Ethyl Silicone Rubber Selected for National "Open Bidding for Key Tasks" Program, Domestic Substitution Accelerates

In April 2026, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) officially announced the list of selected units for the "2025 Fine Chemical Key Product Innovation Open Bidding for Key Tasks" program. A piece of news drew significant attention from the silicone industry: Ethyl Silicone Rubber was included in a national-level innovation task for the first time, with leading domestic enterprises selected as the bidding units. This marks the official entry of Ethyl Silicone Rubber—a specialty silicone rubber long reliant on imports—into the national strategic technology.

What is Ethyl Silicone Rubber?

Ethyl Silicone Rubber differs fundamentally from traditional methyl vinyl silicone rubber (commonly known as "vinyl silicone rubber" in the market). While traditional silicone rubber has methyl groups on the molecular side chains, Ethyl Silicone Rubber introduces ethyl groups (-CH₂CH₃) replacing some methyl groups, thereby disrupting the regularity of the molecular chain.

This structural design brings unique performance advantages: the glass transition temperature can be as low as -120°C with no crystallization across the entire temperature range. This property allows it to maintain excellent flexibility and sealing reliability even in ultra-low temperature environments where traditional silicone rubber would become hard and brittle.

Breaking Import Dependence

For a long time, the core production technology for Ethyl Silicone Rubber has been controlled by a few overseas chemical giants. The complex synthesis process involves the preparation and ring-opening copolymerization of specialty monomers such as hexaethylcyclotrisiloxane, limiting domestic large-scale production capacity. High-end products have long relied on imports, with high prices and unstable supply.

The "Open Bidding for Key Tasks" program specifically targets this critical bottleneck. The tasks focus on strategic sectors including new energy vehicles, medical health, rail transportation, aerospace, and defense, requiring bidding units to collaborate on intermediate raw materials, key materials, and industrial technology.

Strategic Significance

Industry experts note that including Ethyl Silicone Rubber in the national task has triple significance:

First, strategic value recognized at the national level. This recognition affirms the product's importance for industrial and supply chain security.

Second, accelerated core technology breakthrough. The program will mobilize top domestic research resources to solve industrialization challenges including specialty monomer synthesis, precision molecular structure control, and large-scale production processes.

Third, expanded high-end applications. The program's guiding role will extend to downstream users, building confidence in adopting domestic Ethyl Silicone Rubber materials for high-end products.

Looking ahead, as the national task progresses, Ethyl Silicone Rubber will transition from laboratory to industrial-scale production, providing a solid material foundation for China's high-end manufacturing.