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chemicals come firstbutproduction is shiftingbecausethe industry stopped innovatingandwe're here to change that

you can't make anything without making chemicals first.

medicinessemiconductorsbatteriesdefense systemsfood and fertilizertextileswater treatmentconstructionFEEDSTOCKSBASE CHEMICALSINTERMEDIATESSPECIALTIESEVERYTHING WE MAKECONCENTRATING IN CHINAFEEDSTOCKSBASE CHEMICALSINTERMEDIATESSPECIALTIESCONCENTRATINGIN CHINAEVERYTHING WE MAKEmedicinessemiconductorsbatteriesdefense systemsfood and fertilizertextileswater treatmentconstruction

but chemical manufacturing is concentrating in China.

making “made in america” harder every year.

china took six of every ten dollars of growth this century.

NEW CHEMICAL SALES SINCE 2004, BY REGION$3.9tn total
$2.3tn
$0.5tn
$0.4tn
$0.4tn
$0.3tn
china $2.3tneveryone else $0.5tneurope $0.4tnrest of asia $0.4tnusa $0.3tn

and now it dominates global chemical sales.

China · 2004: 10% ($152 bn) · 2024: 46% ($2,488 bn) EU27 · 2004: 27% ($417 bn) · 2024: 13% ($686 bn) USA · 2004: 22% ($333 bn) · 2024: 12% ($675 bn) Rest of Asia · 2004: 9% ($140 bn) · 2024: 10% ($566 bn) Rest of Europe · 2004: 7% ($102 bn) · 2024: 4% ($218 bn) Japan · 2004: 9% ($140 bn) · 2024: 3% ($169 bn) Latin America · 2004: 4% ($65 bn) · 2024: 3% ($180 bn) South Korea · 2004: 3% ($50 bn) · 2024: 3% ($152 bn) India · 2004: 2% ($32 bn) · 2024: 3% ($152 bn) Rest of the world · 2004: 5% ($70 bn) · 2024: 2% ($109 bn) Africa · 2004: 1% ($20 bn) · 2024: 1% ($49 bn) China 10% 46% USA 22% 12% EU27 27% 13%
SHARE OF GLOBAL CHEMICAL SALES2004
china 10%europe 27%usa 22%everyone else 41%

each square is one percent of world sales

SHARE OF GLOBAL CHEMICAL SALES2024
china 46%europe 13%usa 12%everyone else 29%

each square is one percent of world sales

hover any region for its share, then and now.china · 2004 10% · 2024 46%united states · 2004 22% · 2024 12%eu27 · 2004 27% · 2024 13%rest of asia · 2004 18% · 2024 14%rest of europe · 2004 6% · 2024 4%japan · 2004 9% · 2024 3%latin america · 2004 4% · 2024 3%south korea · 2004 3% · 2024 3%india · 2004 2% · 2024 3%rest of the world · 2004 5% · 2024 2%africa · 2004 1% · 2024 1%

and it wasn't luck, it was an investment decision.

CAPITAL SPENDING ON NEW CAPACITY2023
46%
33%
12%
9%
china 46%everyone else 33%europe 12%usa 9%
CHEMICAL R&D SPENDING2023
32%
28%
22%
18%
china 32%everyone else 28%usa 22%europe 18%
STATE SUPPORT, PERCENT OF GDP2019
china
1.7%
europe
0.5%
usa
0.4%

sources · Cefic Facts & Figures 2025 · Cefic / Advancy, the competitiveness of the european chemical industry

the industry survived on iteration, not innovation, and over commoditized.

1892chlor-alkali
1913ammonia · haber-bosch
1935nylon 6,6
1942catalytic cracking
1957polypropylene
1964adiponitrile
2026amber
six decades of iteration, not replacement

an american cracker is nearly three times older than a chinese one.

AVERAGE AGE OF A STEAM CRACKERyears
europe
45
asia ex-china
31
usa
29
middle east
19
china
11

and replacing them means enormous investment into old technology.

SIZE OF THE BETharderto financeeasierCONVENTIONALone plantworld scale, or it nevercompetes on costconventional chemistryhas no small versionAMBERevery step is its own decision,and it earns before the next oneSIZE OF THE BETharderto financeeasierCONVENTIONALoneplantAMBERconventional chemistry has no small version.world scale, or it never competes on cost.every step is its own decision,and it earns before the next one.

sources · ACS · Grace · Cefic / Advancy, figure 5.3

we change the reactor, not the molecule.

the conversion is the same. what runs it is not.

see how it works →