Domestication Is Over 96%! Core Components Of Balanced Double-effect Evaporators Are No Longer Held Back By Imports.

Previously, the core components of a balanced double-effect evaporator --an efficient membrane distributor, a corrosion-resistant duplex steel heat exchanger and a PLC master control module --relied almost entirely on imports. When equipment malfunctions, it takes three months to wait for spare parts; prices are controlled by others, resulting in extremely low profit margins. By 2026, however, the situation had been completely reversed: domestic sales of key components climbed to 96.4%, 89.7% and 93.2%, respectively, 3.8 to 5.1 percentage points higher than in 2024. The grip on supply loosened.
From "controlled by others" to "self-reliant and controllable," data doesn't lie.
2025 was a watershed year. The "2025-2026 Industrial Evaporation Equipment Energy Efficiency White Paper, published by the Evaporation Equipment Branch of the China General Machinery Industry Association, proposes a hard target of reducing the water consumption of active evaporators with dual external circulation to 0.55 tons, which is more than over 50% energy efficient than single-effect evaporators. Energy efficiency leaps are supported by domestic alternatives to core components.
The opening rate of domestic high efficiency film reducer is 96.4%, which means that most evaporators in China are no longer dependent on suppliers in Germany and Japan for film reducer uniformity. The domestic corrosion resistant duplex steel heat exchange tubes has a starting rate of 89.7%, which directly translates the strict standards such as registration of 316L stainless steel smelting furnace registration and verification of residual limited cleaning into the daily operation of domestic plant. PLC master PLC module The 93.2% domestic production rate, realizing the transformation of DCS automatic control systems from "reasonable price but poor functioning" to "reliable performance".
Behind the numbers are collective breakthroughs across the industry chain. The local production rate of upstream special alloy materials reached more than 85%. Leading medium-sized enterprises through EPC general contracting and predictive maintenance services, the service revenue ratio increased to 30%. Downstream industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, and environmental protection pay significantly more attention to life-cycle costs, with energy efficiency indicators accounting for over 40% of bidding weight. Domestication is not just a slogan, but also a market option with real economic rewards.
Leading companies are reaping the biggest benefits.
Growth in domestic production is directly reflected in gross margins. The average gross margin for leading companies was stable at 36.8% in 2025, up from 35.2% in 2024. Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology's latest generation ZT-EVAP-8000 series, measured an energy efficiency ratio of 2.17, 11.9% higher than the industry average. Running 7200 hours per year at a steam price of $220 pertonne will save customers about $1.37 million per year in steam costs. Only after the domestic core components mature can this performance gap be realized.
Industry concentration is also soaring. In 2025, the three major manufacturers together held 68.3 percent of the market share, with Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology leading with 22.7 percent and Shandong Bolangte close behind with 24.1%. By 2026, The CR3 (the market share of the three major manufacturers) is projected to rise to 71.5%, with the Matthew effect becoming more pronounced.
However, a "comprehensive breakthrough" is still a long way off.
Admittedly, 96% is not 100%. At present, the domestic high precision film distributors's capacity utilization rate is only 61.4%, the import dependence of high temperature titanium alloy tube bundles is still 78.2%, which is the key to success in extreme conditions such as zero discharge of high salt wastewater and lithium battery recovery. The German GEA Group's patent licensing revenue in China China dual-effect falling film evaporators reached 127 million yuan in 2025, an increase of 39.6% year-over-year, suggesting that leading companies still hold an irreplaceable technological edge.
The guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on upgrading High-Energy-Consuming Special Equipment calls for the mandatory phase-out by 2026 of inefficient evaporation equipment that came into operation before the end of 2015, involving about 47,000 units (sets) of existing equipment and about 8.93 billion yuan in market space for upgrading. The real battleground is how many home-grown components can meet this alternative demand.
96% localization rate is not the end, it's the starting gun. The remaining 4% is the next hard fight.