World Analysis – Soda Ash

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050

Sodium carbonate, more commonly known as soda ash, is an inorganic chemical that is used in glass manufacturing, cleaning agents, water treatment, steel production, textiles, pulp and paper production, food additives, renewable energy applications, batteries, and more. Lithium carbonate is still a minor global application of soda ash but is projected as one of the fastest-growing soda ash demand segments driven primarily by the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage. Solar glass, a type of flat glass used in solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, has been the single fastest-growing soda ash demand sector. Flat glass is the largest glass segment, which is used for residential and commercial buildings, automobiles, and more. Container glass is the second largest segment, which is used for consumer products like food and beverage containers. Other end-use glass applications include tableware, lighting, display screens, mirrors, fiber optics, and insulation fiberglass.

Most of the world’s soda ash is produced synthetically via the Solvay-Ammonia process or the Hou process. However, natural soda ash production is expected to grow with new projects in mainland China, Turkey, and the US. Synthetic material is more expensive to produce compared to natural soda ash production from trona or other mineral deposits. Synthetic soda ash production is normally located near the raw material feedstocks such as salt, limestone, and (historically) coal deposits. As salt and limestone deposits are more globally abundant than trona (ore), synthetic soda ash plants are more widespread and thus closer to many end-use industries. Sources of natural soda ash tend to occur in underground beds or in dry lakes. The US has the world’s largest production capacity for natural soda ash, with major deposits of trona in Wyoming and further production from Searles Lake in California. Turkey was the second-largest source of natural soda ash production, but recently, it has been overtaken by mainland China after it added in mid-2023 a huge new natural soda ash plant in Inner Mongolia. In addition, natural soda ash is exploited in the African rift valley, in Kenya, Botswana, and Ethiopia (from soda lake beds); artisan-level output occurs in other countries, such as Chad. The US, mainland China, and Turkey and mainland China are important countries in the global soda ash industry due to their influence on the seaborne market.

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050

Overview

• Maximize negotiating leverage with forward-looking country-specific supply-demand data.
• Develop a winning strategy based on growth projections of market segments worldwide.
• Gain clarity evaluating investment opportunities and analyzing market leadership out to 2050.
• Mitigate risk with data about emerging international trade flows.

Data Included

The World Analysis – Soda Ash provides a comprehensive analysis and key insights into critical market developments as they shape the future outlook for the global Soda Ash market.

The following reports, data files, analytical tools and visualization modules are available online and can be downloaded from our website:

• Report outlining key strategic insights and the future shape of global and regional markets.
• Data Appendix (Excel) with supply/ demand and capacity table
• Explanatory Notes detailing data sources, methodologies, unit and conversion factors, and World Analysis deliverables.
• Energy and Economy assumptions
• Price, cost and margin base assumptions forecast and sensitivities analysis, and price assessment methodology.
• Excel data files with standard supply/demand graphics and price forecasts extended to 2050; trade grids with country and region trade flows.
• Online dashboard providing visualization of capacity, supply/demand, trade grids, and price, cost and margin forecasts.
• Supply/demand and capacity database access via data browser
• Capacity by company/shareholder, capacity integration, top producer/consumer and surplus/deficit capacity ranking

In addition to the main product, Soda Ash, capacity and textual analysis is provided for the following products:

• Container Glass
• Flat Glass
• Other Glass
• Sodium Silicates
• Sodium Dichromates
• Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP)

This World Analysis contains detailed information on capacities, production, demand and trade for all significant producing and consuming countries and regions. Although data gathering is essential for the understanding of history and potential future trends, we believe that the interpretation and analysis of the data is the most valuable part for our clients.

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050