Technological innovation is the core driving force for the development of the TPU series materials industry. In the research and development of high-performance TPU, nano-composite modification technology has achieved breakthroughs. By compounding nano-fillers such as graphene and carbon nanotubes with TPU matrix, the thermal conductivity of the material is increased to more than 2.0W/(m·K), and the antistatic performance reaches a surface resistance of 10⁶-10⁸Ω, adapting to high-end scenarios such as new energy vehicle battery heat dissipation and electronic component antistatic packaging; Progress has been made in the research and development of bio-based TPU. Plant-based polyols (such as castor oil polyol and sucrose polyol) are used to replace traditional petroleum-based polyols, so that the bio-based content reaches more than 50%, and the performance is equivalent to that of traditional TPU. The carbon footprint is 35% lower than that of traditional products, which conforms to the concept of green development; Degradable TPU realizes controllable degradation cycle (1-5 years) through molecular design optimization, and the degradation products are carbon dioxide and water, with no environmental residues. It has been piloted in fields such as agricultural mulch films and disposable medical supplies.

The diversification and high-endization of market demand promote the rapid expansion of the TPU industry scale. From the perspective of demand structure, traditional fields still maintain stable growth: In the shoe material field, TPU is used for sports shoe midsoles and upper support structures by virtue of its good elasticity and wear resistance, and the global market scale of TPU for shoes maintains an annual growth rate of more than 10%; In the pipe field, food-grade TPU (complying with FDA and EU No.10/2011 standards) is used for food delivery pipes and drinking water pipes, replacing traditional rubber and PVC materials, and its market share is gradually increasing. Demand in high-end fields shows explosive growth: In the automotive field, the rapid popularization of new energy vehicles has promoted the application of TPU in battery packs and lightweight components, and the global demand for automotive TPU has an annual growth rate of 28%; In the medical field, population aging and medical technology upgrading have driven the growth of medical-grade TPU demand, and the global market scale of medical-grade TPU has reached 4.5 billion US dollars in 2024; In the smart wearable field, the innovative upgrading of consumer electronics has made the annual growth rate of TPU demand exceed 30%. Data shows that the global TPU market size has reached 18 billion US dollars in 2024, and it is expected to exceed 30 billion US dollars in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 11%.

Policy support creates a good environment for the development of the TPU industry. Many countries around the world have included high-performance polyurethane materials in the scope of support for strategic emerging industries. For example, China's "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Raw Material Industry" clearly proposes to "promote the industrialization of high-end polyurethane materials such as thermoplastic polyurethane" and provide tax reductions, R&D subsidies and other support to TPU production enterprises; The EU has adopted the "Circular Economy Action Plan" to encourage the use of recyclable and degradable TPU materials, and provide green certification and market access convenience for products using bio-based TPU; The U.S. "Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Strategy" lists high-performance TPU as a key material and supports its application R&D in automotive, medical and other fields. In addition, policies for plastic pollution control in various countries (such as plastic restriction orders and plastic ban orders) also promote TPU to replace traditional materials such as PVC and rubber, further expanding the market space.

The collaborative development of the industrial chain enhances the overall competitiveness of the TPU industry. On the upstream raw material side, polyol and diisocyanate production enterprises reduce raw material costs through technological upgrading. For example, the cost of polybutylene adipate (PBA) polyol produced by continuous process is 18% lower than that of traditional process, ensuring stable TPU raw material supply; On the midstream production side, enterprises focus on the layout of differentiated products, and have formed a full-series product matrix from general-purpose grade to medical grade, flame-retardant grade and thermally conductive grade. They also improve the product quality stability through intelligent production lines, and the product qualification rate generally reaches more than 99.5%; On the downstream application side, TPU production enterprises have established joint R&D mechanisms with automotive, medical and consumer electronics enterprises. For example, they jointly develop flame-retardant TPU seals suitable for new energy vehicle battery packs with automobile manufacturers, and cooperate with medical device enterprises to optimize the biocompatibility of implantable TPU materials, forming a virtuous cycle of "demand-driven R&D and R&D-supporting application".

At present, the TPU industry still faces some challenges. For example, the core technology patents of high-end TPU products (such as degradable TPU and medical implant-grade TPU) are mainly concentrated in a few international enterprises, and domestic enterprises still need to improve in terms of product purity and performance stability; TPU recycling technology is still in its infancy, and the recycling system is not yet perfect, which affects the circular development of the industry. In response, the industry is accelerating technological research through industry-university-research cooperation. For example, universities and enterprises jointly carry out research on molecular design of degradable TPU to break through key technical bottlenecks; Industry associations promote the formulation of TPU recycling standards and establish recycling networks. In the future, with the continuous maturity of technology, the continuous release of market demand and the in-depth advancement of policy support, the TPU series materials industry will achieve higher-quality development and become an important growth pole of the new material industry.