Since 2026, the technology research and development achievements of the domestic silica industry have continued to land, core technologies such as vapor phase method and high dispersion modification have continued to make breakthroughs, and the performance of domestic high-end silica products has gradually been comparable to the international level, successfully breaking the long-term monopoly of overseas brands in the high-end field, realizing the key transformation from "import dependence" to "domestic substitution", and the development of the industry has entered a new stage of high-quality development.

For a long time, the core technology of high-end silica (especially fumed silica and nanoscale modified silica) has been monopolized by European, American and Japanese companies, and the domestic high-end market has long relied on imports, which not only has high procurement costs, but also faces risks such as supply chain instability. In order to break through technical bottlenecks, domestic leading enterprises have increased R&D investment, set up professional R&D teams, focused on core technical difficulties such as specific surface area control, dispersion optimization, and hydrophobic modification, continued to carry out technical research, and achieved breakthroughs in a number of key technologies.

As of May 19, a number of domestic enterprises have achieved large-scale mass production of vapor phase silica, and the products have reached the international standard of similar products in core indicators such as specific surface area, oil absorption value, and dispersion stability, and some products have even formed differentiated advantages in aging resistance and customized adaptability. Among them, high-end nano-scale silica has been successfully used in high-end daily chemicals, precision electronics, aerospace and other fields to replace imported products; High-dispersion rubber-grade silica is supplied to domestic leading tire companies in batches for the production of green tires for new energy vehicles, breaking the supply monopoly of overseas brands in this field.

The continuous increase in R&D investment has promoted the overall improvement of the technical level of the industry. According to the data, in the first quarter of 2026, the R&D investment in the domestic silica industry increased by 25.3% year-on-year, and the proportion of R&D expenses of key enterprises increased to more than 8%, far exceeding the industry average. At the same time, enterprises have in-depth cooperation with universities and scientific research institutes to jointly build R&D platforms, accelerate the transformation of technological achievements, promote the integrated development of production, education, research and application, further reduce the production cost of high-end products, and enhance the market competitiveness of domestic silica.

Judging from market feedback, domestic high-end silica continues to improve its market recognition with its cost-effective advantages. Recently, the domestic share of the domestic high-end silica market has increased to 42%, an increase of 10 percentage points over the same period last year, of which the domestic substitution rate of gas-phase silica has the fastest growth rate, and is expected to exceed 50% by the end of the year. In terms of overseas markets, domestic high-end silica has been exported to Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions, and has been widely recognized by overseas customers, gradually breaking the international market pattern.

Industry experts said that technological innovation is the core driving force for domestic silica to achieve a breakthrough, and in the future, with the continuous increase in R&D investment, the core technology will be further breakthrough, and the market share of domestic high-end silica will continue to increase. At the same time, with the continuous upgrading of demand in downstream emerging fields, it will further promote the development of the silica industry in the direction of refinement, high-end and customization, and domestic silica is expected to occupy a more important position in the global market.