Current situation and competition analysis of foam glass industry in China

1. Market size of foam glass

Foam glass, also known as porous glass or foam glass, is a kind of heat insulation glass with porosity of more than 90% and composed of uniform pores. Because the pore structure of foam glass has the physical properties of borosilicate, it is used as thermal insulation material with the characteristics of impermeability, non combustion, non deformation, non deterioration, and non pollution to food. It is widely used in petroleum, chemical, underground engineering, national defense and military industries, and can achieve the effects of heat insulation, heat preservation, cold insulation, and sound absorption. In addition, it is also widely used for the thermal insulation of external walls and roofs of civil buildings.

According to the in-depth research report on the current situation and future investment of China's foam glass industry (2023-2030) released by Guanyan Report.com, with the tightening of national environmental protection policies, foam glass has become a high-level wall insulation material and roof insulation material for urban civil buildings. The expansion of building area drives the growth of foam glass industry. According to the data, the newly started building area in China will be 1.989 billion square meters in 2021. According to the area of external wall requiring thermal insulation, the average market price and penetration rate of foam glass insulation board, the market size of foam glass in China will be about 467 million yuan in 2021.

2.Foam glass production capacity

 With the growth of demand, China's foam glass production capacity continues to expand. In 2020, China's foam glass production capacity will be 950000 cubic meters, up 35.7% year on year. In 2021, the production capacity of foam glass in China will be 1 million cubic meters, an increase of 5.3% over the same period last year. Among them, the production capacity of foam glass in Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Anhui, Lanzhou and other places will be large.

3. Output of foam glass

In terms of output, affected by the epidemic in 2020, the output of foam glass in China decreased to 550000 cubic meters, 8.3% lower than that of the previous year. In 2021, with the improvement of the epidemic situation and the resumption of production, the production of foam glass in China will rise to 600000 cubic meters, with a growth rate of 9.1%.

 4. Export scale of foam glass

  With the growth of production capacity and output, the export scale of China's foam glass industry is far larger than the import scale. According to data, in 2021, China's foam glass export volume will be 85400 tons, with an export amount of 175 million dollars; From January to October 2022, China's export volume of foam glass will be 92700 tons, and the export amount will be 232 million dollars.

From the perspective of major export destinations, China's foam glass is mainly exported to Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States and other regions, with the export amount accounting for 14%, 13% and 13% respectively from January to October 2022.

 5. Competition in foam glass industry

 Although the quality of foam glass products in China meets the ASTM standard, there is still a gap in key indicators compared with foreign products. This is mainly due to the fact that most of China's foam glass enterprises are small in scale, low in production technology and still in the development stage. At the same time, in the production and processing of foam glass, there is environmental pressure of high energy consumption and much dust. The production line is long, the production capacity is low, and the price is higher than that of similar thermal insulation products, which cannot meet the large area demand of the construction market. Based on this, foam glass enterprises need to invest in capital and environmental protection technology to optimize and improve, so that foam glass can become a truly green and sustainable industry.