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德国科思创将在上海工厂建设大型MDI工厂，并考虑在阿联酋建设同一工厂 2026-07-07
German polymer giant Covestro has unveiled plans to construct a large methylene diphenyl diisocyanate production line at its Shanghai integrated site. It also revealed that it is considering building a factory with the same capacity in the United Arab Emirates.
The new production line in Shanghai, with an annual capacity of 660,000 metric tons of MDI, is expected to come on stream around 2030, the Leverkusen-based company announced recently. The facility will primarily supply the Chinese market while also catering to demand from the Asia-Pacific region.
MDI is an essential raw material for rigid polyurethane foam manufacturing. As one of the world’s top MDI suppliers, Covestro owns MDI production hubs in Europe, Asia, and North America.
Even though Covestro did not reveal the investment amount for the project, Richard Fu, spokesperson for the company’s Shanghai branch, told Yicai that a world-class MDI production line typically requires an investment of EUR1.5 billion to EUR2 billion (USD1.7 billion to USD2.3 billion). If implemented as scheduled, the project will be among the largest single foreign investment projects in Shanghai in recent years, Fu noted.
Shanghai has seen a surge in major foreign capital projects with long life-cycles, heavy capital expenditures, and high technical barriers since the start of this year, Zhan Yubo, deputy director at the Institute of Economics of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told Yicai.
These benchmark world-class heavy-asset projects carry investment volumes in the CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) range and require construction periods of three to five years, Zhan explained. This trend signals foreign investors prioritize long-term industrial chain stability in Shanghai over short-term policy incentives, he added.
The new MDI production line will expand Covestro’s integrated manufacturing footprint in Shanghai and strengthen the company’s position as one of the world’s leading MDI suppliers, Lei Huanli, senior global vice president of Covestro and president of Covestro China, told Yicai.
Covestro’s new Shanghai MDI project is an expansion built on an existing mature industrial complex, Zhan noted. “Shifts in the global geopolitical landscape, energy crises, shrinking European capacity amid industrial competition, and widespread concerns over supply chain security have exerted significant influence on the company’s investment calculus.”
Covestro expects global annual demand for MDI to grow by an average of around 4 percent over the next decade, with China being the world’s largest MDI market, Fu pointed out, adding that all capacity expansion plans announced by Covestro’s rival MDI producers will fail to keep pace with mounting market demand.
MDI demand growth is fueled by a wide array of end-use sectors, such as energy-efficient insulation solutions for the construction industry, energy performance improvements and sustainable retrofits for cold-chain home appliances, and sports and lifestyle applications, and it is most pronounced in Asia and the Middle East.
In this regard, Covestro also announced it will launch a feasibility study for an MDI facility with an annual production capacity of 660,000 metric tons in the UAE.
The proposed manufacturing base in the UAE is envisioned as a global hub serving high-growth markets, including the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, Fu explained. It would leverage cost-competitive local energy supplies and access to critical feedstock, such as chlorine and ammonia, to deliver supply chain synergies, he added.
International energy investment firm XRG, wholly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil, completed a EUR14.7 billion (USD16.8 billion) transaction involving equity acquisition and legacy debt assumption for Covestro at the end of last year. It also injected additional EUR1.2 billion through a capital increase at the time, delivering sustained financial backing for Covestro’s worldwide capacity expansion roadmap.
Source: Yicai Global
