In the context of green chemistry and sustainability, dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has been widely used owing to its low toxicity and environmental-friendliness. The raw materials for DMC include ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, methanol and syngas. DMC manufacturers include manufacturers of industrial-grade DMC, represented by Shandong Hualu-Hengsheng Chemical and Zhejiang Petroleum&Chemical, and those of battery-grade DMC, including Shandong Shida Shenghua Chemical, Shandong Haike and Jiangsu Oxiranchem Company and CNSG Anhui Hong Sifang. DMC is mainly used in electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, polycarbonates, developer solution and coatings. 

It is worth noting that Shandong Shida Shenghua Chemical, the world's largest battery-grade DMC manufacturer, holds a global market share of 40% and accounts for more than 60% of China’s DMC exports. and the Company captures a 50% share in other solvents markets. Its customers include Chizhou Tinci High-tech Materials and Ningde Guotai Huarong New Material at home, and Mitsubishi Chemical, Central Glass and Enchem in overseas markets, all of which are global leading manufacturers of electrolytes for ithium-ion batteries. 
 Its customers’ customers include Panasonic, CATL (the core lithium-ion battery supplier to Huawei), LG Chem, Samsung and other global leading lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

As one of the four key raw materials for lithium-ion batteries, electrolytes, composed of solvents, solutes and additives, are made to order based on formulations. Lithium-ion batteries are mainly used in automotive power system, energy storage and 3C products (computers, communication and consumer electronics). According to EVTank, global lithium ion battery shipments in 2022 totaled 957.7GWh, up 70.3%. Of which 684.2GWH was power battery shipments, up 84.4%; 159.3GWH was energy storage battery shipments, an increase of 140.3%; and 114.2GWH was consumer battery shipments, down 8.8%. Driven by the rapid growth in lithium-ion battery shipments, in 2022 the volume of global electrolyte sales reached 1.04 million tonnes, up 70.4%. In the year, China accounted for 69.0% of the global lithium-ion battery shipments, mainly due to the significant growth in automotive power battery and energy storage battery shipments. It is expected that lithium-ion batteries will remain the main battery technology used in new energy vehicles and energy storage over the next ten years.

According to GGII, China's lithium-ion battery shipments amounted to 605GWh for the first three quarters, up 34% and close to the shipments for the full year of 2022. China's lithium-ion battery industry continued to grow rapidly for the first three quarters but at a slowed pace. The growth may accelerate in the fourth quarter, a peak season for the industry. GGII expects that lithium-ion battery shipments will grow by about 35% in 2023, continuing to drive DMC demand.