SunSirs: Reviewing Key Events in China's Ethylene Value Chain in 2025

In 2025, prices for numerous chemical products plummeted below historical lows, with only a handful of products experiencing price increases or profitability. Real estate-related products remained sluggish throughout the year, facing persistent severe business contraction—including multiple products within the ethylene value chain. To comprehensively review market conditions and forecast 2026 trends, this article compiles major milestones in the ethylene value chain this year.

1. China's Ethylene Capacity Surpasses 62 Million Metric Tons Annually, Becoming World's Largest Producer

By the end of 2025, China's total ethylene production capacity exceeded 62 million metric tons annually, marking a 19% year-on-year increase. This accounts for approximately 25% of global capacity, surpassing the United States to make China the world's largest ethylene producer.

This leadership in ethylene capacity has also positioned China as the world's top producer in several related industrial chains and products, including polyethylene, PVC, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol.

Ethylene projects commissioned in 2025 include:

- CNPC's Guangxi Refining and Petrochemical Integration Project commenced full operation on October 27, 2025, with an ethylene capacity of 1.2 million tons and corresponding chemical production of 3.06 million tons.

On July 15, 2025, ExxonMobil's 1.6 million metric ton ethylene project in Daya Bay, Guangdong commenced operations. This wholly U.S.-owned project features multiple downstream high-performance polyethylene and polypropylene units, predominantly metallocene-based products, significantly advancing China's metallocene polyethylene industry development and scale expansion.

On May 28, 2025, construction commenced on the third phase of CNOOC Shell's 1.6 million metric ton ethylene project in Huizhou. This project features 16 downstream chemical units and is tentatively scheduled for completion and operation after 2026, significantly boosting Guangdong's overall ethylene capacity.

On April 3, 2025, Wanhua's 1.2 million-ton ethylene Phase II project achieved successful first-time startup. This project includes downstream facilities for 250,000 tons of LDOE and 400,000 tons of POE products, holding significant importance for the scaled expansion of the POE industry.

On November 5, 2025, BASF's 1 million metric ton ethylene complex in Zhanjiang commenced production. This project includes downstream facilities for 500,000 metric tons of polyethylene, ethylene oxide, and diethylene glycol. Upon completion, it will become BASF's third-largest integrated site globally.

In July 2025, Xinjiang Tianye's 104,000-ton ethanol dehydration-to-ethylene facility commenced operations. This project, the largest of its kind domestically, utilizes technology from Tianjin University.

2. Breakthroughs in China's Ethylene Production Technology Emerged in 2025

In July 2025, Xinjiang Tianye's 104,000-ton-per-year ethanol dehydration-to-ethylene plant commenced operations. This project represents China's largest single-unit ethanol dehydration-to-ethylene facility, utilizing patented technology from Tianjin University to produce high-purity ethylene with 99.96% purity. This marks a significant leap forward for China in the non-petroleum-based ethylene sector.

In 2025, the Dalian Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences achieved breakthroughs in coal-based acetylene electrocatalytic semi-hydrogenation to ethylene technology. By regulating the electrode structure—specifically the spacing between copper particles and carbon black—the project enabled efficient conversion at ampere-level current densities. This pioneered a new pathway to reduce petroleum dependence and represents the latest ethylene production process.

In 2025, Guangxi Petrochemical commissioned the world's largest dual-frequency converter motor with disturbance-free switching. This motor, the world's largest frequency-converter-free switching unit, is deployed in Guangxi Petrochemical's ethylene refrigeration compressors, representing a major milestone in the localization of ethylene equipment.

3. Significant Breakthroughs in China's Polyethylene Production Technology in 2025

Sinopec's independently developed PME-18 metallocene catalyst achieved its first long-term industrial application under condensed-phase conditions, currently deployed in polyethylene plants at Daqing Petrochemical and Lanzhou Petrochemical. Additionally, the fourth-generation non-bridged metallocene catalyst developed by Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute was applied in Zhongke Refining & Chemical's 200,000-ton polyethylene facility, breaking foreign monopolies in this catalyst technology.

October 2025: Purenjing's 140,000-ton/year ultra-high-purity, high-molecular-weight polyethylene plant commences operation. Utilizing an independently developed ultra-high-purity slurry process, this facility produces ultra-thin lithium battery separator materials, filling a domestic technological gap.

The Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborated with Sinopec to develop a continuous ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene process. The 40,000-ton/year facility at Pucheng Clean Energy achieved successful first-time startup, resolving the challenge of reactor sticking and marking a significant technological breakthrough.

February 2025: Shandong Dongming Petrochemical's 300,000-ton polyolefin elastomer facility pioneered the use of a globally first nickel-based catalyst developed by Professor Chen Changle's team at the University of Science and Technology of China. This innovation enables direct synthesis of polyolefin elastomers using ethylene as the sole feedstock, eliminating dependence on imported α-olefins.

In 2025, Tianjin University developed a tetrapolyethylene product. This project achieved significantly reduced haze values and markedly improved light transmittance, with performance surpassing traditional plastics. It gained recognition in the high-end packaging sector, successfully enabling domestic substitution.

