion of production, production capacity release will form a scale effect in 2026.

Demand side outbreak: two major application scenarios support

6G Communications Pre-research Starts: Huawei and ZTE have jointly developed a prototype of 6G base station gallium nitride RF device with CLP 13, and are expected to complete field testing in 2026, providing new additions to the demand for gallium nitride materials.

New energy vehicle 800V architecture penetration: Tesla, BYD main drive inverter has been fully used silicon carbide devices. With the continuous expansion of China's new energy vehicles and the increase in the penetration rate of 800V high-voltage platforms, the market size of silicon carbide power modules is expected to see explosive growth in 2026.

Industry enlightenment: the third generation of semiconductor materials has entered the large-scale application period from the technology verification period, 6G communications and new energy vehicles constitute the "dual demand engine", will become the core technology cornerstone to support the energy Internet and other strategic areas.

Technology Breakthroughs: Multi-Technology Routes Go Ahead

All-solid-state technology: The lithium sulfide cathode all-solid-state lithium sulfur battery developed by Qingdao Energy Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences has an energy density of more than 600Wh/kg and a cycle life of more than 6200 times. It has passed the wide temperature range test of -40 ℃ to 85 ℃, and has entered the pilot stage. It is planned to be mass-produced in Qingdao by the end of 2026. Toyota sulfide battery is also expected to trial production in 2026, but the cost is significantly higher than that of Chinese enterprises.

Semi-solid mass production: Xinwanda, Ningde era polymer solid-state battery performance close to the level of lithium iron phosphate, planned 2026 mass production of 350Wh/kg products. Tsinghua University fluorine polyether electrolyte technology safety is significantly better than traditional lithium batteries, plans to achieve mass production in 2026.

Commercial application speed up

In 2025, the domestic semi-solid-state battery loading volume has exceeded 320000 vehicles, Wei Lai ET7, Zhiji L6 and other models have been equipped. Ningde era 50GWh semi-solid-state battery production line is planned to start production in 2026, supporting Tesla ModelY, BYD Han and other models. Tailan New Energy Hubei Qianjiang Base is expected to mass produce 10Ah all-solid-state batteries in 2026, suitable for drones and construction robots.

Wei Lai, GAC plans to launch an all-solid-state battery model in 2026, with a range of more than 1200 kilometers. In the field of energy storage, Ningde era solid-state energy storage battery plans to mass produce in 2026 and start megawatt-level projects in Jiangsu, Guangdong and other places.

Core Materials Investment List

Focus on: lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganese iron phosphate, silicon-carbon composite materials, solid electrolytes and positive and negative electrode materials such as Li BZLS, Li PSS, Cl, Li BZZ, Zr, O, Li. Li. Li. Li. Li. Li. Li. Li. Li. Li.

The policy window is up

The EU's "Disposable Plastics Directive" requires all plastic packaging to be recyclable or reusable in 2026. China's "14th Five-Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development" specifies that the replacement rate of bio-based materials will reach 5% in 2025. The GB/T46256-2025 national standard implemented in 2026 requires bio-based products to be marked with carbon content and traceability information to promote market standardization.

Technology iteration accelerates industrialization

Zhejiang University photopolymerized 3D printed bio-hydrogel battery is degradable and compatible with tissue mechanical properties. It has excellent performance in cardiac pacing and wound healing and is planned to enter preclinical testing in 2026. Tsinghua University extreme halophilic bacteria technology to improve the thermal stability of PHA. Anhui Fengyuan PLA melt spinning process performance is close to nylon 6, planned for 2026 mass production.

Application Permeability Rapid Increase

The penetration rate of bio-based materials in the packaging industry is expected to reach more than 35% in 2026, and PLA film and starch-based tableware are expected to account for more than 50% of food delivery and express delivery. Governments in Xinjiang, Shandong and other places subsidize bio-based film materials, which are expected to continue in 2026, forming obvious market support.

Key varieties :PLA, PHA, PEF and other large bio-based materials that have been industrialized for many years, the growth of industrial scale represents the real expansion of market demand.

Pipeline hydrogen transportation enters large-scale stage

The 1037km green hydrogen pipeline from Zhangjiakou Kangbao to Tangshan Caofeidian will be completed and put into operation by the end of 2026, with a design pressure of 7.2 MPa and an annual delivery capacity of 1.55 million tons, making it the world's largest diameter and largest delivery capacity green hydrogen pipeline. The pipeline connects Zhangjiakou scenery hydrogen production base and Tangshan industrial hydrogen terminal, solves the hydrogen energy consumption and transportation pain points in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and marks the long-distance pipeline hydrogen transmission from pilot to large-scale.

There are more than 7000 kilometers of hydrogen pipelines under construction and planning in China. The functions of up-gas and down-gas are reserved along the pipeline, which can be connected to distributed hydrogen production resources in the region to realize integrated hydrogen supply.

Liquid hydrogen technical and economic inflection point appears

The large-scale application of 321 stainless steel and other materials significantly reduces the cost of liquid hydrogen storage and transportation, laying the foundation for the civilian use of liquid hydrogen in 2026. China Aerospace Hydrogen Energy Company and Xuyang Energy cooperation of 5 tons/day liquid hydrogen plant has been put into production, through coking by-product hydrogen liquefaction to achieve self-use, it is expected that in 2026 liquid hydrogen heavy card is expected to be in ports, mines and other closed scenes large-scale application.

Core material opportunities :N ethyl carbazole, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic hydrogen storage carriers, methyl cyclohexane and other organic liquid hydrogen storage materials.

Market outbreak is imminent

The global flexible electronic materials market is expected to grow by more than 25% year-on-year in 2026. China's "14th Five-Year Plan" lists flexible electronics as a key development direction. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Action Plan for Innovation and Development of Flexible Electronics Industry" specifies that the localization rate of key materials will exceed 75% by 2025, and a 10 billion-level industrial fund will be set up. The ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnology Committee is developing reliability testing standards for flexible electronic devices, which are expected to be mandatory in 2026.

Application Scenarios Full Blossom

Wearable device immersive experience, medical health precision and minimally invasive, industrial and robot intelligent perception, Internet infrastructure upgrade, flexible display and holographic projection, personalized interactive interface, etc., all rely on flexible electronic materials breakthrough.

Samsung plans to build an annual production line of 10 million flexible OLED in Vietnam in 2026, and Beijing Oriental, Hanwei Technology and other enterprises are also increasing the production of flexible display screens.

Core material lineage :PI, PET, PEN, PLA, PHA and other substrate materials; Poly3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, polyaniline, polypyrrole and other conductive polymers; Polydimethylsiloxane, polyvinylidene fluoride and other functional materials.

In 2026, technological breakthroughs and commercialization in the five fields of third-generation semiconductors, solid-state batteries, bio-based materials, hydrogen energy storage and transportation, and flexible electronic materials will accelerate, which will reshape the high-end manufacturing landscape and support the green transformation of China's manufacturing industry. For chemical trade and supply chain practitioners, the key to seize the market opportunities in 2026 will be to lay out the core material supply chain in advance, deeply cultivate the application scenario and grasp the policy window period.