Skip to content

Spanish chlorine industry

A fundamental component of Spain’s industrial fabric

Chlorine is essential for most of the chemical industry and, therefore, for maintaining the standard of living of modern society.
It is involved in the manufacturing of 60% of basic chemicals, which represents a value of 26 billion Euros a year for the Spanish economy. Chlorine is also used as a raw material in other major sectors and is an ingredient used for 96% of phytosanitary products, 85% of pharmaceutical products, 40% of plastics and 25% of medical equipment. 98% of potable water in the western world is disinfected with chlorine.

The chlorine industry has a major role in the Spanish economy. The plants producing chlorine and its derivatives directly employ 500 people, while the number of jobs generated altogether by the chlorine-related economic activity of the Spanish chemical industry is 160,000. The total capacity of the five chlorine-producing plants currently operating in Spain is 284,000 tons a year.

The overall capacity of the countries in Europe is around 12 million tons a year. Germany is the biggest chlorine producer with 43% of this total, followed by France with 12%, Belgium with 8%, Holland with almost 7%, and Spain and United Kingdom with almost 6% and Spain with almost 2.5%