1、 Overall situation of production capacity
（1） China's production capacity plays a crucial role in the global market
China holds a core position in the global production of silicon dioxide. Taking precipitation method silica as an example, its production capacity was 2.15 million tons in 2017 and has increased to 2.775 million tons by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% during this period. With this growth trend, China has occupied a considerable share of the total global silicon dioxide production capacity. Not only that, the domestic market prospects are also very broad. It is expected that by 2025, the size of the domestic silicon dioxide market will reach 18 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 10.6%.
（2） Clear regional distribution characteristics of production capacity
Xinjiang: With abundant coal resources, Xinjiang has significant advantages in industrial silicon production, accounting for over 60% of the country's industrial silicon production capacity. And industrial silicon is the upstream raw material of silicon dioxide, which provides solid raw material support for the development of the local silicon dioxide industry.
Yunnan and Sichuan: Yunnan and Sichuan have abundant hydropower resources and low hydropower costs, which provide cost advantages in industrial silicon production. The combined industrial silicon production capacity of these two regions accounts for 34.7%, effectively promoting the development of the local silicon dioxide industry.
Layout of new production capacity for gas-phase silica: The technological threshold for gas-phase silica is relatively high, and its new production capacity is mainly concentrated in Hubei, Jiangsu and other places. These regions have certain advantages in technology research and development and industrial support, attracting relevant enterprises to layout gas-phase silica projects.
2、 Development Trends of Production Capacity
（1） The production capacity of precipitated silica continues to expand
In terms of production capacity, China's precipitated silica production capacity has steadily increased from 2.15 million tons in 2017 to 2.775 million tons in 2023. In 2023, China's production of precipitated silica will reach 1.9763 million tons, occupying a dominant position in the global total production capacity. However, the production capacity of precipitated silica is greatly affected by fluctuations in raw material prices, and fluctuations in the prices of raw materials such as sodium silicate and sulfuric acid directly affect their capacity utilization.
（2） Significant growth in production capacity of gas-phase silica
In 2021, the global production capacity of gas-phase silica was 458900 tons, with China contributing the main amount of new production capacity. It is expected that by 2026, the global production capacity of gas-phase silica will reach 568800 tons, with an average annual growth rate of 3.6%. China will still occupy an important share of the world's new production capacity.
（3） Differences in technological routes affect production capacity patterns
Precipitation method: Precipitation method for silica has the advantages of low cost and mature technology. Currently, it accounts for 90% of the domestic silica production capacity and is the mainstream production method in China. It is mainly used in fields such as rubber and tires, with stable market demand. However, due to frequent fluctuations in raw material prices, enterprises need to closely monitor the dynamics of the raw material market during the production process in order to adjust production capacity reasonably.
Gas phase method: Gas phase method produces high-purity silica products, which dominate in high-end application fields. The average annual growth rate of global gas-phase silica production capacity is 3.6%, with China accounting for the majority of the world's new production capacity. However, the production technology threshold of gas-phase method is relatively high, especially the dispersion technology of water-based system urgently needs to be broken through, which to some extent limits the expansion of its application fields.
3、 Market development trend
（1） Changes in demand structure
The growth of conventional market demand is slowing down: the demand for silica in traditional markets is gradually flattening out, while the demand for precipitated silica in industries such as green tires and silicone rubber continues to rise, driving the consumption of precipitated silica to 68%. These industries have raised higher requirements for the performance and quality of silica, prompting companies to continuously improve product quality.
The demand in emerging fields is growing rapidly: Nano and hollow silica have shown great potential for applications in catalysis, medicine and other emerging fields, with a demand growth rate of up to 33.7%. With the continuous advancement of technology in these fields, the demand for nano and hollow silica is expected to further increase.
4、 Future Development Direction Outlook
（1） Precipitation method silica: optimizing production capacity structure
At present, there is an overcapacity problem in the low-end production capacity of precipitated silica. In the future, enterprises will transform into the field of special products, such as developing high value-added products such as toothpaste grade and battery separator grade. By improving product performance and quality to meet the demand for special silica in different industries, the market competitiveness of enterprises can be enhanced.
（2） Gas phase silica: breaking through technological bottlenecks
In the field of gas-phase silica, the proportion of special silica (such as nano and hollow products) production capacity will gradually increase. But core technology patents are mostly concentrated in the hands of foreign companies, resulting in high costs and large investments for technological iteration. Domestic enterprises need to increase research and development investment, strengthen industry university research cooperation, break through technological bottlenecks, master core technologies, in order to achieve sustainable development of the gas-phase silicon dioxide industry.