N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) Global Market and Trend

N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) is an organic compound consisting of a 5-membered lactam. It is a colorless transparent oily liquid with a slight ammonia smell. It is miscible with water and with the most common organic solvents. It is a polar solvent with outstanding characteristics. It has a wide range of applications because it offers very high solvency, high boiling point, low freezing point, and ease of handling. Most of NMP is produced by 1,4-butanediol (BDO) route which is dehydrogenation reaction to producer-butyrolactone (GBL), and then GBL and 40% of monomethyl amine (MMA) solution to synthesize NMP.

Figure Brief Manufacturing Process of N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP)

Source: Ganzhou Zhongneng

The global NMP market was valued to be 571 million USD in 2020 with the capacity/production of 726/405 thousand tons. The NMP production value is anticipated to have grown with a CAGR of 6.1% in the coming years to reach 1,450 million USD with the capacity/production of 1,106/759 thousand tons in 2026 driven by lithium-ion batteries booming.
BASF, Eastman, Shandong Changxin, Puyang Maiqi, Kenli Gengxin Chemical and Binzhou Yuneng are global key producers of NMP. There are also several smaller producers including Ashland, Mitsubishi Chemical, LyondellBasell, Shiny Chemical Industrial, Toyo Gosei, CNSG Anhui Hong Sifang, Puyang Guangming, Ganzhou Zhongneng, Jingrui. Following is the market share chart for global key producers.
The type of NMP can be split into electronic grade NMP, pharmaceutical-grade NMP and industrial-grade NMP. Here is the market share of NMP by type: