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
about 6 Mt a year (indicative); Europe about 1.2 Mt
Asia about 60% of world capacity; Europe and North America together about one-third. Qemetica holds about 14% of European glassy silicate capacity.
Qemetica market environment page
World output
about 5 Mt (indicative)
Not published; derived from capacity at about 85% utilisation (indicative).
Indicative
Capacity utilisation
not published
Furnaces run continuously; capacity is often shared with glass or precipitated silica plants.
Indicative
Concentration
low; Asia about 60% of capacity
Many regional producers because silicate solutions are heavy and low in value. In Europe, PQ and BASF lead; Qemetica is third with about 14% of glassy capacity and 35% of European free-market sales.
Qemetica
New capacity
not published
Growth follows precipitated silica for tyres and battery separators and Asian detergent demand; no named large projects found.
MarketsandMarkets (2024)
Top producing countries
European Union 20% · about 1.2 Mt capacity
China: largest producer within Asia's about 60% of capacity (indicative)
United States: PQ and Occidental (indicative)
Japan: Nippon Chemical, Tokuyama, Fuji Chemical
India: many furnace producers in Gujarat and elsewhere; Metro Chem Industries named among global key players
Qemetica; indicative; Qemetica (share derived against about 6 Mt); MarketsandMarkets company list; MarketsandMarkets (2024)
Largest producers: global
Company
Country
Volume
Year
Source
PQ Corporation Global leader in silicates (indicative)
US
not published
2024
MarketsandMarkets (2024); Qemetica
Qemetica (formerly CIECH) About 35% of European free-market sales
India has many small and medium furnace producers serving detergent, paper and precipitated silica users; national capacity and output were not found. Asia Pacific, including India, is the largest regional market (MarketsandMarkets).
Position by region
Region
Position
US
Mature market; PQ and Occidental supply.
EU
About 1.2 Mt capacity; energy costs and ETS coverage of soda ash raise costs.
India
Fragmented domestic industry; soda ash from Tata Chemicals, Nirma and GHCL.
China
Largest producer and consumer, with large precipitated silica capacity.