The optical grade BOPET film market is in short supply, with display panels being its main application area.

BOPET film, also known as biaxially oriented polyester film, is a film with high gloss, high strength, and good rigidity. Optical-grade BOPET film refers to an optical film made from BOPET as a base material and subjected to deep processing such as coating. Optical-grade BOPET film has the advantages of high cleanliness, low haze, high light transmittance, and no defects in appearance. It has broad application prospects in display panels, lighting, national defense and military and other fields.

The release film is an optical grade BOPET film end product. Release film, also known as peeling film, refers to a film with differentiated film surface. The production process of release film is relatively complex and needs to go through coating, drying, solidification, separation and other links. For a long time, due to factors such as high technical barriers, my country’s high-end release films have mainly relied on imports. Optical grade BOPET film can be used to produce high-end release films such as polarizer release films and MLCC release films. In recent years, driven by technological innovation and demand, my country’s optical-grade BOPET film production has continued to increase, but it is still unable to meet local market demand.

According to the “2023-2028 China Optical Grade BOPET Film Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center As a subdivided product of optical films, optical grade BOPET film has excellent performance and a wide range of applications. Display panels are its main application areas. As TVs, smartphones, tablets and other products update and iterate faster, my country’s display panel shipments continue to grow. According to statistics from the LCD Branch of the China Optics and Optoelectronics Industry Association, my country’s display panel shipment area will reach 160 million square meters in 2021, ranking first in the world. With the rapid development of downstream industries, my country’s optical grade BOPET film market continues to expand.

In the global market, Japan’s Toray Co., Ltd. (Toray), Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Company (Japan’s Mitsubishi), the United States’ DuPont (DuPont), and South Korea’s SKC are the world’s leading optical-grade BOPET film manufacturers. The above four companies occupy the global market. Nearly 50% share. The optical grade BOPET film industry has high technical barriers, and currently overseas companies occupy a dominant position in my country’s optical grade BOPET film market.

In the local market, the number of optical-grade BOPET film manufacturers in my country is relatively small, and market competition is relatively fragmented. Zhejiang Jiemei Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., Sichuan Dongcai Technology Group Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Yuxing Thin Film Technology Co., Ltd., and Hefei Lekai Technology Industry Co., Ltd. are the main manufacturers of optical-grade BOPET films in my country. In December 2021, Jiemei Technology’s 18,000-ton optical grade BOPET film production line has entered the trial production stage.

Industry analysts said that as a high-end optical film, optical-grade BOPET film is widely used in the field of display panels. However, currently, due to factors such as high technical barriers, my country’s optical grade BOPET film market is currently in short supply, with a high degree of dependence on product imports. In the future, as the technical level of local enterprises continues to improve, my country’s optical grade BOPET film production capacity will expand rapidly.