(May 13, 2026) Entering May, the domestic silica industry no longer shows a homogeneous market of general rise and fall, affected by multiple factors such as fluctuations in upstream raw materials, tightening environmental protection policies, and downstream application upgrades, the market presents a structural differentiation pattern of intensified competition for low-end production capacity and short supply of high-end special materials, and the development logic of the industry has shifted from a simple supply and demand game to the competition of quality and application tracks.

On the upstream raw material side, the prices of basic chemical raw materials such as sodium silicate, liquid alkali, and sulfuric acid have risen slightly recently, energy costs continue to be under pressure, the profit margins of small and medium-sized precipitation silica enterprises have been continuously compressed, and the backward production capacity of some areas with strict environmental protection control is limited. On the other hand, the leading large-scale enterprises rely on the advantages of centralized raw material procurement and energy-saving production, with outstanding cost control capabilities, and the production side focuses more on high value-added products, further improving industry concentration.

The structural changes on the downstream application side are particularly obvious. The demand for silica in traditional tires and ordinary rubber products is stable, but the increase is limited; The rapid increase in emerging fields such as new energy vehicle rubber accessories, photovoltaic sealants, lithium battery separator coatings, high-end daily chemical makeup, and pharmaceutical excipients has led to a surge in demand for gas-phase silica and special precipitation silica with high specific surface area, high purity, and low impurities. At the same time, overseas markets are more willing to purchase high-end functional silica, the export structure continues to be optimized, the proportion of low-end general material exports has decreased, and the proportion of high-end customized product exports has steadily increased.

Industry insiders pointed out that the current silica industry is in a critical period of transformation and upgrading, and the model of relying solely on capacity expansion is unsustainable. In the future, with the continuous expansion of the new energy and new material industries, functional, refined, and customized silica will become the core driving force for the growth of the industry. In the short term, in late May, driven by cost support and high-end demand, the overall market of silica will maintain a differentiated operation trend.