PCBL Chemical has signed a technology transfer agreement with Chinese company Ningxia Jinhua Chemical Co. to produce Acetylene black in India. Acetylene black is a high-end conductive grade chemical with applications in high voltage power cables, Li Ion batteries, EV charging, Semiconductor packaging and conductive plastics, paints & coatings applications.
PCBL plans to set up its 1st Acetylene Black plant in India to meet the fast-growing demand of Indian Battery industry and export to the global battery, semiconductor and conductive markets, thereby aligning with market needs to build more resilient supply chains for critical conductive materials.
Over the last few years, PCBL has significantly expanded its specialty portfolio. It has launched over 50 grades under Bleumina brand for engineered plastics, Nutone for inks, paints and coating applications and Energia for conductive applications like conductive polymers, electrostatic discharge, wires and cables and battery. The addition of Acetylene black would significantly bolster its capabilities to offer numerous grades in the fast-growing conductive segment.
PCBL has recently set up a Joint Venture company, Nanovace Technologies Ltd to develop nanosilicon products to be used in anodes of Li-Ion batteries. The pilot plant at PCBL Palej site will be ready in the next few months.
Acetylene black technology addition is in sync with PCBL's strategy to align growth vectors with global macro trends like Energy Transition, Grid Renewal, Auto Electrification and Semiconductor industry growth.
The market size of Acetylene Blacks, which is currently around 60,000 MT, is estimated to increase by around 19-20% CAGR and reach around 150,000 MT by 2030.
Acquisition of this technology will enable PCBL's participation in these fast growth market segments, accelerating moving up the value ladder, enriching product mix and thereby leading to significant improvement in margin profile.
PCBL aims to be a major player in conductive material segments. With this technology acquisition, PCBL now has multiple conductive technology platforms - Furnace Black, Nanovace and Acetylene Black, making it part of select club of multi-platform Carbon Black manufacturers. This acquisition will further accelerate PCBL's transition to innovation led and tech driven organization.