The trend has arrived, and the domestic OLED material industry chain is gaining momentum

Looking back at the development of the display industry in 2026, 2025 is a key node for the domestic OLED material industry to shift from a partial breakthrough to a full-scale development.

According to TrendForce consulting data, with the push of brand manufacturers, the global OLED material output value has steadily climbed from US$2.23 billion in 2022 to nearly US$2.82 billion in 2025. Against this macro background, domestic OLED material manufacturers are no longer satisfied with the front-end materials market with limited profit margins. Instead, relying on the potential of coordinated development of the industrial chain, they have begun to expand into the field of terminal materials with high gross profit margins on a large scale.

Although this field faces extremely high entry barriers and latecomer disadvantages, with the successive launch of high-generation production lines invested by panel giants such as BOE and Visionox, local material companies are ushering in new development opportunities. This is not only reflected in the direct growth of market share, but also in the improvement of material quality requirements for high-generation production lines, driving domestic companies to further strengthen research and development.

Panoramic scan of OLED material industry chain

The OLED material industry chain presents a highly sophisticated division of labor, with value increasing layer by layer from chemical raw materials at the bottom to electronic-grade functional materials at the top.

The lowest level of the industrial chain is the basic chemical raw materials and intermediates, which has significant chemical scale effects. Through complex chemical synthesis of base raw materials, high-purity intermediates are produced and further processed into pre-sublimation materials. At present, Chinese companies have occupied a dominant position in the world, and domestic companies such as Ruilian New Materials and Wanrun Co., Ltd. have built a solid market moat.

The midstream of the industrial chain is the terminal material link with the highest technical barriers. The core process at this stage is physical sublimation purification, which must increase the purity to more than 99.999% to meet the panel factory's ultimate requirements for luminous efficiency and device life. Terminal materials directly determine the color performance, power consumption and stability of OLED screens, and are the most profitable and technology-intensive areas in the entire industry chain. From the perspective of the physical structure of the device, the materials in this link are accurately stacked in the hole functional module, light-emitting layer module and electronic functional module to collaboratively complete the conversion from electrical energy to light energy.

Downstream of the industry chain is the huge panel manufacturing and terminal integration market. Driven by leading local manufacturers such as BOE, Visionox, and Shentianma, domestic materials are undergoing a gradient substitution from low-threshold auxiliary materials to core luminescent materials. This vertically integrated industrial chain structure not only improves the security and resilience of the supply chain, but also shortens the material verification cycle through localized research and development, laying a solid foundation for a comprehensive breakthrough in domestic OLED material technology.

For example, Wright Optoelectronics has achieved mass production of some OLED terminal materials, becoming a core supplier to major domestic panel manufacturers such as BOE, and actively cooperates with customers to develop blue light materials; OLED's OLED terminal materials have been supplied to customers such as BOE and Visionox; domestic companies such as Hyperruns, March Technology, Xiahe Technology, and Luminan have also shipped OLED terminal materials. In 2025, domestic OLED material manufacturers will continue to accelerate their development.

Review of key developments in the field of OLED materials in 2025

In 2025, domestic OLED materials will show vigorous vitality in the four dimensions of production capacity expansion, capital operation, technological breakthroughs and ecological collaboration. The first is the large-scale implementation of heavy-asset supporting projects, which reflects the transformation of the domestic industrial chain from point breakthroughs to clustered production.

In the first three quarters of 2025, a number of supporting projects exceeding one billion yuan have emerged in China.

In the field of polarizer materials, Guangdong Hongmao Optoelectronics’ high-end LCD and OLED polarizer projects started construction in February, with a total investment of 2.2 billion yuan; related projects under Sichuan Ridong Materials were also officially put into production in September, involving an investment of 2 billion yuan. These projects not only strengthen the industrial cluster advantages of the Pearl River Delta and Sichuan and Chongqing regions, but also reduce the import dependence of high-end polarizers through economies of scale.

In the field of segmented core functional materials, Shangsai Optoelectronics invested 500 million yuan in building a R&D headquarters and optical functional materials production base in Hubei; March Technology invested 530 million yuan in Jiangsu to build a high-end production base for new optoelectronic materials, which was successfully opened in November.

