Nitric acid: Production
Hundreds of plants, each tied to an ammonia site
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 as a world total; about 500 plants (Clariant) or 400-600 (Calyx Global) | Plants are spread across every ammonia-producing region. Output of about 65.5 Mt implies average plant output near 130 kt/yr. | Clariant via Agro-Chemistry (2022); Calyx Global |
| World output | about 65.5 Mt HNO3 a year | The figure is quoted by Clariant for its 2022 N2O catalyst campaign; no newer public total was found. | Agro-Chemistry (9 June 2022) |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | European plants cut runs sharply when gas prices spiked in 2022 and imported ammonia instead; utilisation follows AN and CAN margins. | Indicative |
| Concentration | low; no country or company shares published | Hundreds of plants serve local AN and chemical markets. Yara, CF Industries, BASF, EuroChem, Orica and Dyno Nobel are among the largest operators. | Indicative |
| New capacity | not published | New capacity follows AN projects for mining in Asia, Africa and Australia, and nitrophosphate and NPK growth in China and India. CRU (2025) points to Asia as the growth driver. | CRU BCInsight (Sep 2025) |
Top producing countries
- China: not published here; largest producer by plant count (indicative)
- European Union: not published here; Europe is the largest AN and CAN consuming region (indicative)
- United States: not published here; USGS lists nitric acid among the main US nitrogen compounds produced
- Russia: not published here; large AN exporter (EuroChem, Acron, Uralchem)
- India: not published here
Largest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yara International Largest maker of nitrate fertilisers; operates N2O abatement across its plants (indicative) | Norway | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| CF Industries Nitric acid for AN and UAN; sells N2O abatement credits (indicative) | US | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| BASF Captive acid for MDI, TDI and adipic acid | Germany | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| EuroChem AN and nitrophosphate producer | Switzerland / Russia | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| Orica Technical AN for explosives | Australia | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| Dyno Nobel Technical AN for explosives | Australia / US | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| Groupe Chimique Tunisien Gabes abatement project, about 400 kt CO2e a year | Tunisia | not published | 2021 | NACAG/IKI (2021) |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Largest merchant nitric acid seller in India (indicative); plants at Taloja and Dahej | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC) Weak and concentrated nitric acid at Bharuch | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) Nitric acid and AN at Trombay | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
| Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC) Nitric acid for AN and nylon intermediates (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources used |
India's nitric acid is made by a handful of fertiliser and chemical companies next to their ammonia plants and is close to self-sufficient (indicative). Demand from mining explosives and nitroaromatics is growing; capacity and output figures were not found in the sources used.
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Integrated with low-cost shale-gas ammonia; N2O from nitric acid is reported to EPA's greenhouse gas programme. |
| EU | Nitric acid N2O has been in the EU ETS since 2013, so most EU plants have abatement; high gas prices in 2022 forced curtailments. |
| India | Few producers, linked to gas-based ammonia; N2O abatement status not published. |
| China | Large fleet; abatement uptake not published in sources used. |
| Japan | Small domestic fleet serving chemicals. |
| Middle East | Some AN capacity, but most regional nitrogen leaves as ammonia and urea. |