Why is electronic-grade isopropanol seeing a supply gap while industrial-grade capacity is oversupplied?

Why is electronic-grade isopropanol seeing a supply gap while industrial-grade capacity is oversupplied?
China's IPA market is sharply polarized. Industrial-grade capacity exceeds 1.9 million tons with utilization around 60-72%, while electronic-grade IPA faces a domestic shortfall of roughly 12,000 tons per year. The global electronic-grade IPA market was valued at $2.74 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $4.23 billion by 2031, a 6.4% CAGR. Demand is driven by semiconductor fabs — each 10,000 12-inch wafers consume about 2.5 tons of electronic-grade IPA — plus lithium battery electrolyte purification at 0.8 tons per GWh. Domestic producers like Jianye Microelectronics and XinHua Chemical are expanding capacity, but certification barriers remain high, keeping most supply in the hands of a few players.