In 2025, Tianjin University developed a tetrameric polyethylene product. This project achieved a significant reduction in haze values and a marked improvement in light transmittance, with performance surpassing traditional plastic materials. It gained recognition in the high-end packaging sector and successfully achieved domestic substitution.

4. China's total polyethylene production capacity reached 45 million tons in 2025, setting a new historical high.

In 2025, China added over 8 million tons of new polyethylene capacity, with actual operational capacity exceeding 5.9 million tons, pushing total capacity beyond 45 million tons. Most new capacity came from expansions of existing facilities, driving continued industry consolidation. The CR5 concentration ratio for LLDPE exceeded 58%.

New polyethylene facilities added in 2025 include: On February 28, 2025, Wanhua Chemical's 600,000-ton-per-year high-density polyethylene facility at its Yantai base achieved successful first-time startup. Utilizing its independently developed gas-phase process, it fills the domestic gap in high-end pipe-grade specialty materials.

On March 25, 2025, the foundation pouring was completed for the 400,000-ton/year HDPE unit supporting the Sinopec-Saudi Aramco 1.5 million-ton/year ethylene project. Upon completion, this project will become the world's largest production base for high-end bimodal HDPE.

October 2025: Chengzhi Huaqing New Materials Industrial Park's 40,000-ton-per-year UHMWPE facility commenced operations. June 19, 2025: BASF's Zhanjiang integrated base launched its 500,000-ton-per-year polyethylene facility.

On July 15, 2025, ExxonMobil's Huizhou project commenced operations, featuring two high-performance polyethylene units including the world's largest 500,000-ton-per-year LDPE unit and a metallocene polyethylene unit.

On September 22, 2025, the 300,000-ton-per-year HDPE unit in Qinzhou, Guangxi, began production, supported by a 50,000-ton-per-year hex-1 unit.

October 23, 2025: CNPC Guangxi Petrochemical's 700,000-ton/year full-density polyethylene unit commenced operations, utilizing molecular engineering technology.

Early December 2025: BASF's Zhanjiang integrated base polyethylene unit began production, yielding 500,000 tons/year of high-end PE. This brought BASF's total PE capacity in China to 1.5 million tons.

5. China's ethylene oxide capacity surpasses 10 million tons in 2025, with ethylene glycol production rising to global leadership

Data indicates that on October 27, 2025, Jilin Petrochemical's 300,000-ton-per-year ethylene oxide unit achieved successful first-time startup. This milestone signifies China's annual ethylene oxide capacity exceeding 10 million tons—an 18% year-on-year increase—establishing it as the world's largest production base. Concurrently, China's ethylene glycol capacity surpassed 34 million tons in 2025, with over 2.6 million tons of new capacity added that year—accounting for more than 50% of global total capacity—solidifying its position as the world's largest producer.

Key events in China's ethylene oxide industry for 2025 include: On May 16, 2025, the world's largest EO/EG scrubber tower for the Sinopec-Saudi Aramco Gulei Ethylene Project was successfully hoisted into place, marking a major breakthrough in China's large-scale chemical equipment manufacturing.

In 2025, the YS-9010 silver catalyst developed by the North China Institute of Chemical Industry completed calibration at Gulei Petrochemical, achieving 89.7% selectivity and enabling domestic substitution for high-end catalysts.

Ethylene oxide consumption in the pharmaceutical industry surpassed 450,000 tons in 2025, marking consecutive years of sustained growth in pharmaceutical applications. Demand for ethylene oxide in anti-tumor drug synthesis demonstrated the fastest growth rate.

By 2025, demand for ethylene oxide in power battery separators will exceed 850,000 tons, maintaining rapid growth over the past several years.

Major events in the ethylene glycol industry in 2025 include: May 2025: Sichuan Zhengda Kai's 600,000-ton facility commences operations. September 2025: Shandong Yulong Petrochemical's 800,000-ton ethylene glycol facility commences operations. The completion of these two projects propels sustained expansion in China's ethylene oxide production scale.

In 2025, coal-based ethylene glycol production exceeded 51% of total output, surpassing ethylene-based production for the first time—a milestone in China's coal chemical industry development.

September 2025 saw the filing of Xinjiang Zhongkun's 1 million ton/year coal-to-ethylene glycol project. With a total investment of CNY10.8 billion, this facility will become the world's largest single coal-based ethylene glycol plant upon completion.

By 2025, coal-to-ethylene glycol production processes will be required to use green electricity at a minimum ratio of 25%, imposing significant cost burdens on enterprises.

Sinopec's 100,000-ton demonstration project for electronic-grade ethylene glycol commenced operations in 2025, meeting demand for high-end products like semiconductors while reducing energy consumption.

By 2025, key products within China's ethylene value chain will maintain sustained positive growth in scale, with certain products achieving the world's largest production capacity. Significant technological breakthroughs have also been made in C2 R&D, yielding tangible results in high-end product development, energy consumption reduction, and carbon emissions lowering.

However, the ethylene value chain faces severe market imbalances. By 2025, prices for polyethylene, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol all hit their lowest points in over a decade, with most products in the ethylene value chain experiencing weak market conditions.

If you have any inquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.