What is driving China's push into liquid polybutadiene production for 5G communications?

What is driving China's push into liquid polybutadiene production for 5G communications?
China's liquid polybutadiene (LPB) sector is shifting from laboratory research to commercial reality, driven by demand from 5G high-frequency copper-clad laminates. Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical started up a 5,000 t/y liquid rubber unit in October 2023, producing HB40-grade LPB that passed evaluation by laminate makers. Tianyuan Hangcai is building a 4,000 t/y hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) base in Yingkou. Globally, the market is concentrated: Cray Valley, Synthomer, Nippon Soda, Evonik and Kuraray held about 80.6% of revenue in 2022. Europe was the largest consuming region at roughly 34%, followed by North America at 25.4% and Asia-Pacific at 23.8%. China is expected to be the fastest-growing production region, with its share projected to reach 20.4% by 2029.