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Spread - chlor-alkali (ECU realisation)
What it is
Electrolysing brine produces caustic soda, chlorine and hydrogen in fixed proportions that cannot be varied. ECU realisation is the combined revenue from that fixed basket per tonne, and is the industry's core pricing metric
It hit a decade low near Rs 23,000/MT in FY21 against about Rs 38,000/MT in FY19
Impact on industries
- Output proportions are fixed by chemistry, so a producer cannot make more of whichever product is currently profitable
- ECU swings violently with the caustic and chlorine cycle, and the entire industry's profitability moves with a single number it does not control
- Power is the dominant cost, so captive and renewable generation is the main controllable lever on ECU margin
- It is the chlor-alkali analogue of the refiner's crack and the converter's conversion charge - one number defines the business