Wanhua Chemical has announced that its independently developed next-generation metallocene polyolefin catalysts have officially entered large-scale production. This catalyst breaks the long-standing technological monopoly of foreign companies, significantly improving the molecular weight distribution uniformity and optical properties of high-end polyolefin materials (such as POE elastomers), filling a domestic gap and marking a milestone achievement for China in the field of high-end chemical new material catalysts. The independently developed dinuclear metallocene complex catalyst achieves an efficiency of 2.5×10⁶ mol/(g·h), comparable to similar products from ExxonMobil. The titanium-silicalite-supported metallocene catalyst exhibits an activity of 12,000 kg-POE/g-cat and thermal stability exceeding 120°C, making it suitable for continuous solution polymerization processes.

The "next-generation metallocene polyolefin catalyst" specifically refers to the metallocene catalyst used for POE (polyolefin elastomers), which has achieved ton-level industrial mass production—not merely laboratory-scale trials.

The catalyst is deeply integrated with the 200,000-ton/year and 600,000-ton/year POE units. Production of the catalyst commences simultaneously with the startup of the units, with no time lag between R&D and mass production.

The technology is entirely proprietary, breaking the monopoly of Dow and ExxonMobil and achieving domestic substitution of core materials at scale. Production and unit validation milestones include:

• June 2024: The 200,000-ton/year POE unit at Yantai Industrial Park achieved full-process integration and stable production, operating entirely with proprietary metallocene catalysts, with product purity reaching 99.5%.

• March 2025: Construction began on the second phase of the 400,000-ton/year POE unit in Penglai, continuing to use proprietary metallocene catalysts, with total production capacity reaching 600,000 tons/year by the end of 2025.

• March 2026: The 600,000-ton/year POE capacity reached full production, with catalysts fully self-sufficient and stably supplied, with no external dependence.