Everbright Securities: The application prospects of COFs in fields such as new energy are promising, and it is recommended to pay attention to PPM(SuZhou)

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Everbright Securities released a research report stating that Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are a new type of porous crystalline material with precisely adjustable pore channels and surface functionalities. With their unique molecular design and excellent performance, COFs show broad application prospects in energy storage, environmental governance, and biomedicine. The firm remains optimistic about the future development of COFs materials. It suggests paying attention to: PPM(SuZhou) (300905.SZ), which is currently planning to construct a production line with an annual capacity of 200 tons for COFs materials. The project has completed approval procedures and is currently working on production line design, environmental assessment, and safety assessment procedures. Subsequently, the existing factory buildings of PPM(SuZhou) will be used to construct this project.

The main points of Everbright Securities are as follows:

Continuous improvement in COFs structural design and innovative synthesis methods drive industrial breakthroughs

Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are a class of crystalline porous polymer materials formed by organic molecules connected through covalent bonds, featuring orderly nanochannels, high specific surface area, and excellent thermal and chemical stability. As an important branch of Porous Organic Frameworks (POFs), COFs can be divided into two categories: two-dimensional (graphene-like structure) and three-dimensional (diamond-like structure). Their structures can be precisely controlled through organic monomers, combining advantages such as lightweight, high porosity, and functional designability. These materials are synthesized through solvothermal methods, ionothermal methods, etc., showing application potential in catalysis, energy storage, and biomedicine. Their strong covalent bond network structure allows them to withstand high temperatures of 500-600°C while maintaining stability. The development of COFs represents the evolutionary trend of porous materials from inorganic to organic and from disordered to ordered.

Accelerated cross-domain application of COFs releases growth potential in new energy and life sciences

Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs), with their unique designable crystal structure and excellent physicochemical properties, are triggering technological revolutions in multiple fields. This material achieves precise control over pore size, surface chemical properties, and electronic structure through molecular-level assembly, demonstrating performance advantages that traditional porous materials find difficult to match. 1) In the new energy sector, COFs serve as efficient electrode materials, significantly enhancing the energy conversion efficiency of batteries; 2) In environmental governance, their ultra-high adsorption selectivity and capacity provide new solutions for water treatment and air purification; 3) In biomedicine, the high drug loading capacity and controllable release characteristics of COFs open new avenues for targeted therapy; 4) In the field of gas separation and storage, the regular pore structure of COFs enables efficient capture and enrichment of specific gases.

Industrial breakthrough for COFs materials, solvent-free synthesis technology paves the way for 200 tons of production capacity

The global demand for COFs materials is rapidly growing. QYResearch predicts that the market size for COFs used in solid-state batteries will increase from USD 0.05 billion in 2024 to USD 0.61 billion in 2031 (CAGR 35%). PPM(SuZhou), as a domestic enterprise for ton-level mass production of COFs materials, currently has a production capacity of 10 tons/year and plans to expand to 200 tons/year in the future. Its joint venture company, YaoKe New Materials, employs the melt green synthesis technology developed by Zhang Zhenjie’s team from Nankai University, and with the technical support of Bohai Chemical, has achieved solvent-free ton-level mass production, with products applied in nuclear waste treatment, VOCs governance, and other fields PPM(SuZhou) occupies a dominant market position through multiple patents and first-mover advantages in the synthesis and mass production of COFs. In addition, CATL is also actively laying out the industrialization of COFs materials and has applied for multiple patents for the application of COFs in battery separators, forming a differentiated technical route compared to PPM(SuZhou). With the verification of applications in multiple fields, the industrialization process of COFs materials is accelerating.

Risk Warning: Rapid decline in raw material prices and the risk of maintaining high levels, technical route risks, and risks of downstream demand falling short of expectations