Supercritical foaming technology has a wide range of application scenarios and the number of companies involved will continue to increase

Supercritical foaming is a process technology that uses supercritical carbon dioxide or nitrogen instead of organic foaming agents to foam under a certain pressure and temperature. Supercritical foaming is a physical foaming molding technology and the most effective method for making microporous plastics. The plastic pore size is usually between 0.1-10μm.

According to different processes, supercritical foaming process can be divided into supercritical bead foaming process and supercritical sheet foaming process. Supercritical bead foaming is further divided into extrusion foaming, kettle foaming, etc. In terms of foaming agents, supercritical foaming agents are mainly carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are stable, environmentally friendly, cheap, and the reaction is mild and easy to control.

Supercritical foam materials have the characteristics of light weight, high specific strength, high cost performance, non-toxic and harmless, noise reduction and cushioning, and excellent elasticity. Based on this, supercritical foam technology has been used in the production of shoe materials, packaging, transportation, etc. It is widely used, especially in the field of shoe materials. Currently, running shoes that apply supercritical foam technology include Adidas Boost running shoes, Nike’s ZoomX, Xtep Power Nest, Anta Mach 2.0, Peak 3.0GT, Jordan XI PRO, Puma NITRO, etc.

According to the “2022-2026 China Supercritical Foaming Technology Market Feasibility Research Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, supercritical Foaming technology has been applied for more than 20 years. After years of development and accumulation, the supercritical foaming industry has produced a number of excellent suppliers in terms of materials and equipment. Among them, supercritical foaming material suppliers include BASF of Germany and the United Kingdom. ZTF, Guosheng New Materials, Guangdong Guoli Technology, Suzhou Shensai New Materials, Ningbo Zhiwei New Materials, etc.; supercritical foaming equipment suppliers include Taian Qiang Machinery, Kaiyuan Chemical Machinery, etc.

Suzhou Shensai New Materials is one of the leading supercritical foaming companies in China and the first company in the world to realize non-cross-linked physical microporous foaming of thermoplastic materials. Suzhou Shensai New Materials has designed and built a production line using supercritical fluid microporous foaming technology with independent intellectual property rights. The planned annual production capacity of polymer microporous foam materials reaches 5,000 tons. Since its establishment in 2019, Suzhou Shensai New Materials has completed 5 rounds of financing, of which the two rounds of financing in 2022 totaled nearly 100 million yuan.

Supercritical foaming technology has the characteristics of cleanness, environmental protection, stable performance, and fine cell structure. However, compared with traditional chemical foaming technology, supercritical foaming technology is more difficult in terms of formula, equipment, and foaming agents. Industry analysts said that supercritical foaming technology has been used for more than 20 years. Foaming materials have excellent properties and are widely used in shoe materials, packaging, wind power, 5G communications and other fields. As the application fields of supercritical foaming materials expand, the demand for the application of supercritical foaming technology will continue to be released, and the market development prospects are broad.