The China Polyurethane Industry Association (CPUIA) recently stated that the country has become the world's biggest PU product maker.
According to the CPUIA, China accounted for over 40 percent of the global volume in 2013, manufacturing 8.7 million metric tons of PU products, up 12 percent from 2012.
There was significant growth in the insulation sector, automotive and, waterborne PU materials sectors, according to the CPUIA.
The association estimates the insulation panel sector will bring an additional 310,000 to 380,000 metric tons of demand in China for rigid PU foam in 2014 and 2015. Currently China's has over 250 operating production lines for PU insulation panels, a record high.
In 2012, China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development introduced a plan to improve building energy efficiency. The Ministry, under the 12th five-year-plan until 2015, has introduced regulations that mean newly constructed buildings in urban areas must be 30 percent more energy-efficient than the 2010 standard. Higher standards are demanded in first-tier cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing, where new buildings must have energy efficiency close to those in developed countries with similar climates.
The Association also forecasts that by the end of 2015, a total of 52 percent of China's population will live in cities, and new buildings constructed by 2015 will have a total area of 4 billion to 5 billion square meters.
According to CPUIA's website, when China's 12th five-year-plan is finished, the country will have pumped $820 billion into energy-saving sectors.
In the next three to five years, PU insulation panels are likely to take up 30-50 percent of China's total consumption of building insulation materials by volume.