Asia is set to lead the global caustic soda industry capacity additions by 2026 with a share of 67%, driven by new-build and expansion projects, estimates GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Caustic Soda Industry Installed Capacity and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) Forecast by Region and Countries including details of All Active Plants, Planned and Announced Projects, 2022-2026’, reveals that the total caustic soda capacity of new-build and expansion projects in Asia is expected to be 5.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2026.

Sudarshini Ennelli, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “From the upcoming new build projects that include 10 planned and announced projects, Asia is expected to add a capacity of 2.75 mtpa, whereas, from the expansion of the existing caustic soda projects, the region is expected to add a capacity of 2.82 mtpa from 13 planned and announced projects.”

China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand are the key countries in Asia in terms of caustic soda capacity additions. A major capacity addition is expected to come from a planned project, Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Company Baicheng Caustic Soda Plant, with a capacity of 0.80 mtpa. It is expected to commence production in 2024.

Ennelli concludes: “Lords Chloro Alkali Alwar Caustic Soda Plant will be the second major contributor with a capacity addition of 0.74 mtpa and is expected to start operations by 2023.”