Top 10 Companies in the Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Industry (2024-2032): Market Pioneers Powering Green Hydrogen Production

In Business Insights
June 25, 2025

The Global Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Market was valued at USD 176 Million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 2,140 Million by 2032, growing at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 43.5% during the forecast period (2024-2032). This rapid expansion is fueled by the global push for green hydrogen production, where hydrophilic PPS separators serve as critical components in alkaline water electrolysis systems.

As nations accelerate their decarbonization efforts, these specialized material manufacturers are enabling efficient hydrogen generation by developing durable membranes that combine PPS’s chemical resilience with enhanced hydrophilicity for superior ion conduction. This article profiles the Top 10 Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Manufacturers – a mix of polymer specialists, chemical giants, and green tech innovators driving this essential hydrogen infrastructure component.


🔟 1. Agfa-Gevaert Group

Headquarters: Mortsel, Belgium
Key Offering: Zirfon PERL membranes for alkaline electrolysis

Agfa leverages its 150+ years of materials science expertise to produce advanced hydrophilic PPS separators that demonstrate exceptional durability in harsh alkaline environments while maintaining optimal ionic conductivity up to 90°C.

Material Advantages:

  • Thin (300-500 μm) composite structures with superior gas barrier properties
  • Demonstrated operational lifetime exceeding 60,000 hours
  • Compatible with industrial-scale electrolyzer designs

Download FREE Sample Report: Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Market – View in Detailed Research Report


9️⃣ 2. Toray Industries

Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Key Offering: TORELINA® PPS-based electrolytic separators

The Japanese materials conglomerate applies its polymer expertise to develop hydrophilic PPS membranes demonstrating oxidation resistance in 30% KOH solutions at 80°C, with ionic resistances below 0.3 Ω·cm².

Technical Capabilities:

  • Proprietary sulfonation surface treatments
  • Dimensional stability across wide temperature ranges
  • Pore size control between 10-100 μm

8️⃣ 3. Carbon Energy Technology

Headquarters: Changzhou, China
Key Offering: Integrated PPS separator stacks

This Chinese innovator specializes in complete membrane-electrode assemblies that reduce electrolyzer system integration complexity while delivering current densities up to 600 mA/cm² at 2.0V.

Product Features:

  • Reinforced composite structures with ZrO2 coatings
  • Minimal gas crossover (<1%) at differential pressures up to 5 bar
  • Custom formulations for high-pressure electrolysis

Download FREE Sample Report: Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Market – View in Detailed Research Report


7️⃣ 4. Guangzhou Kewoke Tech

Headquarters: Guangzhou, China
Key Offering: Cost-effective hydrophilic PPS fabrics

Kewoke’s patented surface modification process creates PPS materials with water contact angles below 30° while retaining the polymer’s inherent chemical resistance, offering OEMs 20-30% cost savings versus imported alternatives.

Manufacturing Strengths:

  • Roll-to-roll production capacity exceeding 500,000 m²/year
  • Thickness options from 0.2-1.2 mm
  • Bubble point pressures >3.5 bar

6️⃣ 5. Shenzhen Tongwei

Headquarters: Shenzhen, China
Key Offering: Reinforced Zirfon-type membranes

Tongwei’s glass fiber-reinforced PPS separators demonstrate tensile strengths exceeding 60 MPa while maintaining ionic conductivities above 0.25 S/cm, making them ideal for dynamic load applications.

Performance Highlights:

  • Thermal expansion coefficient <25 ppm/°C
  • Minimal dimensional change in boiling KOH solutions
  • Corrosion-resistant seam welding techniques

5️⃣ 6. Tianjin Jinlun

Headquarters: Tianjin, China
Key Offering: Custom porous PPS membranes

Specializing in precision-engineered porosity, Jinlun delivers membranes with tailored void fractions (30-70%) and pore size distributions to optimize bubble point pressures and ionic transport.

Engineering Capabilities:

  • Graded porosity designs
  • Multilayer composite configurations
  • In-house testing under simulated electrolyzer conditions

Get Full Report Here: Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Market – View in Detailed Research Report


4️⃣ 7. Ningbo Zhongke

Headquarters: Ningbo, China
Key Offering: Low-resistance PPS diaphragms

Zhongke’s thin-film (<0.3mm) separators achieve area-specific resistances below 0.2 Ω·cm² while exhibiting faradaic efficiencies exceeding 98% in industrial electrolyzers.

Technical Advantages:

  • Asymmetric pore structures
  • Inorganic nanoparticle doping
  • Accelerated lifetime testing protocols

3️⃣ 8. YuanTech Beijing

Headquarters: Beijing, China
Key Offering: Advanced functionalized PPS

YuanTech’s molecular engineering approach creates covalently bonded hydrophilic groups (-SO3H, -COOH) on PPS backbones, achieving intrinsic hydrophilicity without surface coatings.

Breakthrough Technologies:

  • Plasma-induced graft polymerization
  • In-situ radical copolymerization
  • Controlled oxidation techniques

2️⃣ 9. Tianjin Kairui

Headquarters: Tianjin, China
Key Offering: Microporous PPS membranes

Kairui’s precision phase separation process creates interconnected micropores (0.1-10μm) that enable ionic conductivities rivaling traditional asbestos diaphragms while eliminating health hazards.

Quality Benchmarks:

  • Batch-to-batch consistency <3% variation
  • ISO 9001 certified production
  • Full material traceability

1️⃣ 10. Zhejiang NHU

Headquarters: Shaoxing, China
Key Offering: High-performance PPS composites

NHU combines proprietary polymerization with advanced compounding to produce PPS materials with controlled crystallinity for optimized mechanical-chemical performance tradeoffs.

Material Science Leadership:

  • Molecular weight distribution control
  • Reactive blending technologies
  • In-situ nano-reinforcement

Get Full Report Here: Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Market – View in Detailed Research Report


🌍 Market Outlook: Separators Enabling the Hydrogen Economy

The hydrophilic PPS separator market represents a critical enabler for scaling green hydrogen production. With alkaline electrolyzer installations projected to exceed 120 GW by 2030, these materials will see unprecedented demand as performance and durability requirements intensify.

📈 Key Industry Developments:

  • Material innovations targeting <0.15 Ω·cm² area-specific resistance
  • Development of reinforced thin-film (<200μm) architectures
  • Integration of real-time membrane health monitoring
  • Emergence of hybrid organic-inorganic separator formulations

Get Full Report Here: Hydrophilic PPS Electrolytic Separator Market – View in Detailed Research Report

The profiled companies are not merely component suppliers – they’re delivering the material foundations for terawatt-scale hydrogen infrastructure essential to global decarbonization efforts.