From blue films to structural bonding and safety protection, battery functional materials are ushering in new growth opportunities.
On October 19, CROWN New Materials launched its subscription on the Main Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
This enterprise, with adhesive materials as its main business, achieved a revenue of CNY 3.408 billion and a net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY 309 million in 2025, with a comprehensive gross profit margin reaching 23.38%.
Well-known enterprises such as CATL, BYD, Gotion High-Tech, CALB, as well as Apple and Huawei, all appear on the list of terminal applications for its products.
Seemingly inconspicuous adhesive materials actually underpin a business worth tens of billions of CNY.
Data from the China Adhesives and Tape Association shows that in 2024, the sales volume of China's adhesive tape market reached CNY 72.6 billion, of which the market for double-sided tapes, protective film tapes, and other special tapes was approximately CNY 28.1 billion.
According to calculations in CROWN New Materials's prospectus, the company's domestic market share for related functional composite materials in 2024 was approximately 11%.
From consumer electronics to NEV batteries, adhesive materials have been widely applied in multiple segments of precision manufacturing.
In the lithium battery field, CROWN New Materials's products cover applications such as cell casing insulation, inter-cell bonding, and safety protection. With the upgrade of large-capacity cells and highly integrated battery systems, these materials are also expanding towards higher performance and more application parts.
While battery manufacturing continues to reduce costs, the performance requirements for insulation, bonding, and safety protection are increasing. The product value and market opportunities for functional materials are also changing accordingly.
01 Adhesive Materials: Gross Profit Margin Exceeds 30% at Peak
The profitability of adhesive materials is closely related to product performance and application scenarios.
CROWN New Materials's products are mainly divided into industrial-grade adhesive materials, electronic-grade adhesive materials, and functional film materials, all of which are based on polymer formulations, precision coating, and composite processing technologies.
In 2025, the company's industrial-grade adhesive materials achieved a revenue of CNY 2.199 billion with a gross profit margin of 20.64%; electronic-grade adhesive materials generated a revenue of CNY 741 million with a gross profit margin of 31.83%; and functional film materials brought in a revenue of CNY 408 million with a gross profit margin of 21.04%.
Among them, the gross profit margin of electronic-grade adhesive materials was 11.19 percentage points higher than that of industrial-grade ones.
In terms of unit products, the average selling price of industrial-grade adhesive materials was CNY 3.49 per square meter, with a unit gross profit of approximately CNY 0.72; the average selling price of electronic-grade adhesive materials was CNY 8.53 per square meter, with a unit gross profit of approximately CNY 2.71.
Relying equally on adhesive formulations and coating manufacturing, different products exhibit significant differences in profit margins.
Mature industrial tapes rely more on scale manufacturing and cost control to generate profits, whereas high-performance materials applied in fields such as consumer electronics gain higher product added value through precision processing, special functions, and reliability requirements.
The product structure upgrade of CROWN New Materials has already been reflected in its operational data.
From 2023 to 2025, the company's comprehensive gross profit margin increased from 21.70% to 23.38%. Among them, the increased sales proportion of high gross profit margin products such as flame-retardant tapes and foam series has promoted the improvement of the profitability of industrial-grade adhesive materials.
In the high-end functional materials market, overseas enterprises such as 3M, Ridong, and Desha have long occupied important positions, while domestic enterprises continue to expand their supply scope through advantages in material formulations, manufacturing processes, and costs.
For comprehensive functional material enterprises like CROWN New Materials, NEVs and energy storage batteries are becoming important application markets for high-performance materials.
02 From Blue Films to Structural Bonding: Battery Auxiliary Materials Are Upgrading
In the lithium battery industry chain, the application scope of adhesive materials is broader than the general impression of tapes.
Inside the cell, termination tapes and tab tapes undertake the functions of fixing and insulation; on the cell casing, blue films are used for electrical insulation and surface protection; entering the module and PACK stages, it also involves needs such as inter-cell bonding, buffering, thermal insulation material packaging, and cold plate insulation.
