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Platinum prices skyrocket, igniting the industrial chain, and the liquid silicone rubber industry faces new changes
Yesterday, the global precious metal market witnessed a historic moment - platinum prices broke through the $2797.73 per ounce mark, setting a new record. This shock wave quickly transmitted to the relevant industry chain, causing severe shaking. As a key raw material for platinum catalysts, chloroplatinic acid reported a mainstream price of 275-280 yuan/gram on January 26th, continuously breaking new highs. Compared with last year's level of 80-90 yuan/gram, the increase has exceeded 300%, and the astonishing rise is eye-catching.
More noteworthy is that the silicone "price king" platinum catalyst has achieved ten consecutive increases since New Year's Day! Monitoring data shows that the price of platinum catalyst reached 739 yuan/gram, reaching the daily limit up. This series of price fluctuations is profoundly changing the cost structure and market landscape of the liquid silicone rubber (LSR) industry.
Platinum catalyst: an indispensable core additive
Platinum catalysts play an irreplaceable role in the production of liquid silicone rubber. This special catalyst can effectively promote the hydrosilylation reaction, allowing liquid silicone rubber to rapidly solidify and form at appropriate temperatures while maintaining excellent thermal stability, electrical insulation, and biocompatibility. This characteristic makes it a "key material" in many cutting-edge applications of liquid silicone rubber: 12 high growth industries such as new energy (photovoltaic/automotive), semiconductors, aerospace, robotics, commercial aerospace, integrated circuits, etc. highly rely on the performance of platinum catalysts. Not only that, platinum catalysts also play an irreplaceable role in silicon products such as new energy vehicles, power engineering applications, medical supplies, liquid silicone rubber foam, industrial grade applications, sports equipment liquid silicone rubber, electronic engineering, textiles and coatings, optical grade liquid silicone imaging adhesives, baby products, and kitchen products worldwide.
Chain reaction of industrial chain: from source to end
The soaring price of platinum has triggered a chain reaction throughout the entire industry chain. As the main raw material for platinum catalysts, the skyrocketing price of chloroplatinic acid directly drives up the production cost of catalysts, which in turn transmits to the production process of liquid silicone rubber.
According to the latest market news, several mainstream liquid glue manufacturers in Guangdong and Zhejiang are preparing to announce price increases, with an expected increase of 10% -15%. At the same time, international giants such as Dow, Maitu, Shinetsu, and Wacker have also informed customers that they will adjust prices in the near future, and the increase will vary depending on different customers.
An industry analyst who declined to be named said, "This wave of price increases is different from the past. Platinum, as a rare precious metal, has extremely strong supply rigidity, and there is little room for a significant price correction in the short term. This means that the liquid silicone rubber industry may need to adapt to a completely new cost environment
The rapid development and challenges of China's liquid silicone rubber industry
In recent years, China's liquid silicone rubber industry has shown a rapid development trend. Multiple industry data predict that by 2026, China's liquid silicone rubber production capacity will reach 280000 tons per year, and the industry scale will continue to expand. This growth is attributed to the continuous expansion of downstream application fields, especially the rapid development of high-end manufacturing industries such as new energy vehicles, semiconductor packaging, and medical devices.
However, the continuous price increase of platinum catalysts casts a shadow over this growth prospect. Liquid silicone rubber production enterprises are facing a dilemma: on the one hand, they need to digest cost pressure, and on the other hand, they are worried that price increases will affect market competitiveness.
Industry experts point out that although platinum catalysts do not account for a large proportion of the production cost of liquid silicone rubber, their irreplaceability leaves production companies with no other choice. Some high-end application areas, such as medical grade silicone products and optical grade liquid silicone rubber, require extremely high purity of catalysts, making it almost impossible to find effective alternatives.