Plastics Information Europe (PIE) did a stellar job of covering the latest update of our global market report for polyolefin elastomers and plastomers (POEs, POPs). To recap, some of the key findings.
Lightweighting for electrical vehicles and impact modification for cars in general are only two expected sources of support for POE demand. An additional growth factor in Europe is impending EU legislation requiring certain levels of plastics recovered from end-of-life (EOL).
The solar module industry is experiencing an era of dynamic trans-formation. In many cases, the encapsulant solution may employ a combination of POE and EVA resins. MLTA anticipates strong consumption growth for both resins.
Sealant film is viewed as a promising market for POPs, particularly considering the trend towards increased adoption of monomaterial, multilayer flexible packaging structures but with one major one caveat. Suppliers of metallocene-catalyzed LLDPE are marketing sealant film grades with POP-like densities that incorporate less hexene or octene comonomer compared to POPs. Such materials have a cost advantage versus pure POPs and often, their sealing properties are more than sufficient for the application at hand.
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