CROWN New Materials has already formed actual business in related fields.
In 2024, the company's automotive-grade adhesive material revenue reached CNY 466 million, covering automotive interior and exterior trim and NEV battery applications.
In the NEV battery field, the company has achieved batch sales of blue films and laid out materials such as high-shear insulation films, structural bonding, and flame-retardant protection.
Its high-shear insulation film has a nominal shear strength reaching 7 MPa and above, which further improves the bonding strength and reliability of the material while maintaining insulation performance.
The prospectus also discloses that multiple battery material technologies of the company have entered the mass production stage.
Among them, composite film tapes can replace some battery positive and negative pole PC sheets (polycarbonate sheets), reducing material usage costs; NEV battery packaging processes and flame-retardant high-temperature resistant adhesive technologies have also achieved mass production.
In addition, UV-activated semi-structural adhesive technology is in the pilot production stage, targeting applications such as inter-module bonding and filling in batteries.
With the upgrade of battery structures, beyond insulation wrapping, structural bonding, buffering, and safety protection are bringing more application opportunities for adhesive materials.
This change is closely related to the development direction of battery manufacturing.
On the one hand, the development of highly integrated structures such as CTP (Cell to Pack) promotes the adjustment of cell fixing, buffering, and structural connection methods.
On the other hand, the large-scale development of energy storage cells is also putting forward new insulation and manufacturing requirements.
Data from Gaogong Chanyan (GGII) shows that in 2025, the shipment volume of energy storage cells above 500 Ah in China was approximately 7 GWh, accounting for about 1.3%; it is expected that in 2026, the shipment volume will exceed 140 GWh, and the penetration rate will break through 20%.
As energy storage cells develop towards larger specifications such as 587 Ah, 628 Ah, and 684 Ah, the size, weight, and grouping methods of cell casings have changed, putting forward new requirements for insulation materials, bonding reliability, and manufacturing processes.
Material enterprises are obtaining actual business increments from this.
In the first half of 2026, Saiwu Jishu's new energy and power electronic materials business achieved a revenue of CNY 332 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.94%.
In the battery field, its products have covered cell blue films, high-shear blue films, CCS insulation films, side plate insulation films, as well as inter-cell double-sided tapes and fireproof materials.
Among them, inter-cell bonding and insulation protection materials are expanding towards leading energy storage enterprises, and FRT fireproof materials have been designated by leading energy storage customers and achieved stable mass production.
Jinghua Xincai also disclosed in its 2026 semi-annual report that the revenue of its electronics division increased by 28% year-on-year, NEVs have become an important growth direction, and battery-supporting electronic-grade adhesive materials continue to increase in volume.
These developments indicate that battery functional adhesive materials already have a mature insulation wrapping market, and applications such as high-performance insulation, structural bonding, and safety protection are also continuously expanding.
At the same time, changes in battery manufacturing processes are bringing new competition.
Since this year, Haimuxing has disclosed that its cell UV insulation spraying line has achieved large-scale mass production in leading battery enterprises; the UV insulation coating materials of Songjing Gufen have achieved stable supply, and it has obtained orders for multiple inkjet printing equipment production lines, one of which has a contract amount of approximately CNY 30 million.
Traditional film wrapping processes continue to upgrade, and new types of insulation coatings are also beginning to enter mass production applications. The industrialization of different manufacturing solutions is affecting battery enterprises' choices of insulation materials and supporting processes.
For functional material enterprises like CROWN New Materials, new opportunities have gone beyond traditional blue films.
The expansion of battery shipment scale provides a demand foundation for auxiliary material enterprises; changes in cell structure, manufacturing processes, and safety requirements are driving materials to extend to more application segments.
With the accelerated mass production of energy storage cells above 500 Ah, the actual supporting progress of high-performance insulation, structural bonding, and safety protection materials is worthy of continuous attention.
The future growth of this business depends not only on the battery market size but also on which materials can enter the new generation of cell and PACK designs.