- Nitrogen – It accounted for 28.5% of the global industrial gases market by value and 23.6% of the Indian industrial gases market by value in 2023 owing to its utilization in food & beverage industry, chemical production, steel and other metal manufacturing, etc. It is utilized for preservation, packaging, and freezing in food & beverage applications. In steel and other metal manufacturing, it is utilized in processes like annealing and sintering applications. In petroleum refining, it is used for purging, blanketing, and pressure transferring to enhance safety and efficiency, etc. Nitrogen demand was around 255 million tons and accounted for 37.9% of global industrial gases demand in terms of volume in 2023. In India, nitrogen demand was around 4.5 million tons in 2023.
- Hydrogen – In value terms, hydrogen accounted for 20% share of global industrial gases market in 2023. In India, it accounted for 16.2% market share in 2023. The average price of hydrogen ranges from USD 1,000 to USD 2,000 per ton which is 4 to 8 times higher than oxygen with average price of USD 200 to USD 300 per ton. The demand in terms of volume of hydrogen accounted for 2.3% of the global industrial gases with demand of 15.4 million tons in 2023. In India, the demand in terms of volume of hydrogen was 0.15 million tons in 2023. The consumption of hydrogen takes place in steel manufacturing, oil and gas industry, manufacturing industry, chemical production like ammonia, methanol, etc.
- Oxygen – It accounted for 19.1% of the global industrial gas market by value in 2023. The demand for oxygen was around USD 19.1 billion in terms of value and 68.3 million tons in terms of volume in 2023. In India, the demand for oxygen was around 2.2 million tons and USD 0.4 billion in 2023 and forms a lion share of 35.9% of the total industrial gases market by value. The major utilization of oxygen is for the steelmaking process, exclusively in blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces. It is also essential in medical applications such as respiratory therapy, anaesthesia, life support, among others. Oxygen is used as raw material in the production of chemicals like ethylene oxide, methanol, etc. Other applications include manufacturing, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, oil and gas, water and wastewater treatment.
- Carbon dioxide – It accounted for 18.4% of the global industrial gases market by value while it accounted for 11.2% of Indian industrial gases market by value in 2023. The consumption of carbon dioxide is into sectors such as food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, oil and gas industry. It is most important feedstock for the production of urea fertilizer around the world. The total demand for CO2 was more than 263 million tons globally at value of USD 18.4 billion in 2023. In India, the demand for CO2 was around 4 million tons and USD 0.14 billion in 2023.
- Argon and argon mixtures – It accounted for 5% market share of the global industrial gases demand in terms of value in 2023. The market size by value for argon and argon mixture was USD 5 billion in same year. In volume terms, the market was around 10 million ton globally. The major utilization of this gas is for metal fabrication application for welding purposes. Other important applications for argon are electrical and electronics, steel & other metal manufacturing, healthcare, etc. In India, argon accounted for 10.2% of total industrial gases demand in terms of value in 2023.
- Other gases like acetylene, helium & other specialty gases accounted for 9.1% of the global industrial gases demand in terms of value in 2023. In India, other gases accounted for 2.9% of the industrial gases demand in terms of value in 2023. Acetylene is widely used in oxy-acetylene welding and cutting processes due to its high flame temperature. It also serves as a raw material in the chemical synthesis of various organic compounds, including plastics, solvents, and pharmaceuticals. Helium is used in medical imaging equipment such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (“MRI”) machines, where it serves as a coolant for superconducting magnets. It is also used in aerospace industry as a purge gas in rocket engines and fuel tanks. Helium is employed in semiconductor fabrication processes, particularly in the production of microchips and optical fibers. The demand is driven by growth in end use industries. Specialty gases typically refers to calibration gases, zero gases, carrier gases, span gases, instrumentation gases and bump test gases, which may be either pure gases or gas mixtures containing components at concentrations extending from the per cent range down to part per billion and sometimes even part per trillion. Specialty gases are commonly used in analytical laboratories to conduct analysis and quality controls on raw materials, end products and industrial emissions to detect the trace and quantity of different components and impurities. In addition, specialty gases are used in industries such as steel, pharmaceuticals, cement, semiconductors, glass, lighting, in medical applications and in laboratories.