(May 18, 2026) According to the research data of domestic silica industry segments, since 2026, China's silica industry has gradually gotten rid of the dilemma of homogeneous competition, and the product segments of each segment have shown a differentiated development trend.
Precipitation method silica: consolidate the traditional foundation, iteratively upgrade to meet needs. As the largest and most widely used subcategory in the silica industry, precipitation silica is mainly used in traditional fields such as tires and rubber products, currently accounting for 78% of the industry's total production capacity. Since 2026, precipitation silica enterprises have accelerated product iteration, focusing on improving product reinforcement performance and dispersion, and launching special products suitable for new energy vehicle tires and high-end rubber seals, effectively enhancing the added value of products. At the same time, the company optimizes the production process, reduces energy consumption and pollutant emissions, promotes the transformation of the traditional precipitation method of silica to "low-cost, cost-effective and green", and continues to consolidate the traditional market share. According to the data, the output of precipitated silica from January to April increased by 8.5% year-on-year, of which the output of high-end special products increased by 22.3% year-on-year.
Gas phase silica: focus on high-end tracks and break through technical barriers. With the advantages of high purity, large specific surface area and good dispersion, fumed silica is mainly used in high-end coatings, fine chemicals, new energy and other high-end fields, although the production capacity accounts for only 12%, but the output value accounts for 35%. In recent years, domestic enterprises have continued to increase investment in the research and development of fumed silica, breaking through core technologies such as surface modification and large-scale production, breaking the monopoly of overseas enterprises, and domestic high-end fumed silica products not only cover the domestic high-end market, but also successfully export overseas. From January to April 2026, the sales volume of gas-phase silica increased by 31.7% year-on-year, of which the sales of high-end products such as hydrophobic and high specific surface area accounted for more than 60%, becoming the core support for the industry's profit growth.
Biomass silica: seize the low-carbon track and tap emerging potential. Driven by the "dual carbon" policy, biomass silica, as a low-carbon and environmentally friendly product, has become the segment with the most growth potential in the industry. The product uses renewable biomass such as straw and bamboo chips as raw materials, which reduces carbon emissions by more than 65% compared with traditional silica, and can realize the resource utilization of solid waste, which is in line with the trend of green development, and is mainly used in green agriculture, environmentally friendly coatings, food additives and other fields. At present, more than 10 domestic enterprises have laid out biomass silica production capacity, and the output from January to April 2026 will increase by 58.2% year-on-year.
Industry insiders said that the differentiated development of subdivision tracks is the key to the silica industry to get rid of homogeneous competition and achieve high-quality development. In the future, with the continuous segmentation and upgrading of downstream demand, each silica subcategory will further focus on its core advantages, strengthen technology research and development and product adaptation, promote the industry to form a differentiated development pattern of "traditional categories stabilize the foundation, high-end categories lead, and emerging categories break through", and help the refined upgrading of the new material industry.
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