At the same time, Fulai New Materials plans to raise 710 million yuan to invest in an OLED material project, while Vogel Optoelectronics will invest 628 million yuan in an AMOLED glass-based photolithography finishing project. In terms of packaging materials, bulk gas supply and other supporting links, Simowei invested 150 million yuan in OLED packaging projects in Shaanxi.

Secondly, the high-frequency rhythm of the capital market provides ample ammunition for technological innovation. In 2025, financing, listing and production expansion actions will emerge intensively in the industry.

Among them, Wright Optoelectronics plans to raise 766 million yuan to invest in four major projects including the construction of a new material R&D and production base. Among them, the largest project is the construction of Pucheng Laite Optoelectronic New Materials Production and R&D Base, with a total investment of over 520 million yuan. It is planned to invest 500 million yuan in fundraising funds. The new production workshop will be used for the R&D and manufacturing of OLED intermediates, pre-sublimation materials, pharmaceutical intermediates and perovskite materials. After the completion of the project, it will strengthen Wright Optoelectronics' full-process independent production capabilities in the field of OLED materials from raw materials to terminals.

Olade issued an announcement in November, announcing that it plans to raise no more than 300 million yuan through a private placement, of which 240 million yuan will be used to build an OLED display core material PSPI material production base project. The project is implemented by Olade Changxin, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Olade, with a construction period of three years. It aims to improve the mass production capacity of PSPI materials and accelerate localization substitution.

In the front-end materials track, Jiumu Chemical, a subsidiary of Wanrun Co., Ltd., officially listed on the New Third Board in March, strengthening its leading position in the field of pre-sublimation materials and intermediates; Yunji Technology also followed suit and listed on the New Third Board in May.

In addition, Xiahe Technology, Cuiying Chemical, Shangsai Optoelectronics and other companies have successively completed new rounds of financing ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of yuan. The injection of these funds has focused on areas such as luminescent doping materials, hole transport materials and high-efficiency blue light materials.

Substantial breakthroughs in technology are the key point for the development of the OLED materials industry in 2025. Among them, Visionox achieved mass production and commercial use of the fourth-generation OLED material pTSF this year. Screens equipped with this technology not only reduce power consumption by more than 12%, but also increase device life by 15%, significantly enhancing the competitiveness of domestic high-end displays;

Through the application of deuterium technology, Cuiying Chemical has developed deuterated OLED materials that are said to increase screen life by up to 2 to 3 times. The intensive release of these technological achievements marks the transition of Chinese material manufacturers from "process optimization" to "underlying innovation".

Finally, the in-depth evolution of the ecological collaboration model is reshaping the industry competition landscape.

In 2025, the cooperation between material manufacturers and panel giants will be upgraded from a simple purchasing relationship to an in-depth R&D strategic alliance.

Already and BOE signed a strategic cooperation agreement in September, which not only involves the supply of linear evaporation source equipment, but also covers the joint development and verification testing of a full range of materials such as luminescent materials, PSPI, and TFEInk.

In terms of Sino-foreign cooperation, UDC announced the signing of a long-term material license agreement with Shentianma to ensure that it will continue to provide its advanced phosphorescent material technology to China. In addition, the in-depth cooperation between TSK and Samsung Display, and Noctiluca and Chinese panel manufacturers, all point to the collaborative attack on next-generation blue-ray technology and high-brightness display performance. This cross-border and cross-link collaboration system provides a solid organizational guarantee for the industry explosion in 2025.

Conclusion

In 2025, driven by the continued growth of market output value and the awakening of awareness of technological sovereignty, domestic OLED materials have achieved substantial breakthroughs in the field of red, green and blue full-color materials. Although some extremely high-end dopants and core basic patents still face long-term containment by international giants, the support of capital and the deep integration of the industrial chain have paved the way for comprehensive replacement in the future.

Looking to the future, with the gradual release of the output value of high-generation panel lines and the extreme squeeze on material performance in new application scenarios, Chinese manufacturers are expected to have a greater say in the global OLED material market. These key developments in 2025 are not only a concentrated display of the industry’s accumulation over the past decade, but also a solid starting point for China to lead the global new display industry to a higher level in the future.

The industry has a more in-depth analysis of the development of the OLED industry. In April, TrendForce TrendForce’s LEDinside and TrendForce Display will hold the 2026 TrendForce New Display Industry Seminar at the JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen. There will be a special OLED display session where OLED industry analysts and industry colleagues will share the latest technological progress in the OLED industry. Don’t miss the exciting content.