In the wake of clean energy and electric mobility sectors fuelling the demand for soda ash in India and the world, the domestic soda ash production needs to grow at 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh tonne a year, according toGujarat-based soda ash maker,GHCL.
Soda ash is a key raw material for manufacturing solar glass widely used in solar panels and is also a key component for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and used in treatment of flue gases.
The Soda ash demand increases by 5% per annum, which is stipulated to increase to 6.5% to 7% per annum, driven by growing clean energy applications such as Solar, Flue gas treatment andLithium Ion batteries. However, if the soda ash must fuel the countrys RENEWABLE ENERGY targets, the production needs to be ramped up at the rate of 2.5 – 3 lakh MT every year, to meet the rising demand.
Industry players suggest that demand-supply gap underlines the need for more Greenfield investments in soda ash manufacturing.