(Yicai Global) July 11 -- Covestro has begun construction of two new plants at the German polymer giant’s integrated site in the Chinese city of Shanghai, costing of tens of millions of US dollars, to meet increasing demand for high-performance materials used in offshore wind projects.

The factories will make waterborne polyurethane dispersions, used in eco-friendly coatings and adhesives for wind turbine blades, and polyurethane elastomers, used to protect submarine cables, the Leverkusen-based firm said in a July 8 statement. They are expected to be completed in two years.

Demand for dispersions is growing as new wind farms are built. Global offshore wind installations rose by 21.1 gigawatts to 56 GW last year from 2020, with 80 percent of new capacity built by China, according to a recent report by the Global Wind Energy Council. In the next five years, new global installed capacity will grow at a compound rate of 6.3 percent a year and exceed 30 GW in 2027, the report said.

Covestro’s Shanghai site will play an important role in the company’s mission to achieve climate neutrality by 2035, according to Lei Huanli, president of Covestro China. It serves both the Chinese and overseas markets, including the Asia-Pacific region, she added.

Covestro, a leading producer of high-quality polymer materials and components which separated from German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer in 2015, has invested EUR3.6 billion (USD3.7 billion) in its Shanghai base since 2001. The company now has 11 plants there, making it the world’s largest integrated production site.

Last year, Covestro’s global sales jumped 48.5 percent to EUR15.9 billion (USD16.1 billion). Over one-fifth came from China, the firm’s largest single market for the second year in a row.

Editor: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione