Wanhua Chemical Announces Key Investment Directions for 2026

Recently, Wanhua Chemical announced the shareholder meeting minutes, which indicated that the main project plan for 2026 will involve an investment of 27.3 billion yuan.

The polyurethane (MDI/TDI/HCL) expansion and integration supporting project, with a planned investment of 3.46 billion yuan, represents a significant reduction compared to 25 years ago.

TDIWanhua ChemicalHas risen to become the world's largest supplier.Total annual production capacity has increased to 1.47 million tons, accounting for over 40% of global capacity.

In the MDI sector, Wanhua Chemical has an annual capacity of approximately 3.8 million tons, ranking first globally. Its sixth-generation technology enables a single-line capacity of up to 800,000 tons per year, while its seventh-generation technology achieves 100% catalyst recovery and reduces wastewater discharge to just 1/20 of the industry standard. Recently, the company announced a technical upgrade to the separation unit of its existing 1.5-million-ton-per-year MDI facility; this upgrade, without increasing the facility’s total capacity, will enable production of 30,000 tons per year of liquid MDI.

(2) The petrochemical industry chain will focus on the construction of the QH project, low-temperature ethane tanks, and the optimization and technical transformation of existing facilities, with a planned investment of 4.55 billion yuan, which is significantly less than in 2025.

(3) Fine chemicals (green functional additives, vanillin, multifunctional monomers, etc.)）The project is planned to invest 3.44 billion yuan.

Vanillin, a core food additive, is also hailed as the "King of Food Flavors," and is widely used in various fields such as food, daily chemicals, and medicine. Wanhua ChemicalAnnual production of 10,000 tonsThe vanilla extract industry chain project has obtained the construction planning permit in October 2025.

(4) High-performance materials (membrane materials/OBE/HSPA, etc.) and supporting projects.

OBE isThe polyolefin elastomer project, with the 400,000 tons/year project under construction at the Penglai base and the 200,000 tons/year capacity about to be put into production at the Yantai base, will reach a combined capacity of 600,000 tons/year. At that time, it will become one of the largest POE suppliers in China and a world leader.

HSPA refers to high-performance solvent-based polyacrylic resin. This project is undertaken by Yantai Huashengmei New Materials Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Wanhua Chemical Group and Hefei Xinmei Materials Technology Co., Ltd. The planned total capacity is 15,000 tons/year, to be constructed in two phases, each with a capacity of 7,500 tons/year. The project received its filing approval in March 2026 and is currently undergoing environmental impact assessment (EIA) public consultation. The product is applicable in high-end coatings, inks, adhesives, and other fields.

Previously, in August 2025, the two companies jointly established Yantai Wanmei New Materials Co., Ltd., focusing on optical synthetic materials, specialty chemical products sales, and new materials R&D.

（5）The new material project is planned to invest 11.05 billion yuan. The increase compared to 2025 is significant!

2026 CompanyContinuously build the company's second growth curve, and accelerate the construction of a series of battery material projects such as lithium iron phosphate and iron phosphate, among which,Regarding its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) production capacity layout, Wanhua Chemical’s Laizhou project—designed for an annual output of 650,000 tons of LFP—and its Haiyang Green Energy Industrial Park Phase II (200,000 tons/year) and Phase III (200,000 tons/year) projects have all received environmental impact assessment (EIA) approvals, bringing the total planned capacity to 1.05 million tons/year. As of early 2026, the Company has already brought 270,000 tons/year of LFP capacity online; adding the above planned capacity, its total LFP production capacity will exceed 1.3 million tons/year, placing it among the world’s top-tier LFP producers.

Moreover, Wanhua Chemical also stated that in 2026, the company will...Expected foreign equity investment of 2.22 billion yuanMainly focusing on the layout of battery materials, development of new material business, and implementation of internationalization strategy to carry out investment.

According to reports, in the domestic power battery installation volume in 2025, the proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries has reached 81.2%, far exceeding that of ternary batteries. With the increasing demand for fast-charging batteries and large-capacity energy storage cells, high-density lithium iron phosphate (with a tap density ≥2.6g/cm³, i.e., the fourth-generation product) has even experienced a structural shortage.

In this context, traditional manufacturers and cross-industry companies are all entering the field, with high-density lithium iron phosphate (LFP) capacity becoming the focus of each company's construction. Some have even extended their investment into resource sectors such as phosphorus and lithium, as well as precursor materials, leading to a surge in integrated projects. In the long term, the LFP industry has shifted from capacity competition to value competition, and this round of structural expansion will accelerate the elimination of backward capacity, driving further industry concentration.

(2026 Investment Plan)

(Investment Situation in 2025)

In 2025, the planned external equity investment was 4.19 billion yuan, with an actual investment of 3.04 billion yuan, covering a total of 12 companies.

As early as 2021, Wanhua Chemical had already established a joint venture with China National Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.Zhonghe Shandong Nuclear Energy Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 5.57131 billion yuan. Currently, the company is accelerating the investment and construction of units 1 and 2 of the Haiyang Xin'an nuclear power project. The site is planned to construct 2 high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and 4 "Hualong One" units, among which, the first phase of the project will build 2 units of 600MW high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.

In addition, Fujian Leju New Resources Regeneration Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Wanrong New Materials (Fujian) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Wanhua Chemical, and Shanghai Leju Technology Co., Ltd. The latter also has investments from institutions such as Sinopec, CNPC, Jingbo Petrochemical, and Hillhouse Ventures. It is a well-known company in the field of shared and recyclable packaging for chemicals in China, focusing on three major business segments: recycling and regeneration, circular logistics, and intelligent equipment.