COC (Cyclic Olefin Copolymer) and COP (Cyclo Olefin Polymer) are amorphous transparent polymer materials with cyclic olefin structures. Their exceptional optical properties, heat resistance, low moisture absorption, and biocompatibility make them indispensable key materials in fields such as optical lenses, medical packaging, and high-end packaging.
However, this industry chain has long been characterized by "upstream technology bottlenecks, highly concentrated midstream capacity, and rapidly growing downstream demand."
The starting point of the industry chain is norbornene monomer, which is primarily produced via the Diels-Alder reaction of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) with ethylene. This represents the most critical "bottleneck" segment of the entire industry chain.
Highly Concentrated Supply: Over 90% of global norbornene capacity is tied to Japanese COC/COP producers. In China, only Lujing Chemical has commissioned a synthetic unit with a capacity of 500 tons per year.
Severely Hinders Localization: As domestic COC/COP polymerization capacity expands rapidly, upstream monomer self-sufficiency is critically insufficient. The massive gap between domestic norbornene capacity and the feedstock requirements of planned polymerization capacities is the primary bottleneck constraining industry development.
The polymerization processes for COC/COP are complex, principally divided into Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) and metallocene-catalyzed addition polymerization (mCOC). The former entails higher costs and is mainly used for COP production; the latter is lower in cost and is the primary process route for COC and some domestic enterprises.
Global Landscape: Japanese Enterprises Dominate Absolutely. Global capacity in 2024 was approximately 93,000 tons per year, with the four Japanese firms Zeon, Polyplastics, Mitsui Chemicals, and JSR collectively accounting for 95% of capacity.
Chinese Players: Import Substitution Accelerating. Driven by favorable policies and supply chain security demands, enterprises such as TopOlefin Technology, Acryl, and Lu Hua Jin have taken the lead in achieving thousand-ton-scale industrial production. It is projected that by 2030, domestic COC/COP capacity will exceed 30,000 tons per year, poised to reshape the global supply landscape.
China is the world's largest consumer of COC/COP, with consumption of approximately 30,000 tons in 2024, yet its self-sufficiency rate is less than 7%.
Consumption Structure: The optics sector is the largest market, accounting for over 56% of domestic consumption, primarily applied in mobile phone lenses, automotive cameras, and AR/VR lenses. This is followed by the packaging sector (approximately 23%) and the medical sector (approximately 13%).
Growth Drivers: By 2030, domestic consumption is expected to rise to 60,000 tons, with an annual growth rate of approximately 12%. Key drivers include demand for automotive camera lenses spurred by autonomous driving, emerging optical applications such as AR/VR, and the expansion of the high-end medical consumables market like prefilled syringes.
The critical battle for the localization of the COC/COP industry chain hinges on unblocking the entire chain from monomer to polymer. Currently, although initial breakthroughs have been made in the midstream polymerization segment, the independent supply of upstream norbornene monomer remains the greatest weakness.
Future directions are clear: first, accelerate industrial deployment to achieve monomer-polymer-application integration, reducing external dependence; second, develop differentiated products to establish serialized product systems across different fields such as optics and medical, thereby avoiding homogeneous competition.