Today's KNOWLEDGE Share
Europe is….
losing chemical capacity….
at high pace……
Imports from China are up 27%, deliveries from the US have increased by 17%, while more than 20% of European chemical production has been lost since 2021, much of it permanently. This is not a temporary cycle but a structural change in global competitiveness.
Producers in China and the US benefit from lower energy costs, significant overcapacity, and supportive trade frameworks. European producers, by contrast, face persistently high costs, lengthy approval processes, and regulatory uncertainty. Under these conditions, competing on price alone becomes increasingly difficult.
The impact is visible across the value chain. Plants are being shut down, integrated sites are weakened, and interconnected chemical clusters are at risk. Calls for protective measures are therefore understandable, but protection alone will not secure Europe’s industrial base.
What Europe needs is a clear focus on competitiveness, affordable and reliable energy, faster permitting, realistic transformation pathways, and an industrial policy that balances ambition with economic feasibility. Without a strong base chemical industry, downstream sectors such as pharmaceuticals, materials, and the energy transition itself are put at risk.
The key question is no longer whether capacity will leave Europe, but how much, and how quickly.
source : Markus Hartung
#ChemicalIndustry
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