To promote the transformation of the coal industry from low-end to high-end and the upgrading of coal products from basic fuel to high-value products, the National Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Energy Administration, recently issued a notice publishing the "Benchmark and Baseline Levels for Key Areas of Clean and Efficient Utilization of Coal (2025 Edition)."

Compared to the 2022 edition of the benchmark and baseline indicators for key areas of clean and efficient coal utilization, the 2025 edition includes indicators for coal consumption in coal-fired power generation and heating, and coal-to-natural gas conversion. It also updates relevant technical indicators based on the revisions of national standards and related policies over the past three years. The recently issued notice proposes implementing differentiated transformation and upgrading measures to improve utilization levels. It emphasizes leveraging existing policy tools and working mechanisms to strengthen market regulation and enforcement of clean and efficient coal utilization, accelerating the pace of enterprise transformation and upgrading, and improving the overall level of clean and efficient coal utilization.

By the end of 2025, China's total ethylene glycol production capacity had reached 29.865 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.93%. Of this, coal-based ethylene glycol production capacity was 9.93 million tons per year, accounting for 33%.  China has a resource distribution characterized by abundant coal and limited oil resources. Coal reserves are abundant and widely distributed, while oil resources are relatively scarce, resulting in a high degree of dependence on foreign sources. The proportion of coal-based ethylene glycol has been gradually increasing in recent years. Coal-based ethylene glycol production is mainly concentrated in coal-rich regions of Central China, Northwest China, and North China, such as Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi. The main new coal-based ethylene glycol capacity added in 2025 was the 200,000-ton plant in Ningxia Changyi.

By the end of 2025, there will be approximately 26 coal-based ethylene glycol enterprises in China, mainly including Henan Coal Industry, Yangquan Coal Group, Yulin Chemical, Xinjiang Tianye, Xinjiang Zhongkun, Guizhou Qianxi, Inner Mongolia Rongxin, and Shenhua Yulin. Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Xinjiang are the core production regions for coal-based ethylene glycol, accounting for over 60% of the national capacity due to their advantages in low-cost raw coal and mine-mouth resources, resulting in highly competitive production costs. Although Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang lack abundant coal resources, they also have several coal-based ethylene glycol plants, primarily serving regional demand, thanks to their developed port logistics and large downstream polyester consumer markets. Production capacity in the southwest region is relatively scattered, resulting in weaker market influence. Currently, the two main domestic consumer markets are concentrated in East and South China. Guizhou Qianxi Coal Chemical mainly supplies the South China and Southwest China markets; Henan Longyu primarily supplies polyester filament factories in the Zhejiang region; Anhui Haoyuan mainly serves the East China market; Inner Mongolia Rongxin and Inner Mongolia Zhonghua Chemical, in addition to consumption in the North China region, also ship some products to the Northeast region; Xinjiang Guanghui mainly operates in the Southwest and Northwest regions; Xinjiang Tianye primarily serves the local market; Xinjiang Zhongkun mainly ships to the East China region; Shanxi Yangmei Chemical, Shenhua Yulin, and Ningxia Changyi mainly sell through online auctions; Yulin Chemical ships some products to East China, with the remaining small quantity sold through online auctions.

The Chinese coal-based ethylene glycol industry shows significant differentiation in specific consumption control and energy efficiency standards. Leading companies have achieved breakthroughs in specific consumption through process optimization and catalyst upgrades. These companies mostly employ the direct synthesis gas method or the improved oxalate ester method, combined with intelligent control systems and low-carbon recovery technologies, increasing coal conversion rates to over 80% and achieving a byproduct recovery rate of 95%. Currently, the specific consumption of most coal-based ethylene glycol companies is concentrated in the 2.9-3.2 ton range, including Henan Longyu Chemical, Zhongyuan Dahua, Guizhou Qianxi Chemical, Zhongyan Hongsifang, Yulin Chemical, Shaanxi Yuneng, Shenhua Yulin, Shanxi Woneng, and Shanxi Meijin. According to industry estimates, companies that can consistently meet advanced energy efficiency limits and strict environmental protection requirements currently account for 75% of the industry.

Currently, a significant proportion of companies in the coal-to-ethylene glycol industry still fail to meet efficiency standards. According to industry assessments, the proportion of companies unable to consistently meet standard requirements is 25%. These companies are mainly those using outdated fixed-bed gasification technology, with generally smaller plant sizes, mostly with an annual production capacity of less than 300,000 tons per year. There are currently nine plants that have been shut down for extended periods, including those belonging to Xinrun Energy, Inner Mongolia Yigao Chemical, Yangmei Shenzhou and Pingding, as well as Henan Coal Industry's plants in Anyang, Xinxiang, and Luoyang, and also Hubei Chemical Fertilizer and Lihua Chemical.  Except for Xinrun, which has expectations of restarting operations, the others currently have no news of resuming production, and some of their production capacity has already been excluded from calculations.

As an integrated internet platform providing benchmark prices, on December 24th, the benchmark price of ethylene glycol according to SunSirs was 3,866.67 RMB/ton, a decrease of 4.53% compared to the beginning of the month (4,050.00 RMB/ton).

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