On October 10, 2025, Shanghai - In the third quarter of 2025, China's silicone industry accelerated into a new stage of "green reconstruction and technological fission" under the dual pressure of export expansion and trade barriers. Customs data shows that the export volume of primary form polydimethylsiloxane in early August increased by 3.66% month on month, but the EU's "carbon footprint tracing" investigation and India's anti-dumping preliminary ruling have forced companies to restructure their global supply chains.


Trade War Upgrades: Pressure on Photovoltaic Adhesive Exports
In July 2025, the European Union launched a "carbon footprint tracing" investigation on Chinese photovoltaic adhesive products, requiring companies to provide complete carbon emission data from quartz mining to terminal applications. This policy directly impacts the export market: in August, the export volume of Chinese photovoltaic adhesive to Europe decreased by 23% year-on-year, and the order delay rate of some enterprises exceeded 40%.


The new EU regulations are equivalent to adding an invisible cost of $0.8 per kilogram of product, "said the head of Jiangsu Guotai Silicon based Materials Business Unit. To address the challenges, industry leader Hesheng Silicon Industry has established a photovoltaic adhesive production base in Malaysia, which has been put into operation since September. It uses bio based methanol and green electricity production, reducing its carbon footprint by 58% compared to domestic products. It is expected to resume exports to Europe in the fourth quarter.


Biobased technology: the key to breaking trade barriers
Trade frictions are forcing technological upgrades. In September 2025, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences announced a breakthrough in the large-scale production technology of rice husk based silane, with a cost 12% lower than petroleum based routes. This technology has rapidly been industrialized in Yongxiu, Shandong and other places: Yongxiu Xinghuo Organic Silicon's 20000 tons/year bio based siloxane project has passed the EU REACH certification, with a product premium of 15%.


Biobased materials are not only environmental labels, but also the 'moat' of trade wars, "said analysts from Global Organosilicon Network. Data shows that from January to September 2025, the export volume of bio based organosilicon products increased by 210% year-on-year, and the proportion of overall exports increased from 3% to 9%.


Technological Fission: From Material Suppliers to Scene Defined Creators
Under trade pressure, enterprises are accelerating their transformation towards high-tech barriers. The self-healing silicone rubber developed by Silicon Treasure Technology has been applied to the sealing of Tesla Cybertruck body, achieving automatic crack repair; The transparent silicon-based material jointly launched by Eken Organic Silicon and Covestro has successfully entered the market of flying car windows.


The technological iteration cycle of the organic silicon industry in 2025 has been shortened to 18 months, and enterprises must master the right to define scenarios through continuous innovation, "said Professor Zhang Qinghua from Zhejiang University at the 3rd Organic Silicon Technology and Application Innovation Forum. The "Organic Silicon Industry Yearbook (2025 Edition)" released by the forum shows that the proportion of R&D investment in the industry will reach 4.2% in 2025, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 2024.


Policy escort: Green transformation drives industrial upgrading
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Action Plan for High Quality Development of New Materials Industry in the 15th Five Year Plan" sets hard targets: by 2025, the unit energy consumption of newly built organic silicon plants must be 20% lower than the industry average, and the dependence on imported electronic grade silicone oil should be reduced to below 30%. In this context, Dongyue Group upgraded its path through the chloromethane method, resulting in a 34% reduction in energy consumption per ton of DMC production; The etching solution localization project of Xin'an Corporation has passed TSMC certification, breaking the foreign monopoly.


Green tariffs are reshaping the global industrial landscape, and China's organic silicon industry must shift from 'cost internalization' to 'technological breakthrough', "emphasized the director of the China Research Institute Puhua Industry Research Institute. Data shows that from January to September 2025, although the industry average profit margin decreased to 8.7% due to fluctuations in raw material prices, the profit margin of high-end products remained above 22%, highlighting the urgency of technological upgrading.