On July 8, 2025, Covestro (formerly known as Evonik Degussa) announced that it will invest 120 million euros to build the world's largest gas-phase white carbon black production base in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone, with a designed production capacity of 80000 tons per year, expected to be put into operation in 2028. The project adopts a closed-loop production process to increase the conversion rate of silicon tetrachloride to 99.5%, and all by-product hydrochloric acid is reused in the chlor alkali industry. The President of the Asia Pacific region of the company stated that the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle and semiconductor industries is the core driving force for this expansion. Data shows that the import volume of gas-phase white carbon black in China will reach 42000 tons in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 21%, indicating a huge potential for domestic substitution.