EU Petrochemicals: Foundations and Pressures

The EU petrochemical industry, a €635 billion sector employing 1.2 million people, is facing a deep structural crisis characterized by ageing assets, high energy costs, and intensifying global competition. The industry is physically organized around approximately 150 chemical parks, with the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Rhine-Ruhr corridor serving as the world's densest concentration of production. However, the EU's global market share in chemical sales fell from 21% in 2009 to 13% in 2024, while China now accounts for 46% of global sales. The sector is experiencing a 'closure wave' of steam crackers—the central units for producing ethylene, propylene, butadiene, and aromatics—due to their 1970s-era scale and high carbon exposure under the EU ETS. Between 2022 and 2025, the industry lost approximately 37 Mt of production capacity, and investment CAPEX dropped from €7.6 billion in 2022 to €1.5 billion in 2025. The report highlights acute vulnerabilities in the supply of primary 'building block' molecules, noting that the EU produces less than 10% of global primary petrochemical capacity and is increasingly dependent on imports for molecules like methanol, where domestic production covers less than 15% of consumption.

• The EU chemical industry has seen a significant decline in global market share, dropping from 21% in 2009 to 13% in 2024, while China has risen to a dominant 46% share of global sales.
• The EU petrochemical sector is undergoing a severe structural contraction, with 37 Mt (approximately 9%) of production capacity lost between 2022 and 2025 and a sharp decline in investment CAPEX from €7.6 billion in 2022 to €1.5 billion in 2025.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2026). EU Petrochemicals: Foundations and Pressures. https://www.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Building-Blocks-EU-Petrochemicals-Foundations-and-Pressures-CATF.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. EU Petrochemicals: Foundations and Pressures. 2026. https://www.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Building-Blocks-EU-Petrochemicals-Foundations-and-Pressures-CATF.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=EU Petrochemicals: Foundations and Pressures |date=June 2026 |url=https://www.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Building-Blocks-EU-Petrochemicals-Foundations-and-Pressures-CATF.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2026petrochemicals, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{EU Petrochemicals: Foundations and Pressures}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Building-Blocks-EU-Petrochemicals-Foundations-and-Pressures-CATF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }