Hydrofluoric acid: Production
Why China's mines decide how much HF the world gets
Why China's mines decide how much HF the world gets What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | not published in free sources | Capacity is set by fluorspar availability; China Kings Resources reported its HF plants running nearly at full capacity in 2025 (Asian Metal). | Fluorspar tile (Asian Metal) |
| World output | about 3 Mt HF (2025, derived) | Derived from 65% acid grade of 10 Mt fluorspar at about 2.1 t per t HF; excludes FSA-based output. | Fluorspar tile (USGS MCS 2026; Clarke and Huxtable 2017) |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Chinese capacity has run below nameplate when fluorspar was short during mine safety closures in 2024-25 (USGS). | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Concentration | China over half of HF (indicative); China 60% of fluorspar, top-3 fluorspar countries 90% (2025) | Concentration follows fluorspar. Daikin, Solvay and Orbia are named as leading players by PRCO (2026); Chinese leaders include Do-Fluoride, Dongyue, Juhua and Yingpeng. | USGS MCS 2026; PRCO via GII (2026) |
| New capacity | growth tied to LiPF6, PVDF and HFO projects | Navin Fluorine 40 kt/yr AHF at Dahej (Feb 2026); Tinci Materials targets 100 kt/yr of LiPF6 (Fairfield); new fluorspar mines in Xinjiang (300 kt/yr acidspar from Sept 2025) and Canada support more HF. | ChemIn Digest (2026); Fairfield (2025); USGS MCS 2026 |
Top producing countries
- China: largest producer and user; China mines 60% of fluorspar and makes 85-90% of LiPF6 (indicative share of HF: over half)
- Mexico: Orbia (Koura) integrated fluorspar and HF; Mexico mined 1.5 Mt fluorspar in 2025
- United States: AHF plants in Louisiana and Texas; imported 76 kt HF in 2025
- Europe (Germany, Italy, France, Spain): Solvay, Fluorchemie, Derivados del Fluor; Italy took 18.3% of acidspar import value (2024)
- India: Navin Fluorine (about 60 kt/yr from 2026), SRF, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Tanfac; India took 27.0% of acidspar import value (2024)
- Japan and South Korea: electronic-grade HF (Stella Chemifa, Morita, Soulbrain)
Largest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orbia (Koura) Integrated from the world's largest fluorspar mine | Mexico | not published | 2025 | PRCO via GII (2026) |
| Daikin Industries Refrigerants and fluoropolymers | Japan | not published | 2025 | PRCO via GII (2026) |
| Solvay (Syensqo for specialty polymers) European HF and fluorochemicals | Belgium | not published | 2025 | PRCO via GII (2026) |
| Honeywell Geismar AHF; HFO refrigerants | US | not published | 2025 | Fairfield (2025) |
| Do-Fluoride New Materials HF, LiPF6 and electronic chemicals | China | not published | 2025 | Fairfield (2025) |
| Dongyue Group Integrated refrigerants and fluoropolymers | China | not published | 2025 | Fairfield (2025) |
| Stella Chemifa Electronic-grade HF | Japan | not published | 2025 | Fairfield (2025) |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navin Fluorine International Rs 450 crore Dahej plant in commercial production | India | 60 kt/yr AHF capacity | 2026 | 5paisa (Surat about 20 kt/yr); ChemIn Digest (Dahej 40 kt/yr, Feb 2026) |
| SRF Captive AHF for refrigerants and fluoropolymers at Dahej | India | not published | 2025 | IMARC TOC listing |
| Gujarat Fluorochemicals Captive HF for refrigerants, PTFE, PVDF and LiPF6 | India | not published | 2025 | Fairfield (2025) |
| Tanfac Industries HF and fluorine chemicals in Tamil Nadu (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
India has a growing integrated fluorochemical industry (Navin, SRF, GFL) that makes HF captively from imported acidspar; India took 27.0% of world acidspar import value in 2024. Navin's Dahej plant lifted its AHF capacity to about 60 kt/yr in 2026.
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Imports 76 kt HF (2025) and all its fluorspar; Kigali-driven AIM Act phase-down cuts HFC demand by 85% by 2036. |
| EU | F-gas Regulation 2024/573 phases out HFCs by 2050; REACH PFAS restriction proposal threatens some fluoropolymer demand. |
| India | Fast-growing integrated fluorochemicals; dependent on imported acidspar from South Africa, Mexico, Vietnam and China. |
| China | Dominant in fluorspar, HF, refrigerants and LiPF6; uses export controls on strategic minerals. |
| Japan | Electronic-grade HF leader; restricted exports to Korea in 2019. |
| Middle East | Aluminium smelters are large AlF3 buyers; little HF made. |