Dow leads the price increase trend, and the cost pressure of ethyl silicone oil continues to transmit
In March 2026, global chemical giant Dow announced a price increase of 5% -15% for its silicone series products in Greater China, starting from March 27th, involving core products such as dimethyl silicone oil, vinyl silicone oil, and 107 glue. This is Dow's third price increase within six months, directly reflecting the impact of rising raw material costs on the ethyl silicone oil industry chain. According to industry data, since November 2025, the cumulative price of organic silicon DMC has increased by 3300 yuan/ton. The prices of upstream raw materials such as metal silicon and methanol have been affected by geopolitical conflicts, and the closure of Dow's UK factory in Europe has led to a reduction in global silicone production capacity, further driving up production costs.


The demand for new energy vehicles and photovoltaics is exploding, and the application scenarios of ethyl silicone oil are accelerating their expansion
Beyond cost pressures, the ethyl silicone oil market is experiencing structural growth opportunities. In the field of new energy vehicles, ethyl silicone oil, as a key material for power battery cooling systems, has significant advantages in low temperature resistance and lubrication, and its demand is rapidly increasing with the global electrification process. In the photovoltaic industry, the application proportion of ethyl silicone oil sealant in the module packaging process has increased to 65%, and the year-on-year increase of 42% in photovoltaic installed capacity by 2025 will directly drive demand. In addition, there has been a significant increase in demand for ultra-low temperature resistant ethyl silicone oil in the aerospace industry. Fluorosilicone oil products developed by companies such as Xinyuan Chemical have passed extreme environmental tests and are now being supplied in bulk to commercial aerospace projects.


Industry reshuffle accelerates, key to breaking through the green and high-end transformation
Faced with the dual pressure of cost and demand, the ethyl silicone oil industry is undergoing a deep adjustment. Domestic enterprises have improved their self-sufficiency rate through technological upgrades. By 2025, the production capacity of ethyl silicone oil in China will reach 350000 tons per year, but high-end products still rely on imports. Hubei Longqiao Silicon Materials and other enterprises have achieved cost reduction and efficiency improvement through intelligent transformation. Their refined silicone oil market share exceeds 60%, and they have successfully developed differentiated products such as bifunctional silane. At the policy level, the reform of environmental taxes and the cancellation of export tax rebates have forced enterprises to transform towards green production. The market size of green and environmentally friendly ethyl silicone oil is expected to reach 2.5 billion US dollars in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 18%.


Regional market differentiation highlights the cluster effect of the Yangtze River Delta
From a regional distribution perspective, the Yangtze River Delta region holds 65% of the domestic market share for ethyl silicone oil, thanks to its well-developed industrial chain and research and development advantages. Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places have gathered leading enterprises such as Wacker Chemicals and Nak Group, forming a complete ecosystem from raw material production to terminal applications. The Central China region, relying on the abundant silicon mineral resources in Hubei, has risen to become an emerging production base. Enterprises such as Shishun Biotechnology have successfully entered the high value-added market through breakthroughs in the research and development of pharmaceutical grade ethyl silicone oil.


Future prospects: Parallel technological iteration and supply chain restructuring
Industry experts point out that the market for ethyl silicone oil will show three major trends in the next three years: firstly, accelerated technological iteration, with bio based raw materials and nano modification technology becoming the focus of competition; Secondly, supply chain localization and geopolitical risks encourage enterprises to establish regional production networks; The third is the diversification of application scenarios, with huge potential demand in emerging fields such as medical implant materials and wearable devices. It is expected that by 2028, the global market size of ethyl silicone oil will exceed 6 billion US dollars, and China's share is expected to increase to 40%.