As a high-performance chemical material, silicone oil demonstrated strong market resilience and transformative vitality in 2024. Industry reports show the global market size reached $2.587 billion last year, projected to grow to $3.484 billion by 2031 with a 4.8% CAGR. China, with an annual production capacity of 790,000 tons (40% of the global total), remains the world’s largest producer, consuming 520,000 tons in 2022. Driven by expanding downstream applications, consumption is expected to exceed 780,000 tons by 2028. The Asia-Pacific region, leveraging concentrated textile and electronics industries, accounts for 53% of the global market. Surging demand for epoxy-capped silicone oil in textile powerhouses like India and Bangladesh is set to boost its share to 59.91% by 2026.
Policy pressures and environmental upgrades emerged as key drivers. China’s 2024 Silicone Industry Environmental Standards strictly limited VOCs emissions, forcing companies to accelerate green technology adoption. Henan Xinjiaofen Chemical’s 10,000-ton/year polyether-modified silicone oil project adopted "alkaline spray + activated carbon adsorption" to meet emission standards, while Xinjiang Western Hoshine Silicon’s 100,000-ton functional silicone oil facility used "condensation + adsorption" to set a benchmark for eco-friendly production. Internationally, firms accelerated R&D on biodegradable alternatives: Lubrizol’s SilSense Bio 5 emollient, derived from 100% vegetable oil, achieved large-scale application in skincare and cosmetics due to its full biodegradability; Guangzhou Juli Chemical’s NSF-certified Si-Fi CL/SO series reduced costs by 30% compared to traditional products, enhancing market competitiveness.
Regional competition showed distinct characteristics: The Asia-Pacific region focused on capacity expansion, with Chinese enterprises dominating mid-to-low-end markets—Baoxing Medical’s BX-301 medical silicone oil, 30% cheaper than imports and biocompatible-certified, entered the supply chains of Dabo Medical and Jingfeng Medical; Guibao Technology invested 150 million yuan in a Shanghai R&D center for high-value electronic encapsulation materials. European and U.S. companies targeted high-end sectors: Wacker Chemie expanded its German production base for EV and renewable energy applications; Dow Corning launched thermally conductive silicone oil with 3.5 W/m·K conductivity for 5G base station cooling, filling a technical gap in high-frequency electronics.
Raw material volatility caused a "rise-fall-mild rebound" price trend in 2024. Dimethylcyclosiloxane (DMC) costs pushed dimethyl silicone oil to a peak of 17,800 RMB/ton in mid-March, then dropped to 14,800 RMB/ton in May due to supply-demand imbalances, averaging 15,683 RMB/ton (-8.5% YoY). Giants like Shin-Etsu stabilized prices through production cuts, leading to a slight recovery in the second half, though weaker-than-expected downstream demand maintained inventory pressures.
Technological innovation unlocked new applications. In new energy, Jiangxi Haiduo’s 250℃-resistant terminal hydrogen silicone oil improved photovoltaic module sealing, while silicone-based thermal interface materials enabled stable operation in EV batteries from -40℃ to 150℃. Material R&D saw breakthroughs: fluoro-silicone hybrid elastomers offered super-soft stretchability and 300,000-cycle abrasion resistance, promising for medical electronics and wearable devices.
Looking ahead, sustainability and high-endization will define the industry. Biobased silicone oil is expected to account for 15% of the market by 2030, driven by EU REACH regulations promoting halogen-free, low-VOC products. Demand for electronic-grade (≥99.999% purity) and medical-grade (ISO 10993-certified) silicone oil grows at 12% annually, far exceeding the industry average. The global silicone oil sector is shifting from scale competition to a dual focus on technology and green manufacturing: Chinese firms must consolidate production advantages amid environmental upgrades, while international players secure high-end markets through innovation, reshaping the industry landscape in transition.