In 2022, when compiling information, the editor found that the production capacity of NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) had already reached almost 650,000 tons per year. Seeing the business opportunities here, the major chemical plants have issued notices in mid-2022, late in the year, and in January of the beginning of 2023, indicating that several tens of thousands of tons or hundreds of thousands of tons of NMP projects have been started one after another, and are expected to be officially put into use in 2024-2025. According to incomplete statistics so far, the production capacity of NMP will reach more than 2 million tons in 2025, which is just enough to meet the market demand.

Which field has the capacity to digest such a large amount of NMP solvents? Benefiting from the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the demand for NMP solvents in the field of lithium batteries continues to rise, and it is also this field that has the ability to digest a large amount of NMP solvents. [NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) solvent is the supporting use solvent for lithium battery binder polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), carbon nanotube conductive paste (CNT)]

ZESHENG-Warehousing and packaging for NMP

What are the representative global NMP production suppliers?

Before 2022, the main global representative production suppliers were BASF (Germany), Ashland (USA), Mitsubishi Chemical (Japan), Mackie Chemical (China) and Zesheng New Material (Dongguan), etc. Now that we are in 2023, more NMP production suppliers have emerged and the proportion of NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) suppliers in China is getting higher. Among them, the ZESHENG team, which focuses on the lithium battery industry, is also gradually emerging internationally and domestically.

[What is ZESHENG's strength?]

One of the strengths of the ZESHENG team which has gradually been able to emerge as a national and international player: having its own factory.

The ZESHENG team can always transfer goods nearby to supply what our customers need, in order to be close to the emergency. It is understood that a stable and smooth supply chain is one of the bottom lines of cooperation for every large-volume customer.

Strength No. 2: Having a professional and mature team of engineers.

Starting from the factory inspection, the professional engineer team can make a professional judgment on the regional structure and layout planning of the lithium battery factory, and tailor-make matching NMP storage and transportation systems and recycling systems, as well as create piping and electrical system planning drawings; produce corresponding solutions to save project manufacturing costs for prospective customers from the root. The greater the amount of NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) used by the customer, the higher the cost savings, which can easily be in the millions (judging from the cases of customers we have worked with so far), I believe anyone will be distressed.

Strength No. 3: Efficient and responsive one-to-one service teams as well as professional in-plant teams are also important in saving project costs for lithium battery factories.

Whether it's the preliminary project base survey, solution creation, or the efficiency of delivery and quality assurance of goods, as well as the monitoring of NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) infusion of new liquid and discharge of waste liquid by the professional team in the factory, one link is connected to the other, and all are aimed at saving project costs for customers while improving product quality and efficiency.

ZESHENG-Packaging and transport of NMP

The ZESHENG team has gradually expanded its market scale to meet the market demand and has gradually moved from domestic to international while continuously improving its production capacity. At present, the cooperation customers have spread to the lithium industry in more than a dozen countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Colombia, India, and Egypt, and the international influence has gradually increased.

Which direction is NMP used in the lithium battery industry?

NMP is an N-methyl derivative of 2-pyrrolidone. NMP is more often used in the field of power batteries and conductive agents for electric vehicles, energy storage batteries for solar and wind power storage devices, as a diffusion fluid for dissolving the binder polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for cathode materials, and carbon nanotube conductive slurry (CNT). In the downstream market of lithium, the demand for NMP fluids has reached 80%.

How is NMP solvent used as a common solvent in lithium-ion battery cathode materials?

A lithium battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy by embedding and de-embedding lithium ions back and forth between the positive and negative electrodes; it is mainly composed of five parts: positive electrode, negative electrode, diaphragm, electrolyte, and battery shell.

The cathode is the core part of the lithium-ion battery and is a key factor in determining the performance of the battery. It has a direct impact on the final energy density, voltage, service life, and safety of the product, and is also the most costly part of the lithium battery, accounting for more than 40% of the cost of the lithium battery.

As a common solvent in lithium batteries, NMP has an impact on the quality and effectiveness of coating and improving the energy density of lithium batteries in the production section.

Because NMP solvent happens to be used in the coating and drying process of lithium batteries.

As a necessary auxiliary material for the production of lithium-ion batteries, the shipment of lithium batteries largely affects its capacity and price; judging from the rapid expansion of lithium battery projects in the industry, the market demand for NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) is also on the rise, so the industry outlook for NMP is still vast.

For the ZESHENG team, an NMP supplier specializing in the lithium industry, the creation of several lithium battery projects is good news; however, the creation of more NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) suppliers is also a sign of fierce competition in the NMP market in the future. Let's wait and see how the future ranking of representative global NMP production suppliers will be shuffled.