(May 16, 2026) It was learned from the domestic silica industry and downstream industry linkage development forum that with the accelerated upgrading of downstream core industries such as tires, daily chemicals, new energy, and electronics, higher requirements have been put forward for the performance, specifications, and environmental protection standards of silica products, which has directly driven the optimization of product structure and technology iteration in the silica industry, and the trend of coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain has become increasingly prominent, promoting the industry to enter a new stage of high-quality development.
As the core downstream field of silica, the tire industry's green and lightweight transformation has become the core driving force for the upgrading of silica demand. On May 16, a number of domestic tire companies disclosed that they are recently increasing the research and development and production of green tires and special tires for new energy vehicles, which have significantly improved the performance requirements of silica such as dispersion, wear resistance, and low rolling resistance, forcing upstream silica enterprises to develop high-end products with high dispersion and low pollution. According to the data, since the beginning of this year, the demand for silica in the field of green tires has increased by 25.6% year-on-year, of which high-end modified silica accounts for more than 60%.
In addition to the tire industry, the demand explosion in emerging downstream fields such as daily chemicals and electronics has opened up new growth space for the silica industry. On May 16, market feedback showed that in the field of high-end daily chemicals, silica, as a toothpaste friction agent and skin care product filler, continued to rise due to its advantages of mildness, environmental protection, and strong adsorption. In the field of electronics, high-purity fumed silica is used for chip packaging and electronic component insulation materials, which has become the focus of research and development of domestic enterprises, and the demand for related products has increased by 32.1% year-on-year.
The upgrading of downstream demand has promoted in-depth collaborative research and development between silica enterprises and downstream enterprises. Today, a leading silica company and a well-known domestic tire company jointly announced that the "Green Silica - Tire Collaborative R&D Laboratory" jointly built by the two sides was officially launched, focusing on the research and development and application of low rolling resistance silica, and is expected to achieve large-scale mass production of related products within the year, which can reduce tire rolling resistance by more than 15% and help improve the battery life of new energy vehicles.
From the perspective of industrial chain coordination, downstream enterprises actively participate in the research and development and design of upstream silica products, provide accurate demand parameters, and help upstream enterprises reduce R&D costs and improve product adaptability; Upstream enterprises continue to optimize production processes and customize products according to downstream demand, forming a virtuous circle of "demand-driven R&D, R&D supports production, and production adaptation demand". According to data from industry associations on May 16, the current collaborative R&D coverage rate between domestic silica enterprises and downstream core enterprises has reached 78%, an increase of 19 percentage points over the same period last year.
Industry experts said that the industry dynamics on May 16 fully show that downstream industrial upgrading has become the core driving force for the transformation of the silica industry. In the future, with the continuous development of downstream new energy, high-end manufacturing and other industries, the demand for high-end and customized silica will be further released, and the coordination and cooperation between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain will be closer, promoting the silica industry to achieve product upgrading and efficiency improvement, and at the same time helping the high-quality development of downstream industries.
