PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is one of the most widely used plastics in the world. From medical devices over drinking water pipes to green energy, it provides reliable solutions that improve quality of life. Strict European regulations ensure that PVC, also known as vinyl, is produced and used responsibly, with a strong focus on innovation and circularity.
Key Benefits of PVC
Technical Properties of PVC
PVC or vinyl combines a range of properties that make it a unique polymer. Its durability, resistance to fire and chemicals, electrical insulation, and versatile processing options allow it to serve reliably across essential sectors.
Durability & Weathering
PVC products are built to last. Pipes, windows, cables, gutters, downpipes, flooring, roofing membranes and other products provide decades of reliable service with minimal maintenance.
PVC’s durability comes from its molecular structure, where chlorine atoms bound into the polymer chain make it resistant to oxidation and ageing. This intrinsic stability ensures that PVC maintains its performance even in demanding environments.
Additives are also central to this longevity. Stabilisers protect against heat, light, and weathering, ensuring that rigid products such as pipes, cables, and window profiles retain their properties for decades. Plasticisers give flexible PVC lasting softness and resilience, enabling products like flooring, roofing membranes, and coated fabrics to perform reliably throughout their service life.
Another advantage is that PVC products generally require little or no surface treatment — for example, window profiles do not need painting. Combined with long lifespans, this reduces maintenance costs and environmental impact over time.
PVC also retains its durability through multiple recycling loops, contributing to a circular economy.
Fire Behaviour
PVC is inherently flame-retardant. It is difficult to ignite, self-extinguishes once the flame source is removed, and does not produce flaming droplets.
The chlorine content in PVC makes it resistant to ignition and prevents sustained flame spread. In standardised tests and real-world conditions, PVC burns slowly, gives off limited heat, and contributes less to fire propagation than many common materials.
When PVC burns under forced conditions, it tends to char and form a protective layer that further slows fire growth. Unlike many polymers, PVC does not drip flaming particles, an important safety factor in buildings and vehicles.
PVC combustion can generate dense smoke in laboratory tests, but in real fire scenarios PVC is rarely the dominant fuel, and its smoke contribution is limited. Hydrogen chloride (HCl), released in trace amounts at early fire stages, provides a distinctive smell that acts as a natural warning signal before toxic gases such as carbon monoxide become dangerous.
Ongoing innovation is improving fire performance even further. Flame Retardant Low Smoke (FRLS) and Low Smoke Acidity (LSA) PVC compounds already on the market significantly reduce smoke and acidity. Advanced formulations, including bio-based alternatives to traditional flame retardants and nanotechnology additives, are under development to push performance even higher.
All electrical cables and building products made of PVC are regulated under the EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and Low Voltage Directive, ensuring that only materials meeting strict fire safety standards can be placed on the European market.
Chemical Resistance
PVC is resistant to acids, alkalis, and salts, making it widely used in demanding environments.
PVC’s chemical stability is one of its strongest assets. It withstands most inorganic chemicals, including those found in water treatment, agriculture, and many industrial processes. This makes it ideal for applications such as exhaust gas ducts, ventilation systems, storage tanks, and fluid-handling equipment.
PVC only swells or dissolves in a limited group of organic solvents such as aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, and cyclic ethers. In most other situations, PVC remains unaffected and continues to perform over long service lives.
Its reliability against corrosion and aggressive media also contributes to sustainability: PVC pipes, for instance, maintain water quality without leaching or corroding, and require little maintenance over many decades of use.
Electrical Insulation
PVC is an excellent electrical insulator, making it the most widely used material for power, data, and communication cables.
PVC has a high dielectric strength and provides reliable insulation across a broad range of voltages and frequencies. It performs consistently in both dry and humid environments, ensuring safety and stability for household wiring, power distribution, and fibre optic cables.
Beyond insulation, PVC’s formulations can be tailored to improve fire resistance, reduce smoke density, or limit acid gas emissions. This adaptability allows PVC cables to meet the strict fire performance requirements set out under the EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR).
PVC’s flexibility and durability also extend cable lifetimes — for example, charging cables for electronic devices rarely break due to PVC’s resilience. Combined with its recyclability, these features make PVC cables a safe, long-lasting, and environmentally sustainable choice for electrical and communication systems.
Processability & Versatility
PVC is the most versatile plastic. It can be rigid or flexible, transparent or opaque, and manufactured into thousands of products across every major sector.
PVC’s unique versatility comes from both its molecular structure and its processing adaptability. Unlike semi-crystalline plastics such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), PVC is an amorphous polymer with polar chlorine atoms along its chain. This structure gives it chemical stability and makes it especially receptive to modification with additives.
Through compounding, PVC can be tailored for specific needs with stabilisers, plasticisers, pigments, and other additives.
In processing, PVC adapts easily to standard technologies. It can be extruded into pipes, profiles, and cables; calendered into wide films and sheets for flooring, roofing, or wall coverings; and moulded into fittings and smaller components.
PVC paste resins (plastisols) enable specialised applications such as coatings, gloves, artificial leather, and sealants, while foamed formulations create lightweight yet durable profiles and sheets.
Because PVC is a thermoplastic, it can be softened, shaped, cooled, and reprocessed multiple times without losing its essential properties. This makes it not only easy to work with but also inherently recyclable. Products can also be joined and shaped on-site through welding, bending, and vacuum forming — giving installers and manufacturers a wide range of practical options.
This adaptability explains why PVC is found in everything from healthcare devices to building products and energy infrastructure.