# Nitric acid: Production Hundreds of plants, each tied to an ammonia site Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/production/ 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 Indicative; USGS MCS 2026 (Nitrogen); DCPC statistics not reached #### 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](https://www.yara.com/) | | **CF Industries** Nitric acid for AN and UAN; sells N2O abatement credits (indicative) | US | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.cfindustries.com/) | | **BASF** Captive acid for MDI, TDI and adipic acid | Germany | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.basf.com/) | | **EuroChem** AN and nitrophosphate producer | Switzerland / Russia | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.eurochemgroup.com/) | | **Orica** Technical AN for explosives | Australia | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.orica.com/) | | **Dyno Nobel** Technical AN for explosives | Australia / US | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.dynonobel.com/) | | **Groupe Chimique Tunisien** Gabes abatement project, about 400 kt CO2e a year | Tunisia | not published | 2021 | [NACAG/IKI (2021)](https://www.international-climate-initiative.com/en/iki-media/news/the_nitric_acid_climate_action_group_nacag/) | #### 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](https://www.dfpcl.com/) | | **Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC)** Weak and concentrated nitric acid at Bharuch | India | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.gnfc.in/) | | **Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF)** Nitric acid and AN at Trombay | India | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.rcfltd.com/) | | **Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC)** Nitric acid for AN and nylon intermediates (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | [not published in sources used](https://www.gsfclimited.com/) | 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. | ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/correlation/index.md) - [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/routes/index.md) - [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/feedstocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/movement/index.md) - [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/regulation/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/links/index.md)