Hanwha Solutions aggressive in producing specialty chemicals XDI, TDI

[Photo by Hanwha Solutions Corp.]

Hanwha Solutions Corp., chemical manufacturing unit under South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, is scaling up special chemical materials business with expanded investment in production facilities and vertical integration for market competitiveness.

According to industry sources on Sunday, Hanwha Solutions currently is working on research and development for commercialization of Specialty Isocyanate (XDI) with related firms after it has begun production of the materials.

The company is expected to release own XDI by next year upon drawing orders this year.

XDI is a specialty material used in optical lenses, adhesives, ink binders and coatings, mostly supplied by Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals with an annual capacity of 5,000 tons. A ton of XDI is valued at tens of thousands of dollars as of now.

Global optical lenses market is estimated to grow to $1.5 billion in 2025 from $1.15 billion in 2019.

[Photo by Hanwha Solutions Corp.]

Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) is another specialty material Hanwha Solutions is trying to expand a production capacity for market competition.

TDI is a feedstock for PU resin and adhesives. Flexible foams are used in shoes, furniture, automotive components, bedding and toys, while semi-rigid foams are used in car interior materials.

Only BASF Korea, Hanwha Solutions and OCI can produce TDI in Korea, and its prices have been on a rise with factory shutdowns on winter storm in Texas, the U.S. in January. One ton of TDI currently is trading at $2,250, up nearly 40 percent from a year-ago period.

Hanwha Solutions announced its 160 billion won ($143.5 million) investment plan in March to build a plant to produce 180,000 tons of DNT per year, a material for TDI. Nitrates to produce DNT will be supplied from Hanwha Corp.

Hanwha Solutions is capable of producing 1.5 million tons of TDI, the 10th largest in the world.

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