EVE Online Planetary Industry Guide: P0 to P4 Explained

What Planetary Industry is, and why it is worth learning

Planetary Industry (PI) is EVE Online's system for extracting raw materials from planets and refining them into manufactured commodities. Unlike ratting or mining, PI is largely passive: once you place extractors and factories on a planet and start an extraction cycle, the planet keeps working whether you are logged in or not. You return every day or two to reset extractors and collect output.

That passive nature is the appeal. A modest five-planet PI setup can produce a steady stream of ISK with only a few minutes of management per day. PI commodities also feed some of the most important supply chains in the game — fuel blocks that keep structures online, components for tech II production, and reagents for booster manufacturing — so demand is consistent across the whole economy.

The P0 to P4 commodity ladder

Every PI commodity sits on a tier from P0 to P4. Each tier is produced by combining materials from the tier below it. Understanding this ladder is the single most important concept in PI, because it tells you what you can make on a single planet versus what requires a multi-planet supply chain.

The higher you climb, the more value is concentrated into a smaller volume — but the more planets and hauling you need to feed the chain. P4 commodities like the Nano-Factory or Self-Harmonizing Power Core sell for the most per unit, but a single P4 planet has to be fed a continuous supply of P3 goods that other planets produce.

Planet types and what they extract

There are eight planet types, and each one offers a different set of P0 raw resources. Choosing the right planet for the commodity you want is half the battle.

• Barren — Aqueous Liquids, Base Metals, Carbon Compounds, Micro Organisms
• Gas — Aqueous Liquids, Base Metals, Ionic Solutions, Noble Gas
• Ice — Aqueous Liquids, Heavy Metals, Micro Organisms, Noble Gas
• Lava — Base Metals, Heavy Metals, Non-CS Crystals, Suspended Plasma
• Oceanic — Aqueous Liquids, Carbon Compounds, Complex Organisms, Micro Organisms
• Plasma — Base Metals, Heavy Metals, Noble Metals, Suspended Plasma
• Storm — Aqueous Liquids, Ionic Solutions, Noble Gas, Suspended Plasma
• Temperate — Aqueous Liquids, Autotrophs, Carbon Compounds, Complex Organisms, Micro Organisms

Temperate and Barren planets are the most versatile and are popular for self-contained P1 or P2 production. Lava and Plasma planets are prized for high-end metal chains. Gas planets are the classic choice for fuel block reagents like Oxygen and Enriched Uranium feedstock.

The building blocks: command center, extractors, and factories

Every planet starts with a Command Center, which you buy from the market and launch from your ship. Upgrading the command center increases your power and CPU budget, which determines how much infrastructure you can place. Aim to upgrade it to the maximum level your skills allow before you build anything serious.

1. Extractor Control Unit (ECU) — placed on a resource hotspot, it spawns extractor heads that pull P0 from the surface. More heads spread over a wider area generally means higher total yield.
2. Basic Industry Facility — converts one P0 into one P1. You need several to keep up with a strong extractor.
3. Advanced Industry Facility — converts P1/P2/P3 inputs into P2/P3/P4 outputs.
4. Storage Facility / Launchpad — buffers materials and lets you import and export goods through the customs office.
5. Links — connect buildings so materials can flow between them. Links cost CPU and power that scale with distance, so a compact layout is an efficient layout.

Two layouts that work: extractor planets and factory planets

Most serious PI networks separate the two jobs. Extractor planets focus on pulling P0 and refining it into P1, which is compact and easy to haul. Factory planets import P1 (or P2) from your other planets and combine them into higher tiers. This division lets each planet specialise and keeps every building busy.

A simple, profitable starting network looks like this:

1. Two or three extractor planets, each pulling a different P0 and refining it to P1.
2. One factory planet that imports those P1 goods and produces a P2 commodity in demand near your market hub.
3. A daily routine: reset extractor heads, haul P1 to the factory planet, and export finished P2 to market.

Self-contained P1 planets are the lowest-effort option for brand-new players: one planet, one extractor, a row of basic factories, and you simply sell the P1 output. The margins are thinner, but there is no inter-planet hauling and almost nothing to manage.

Skills that matter

• Command Center Upgrades — raises your power/CPU budget; the highest-impact PI skill. Train it to V as a priority.
• Interplanetary Consolidation — lets you control more planets per character (up to six at level V).
• Planetology and Advanced Planetology — improve the accuracy of the resource scan, helping you find richer hotspots.
• Remote Sensing — increases the range at which you can scan and manage planets from orbit.

Command Center Upgrades V and Interplanetary Consolidation V together unlock the full six-planet, fully-upgraded setup that most income projections assume. Train those first; the planetology skills are quality-of-life improvements you can pick up later.

Putting it together

Start small: pick a single Temperate or Barren planet in or near your home system, upgrade the command center, and run a self-contained P1 setup until the daily rhythm feels natural. Once you are comfortable resetting extractors and exporting through a customs office, add planets and move up to P2.

Before you commit to a particular commodity, map out its full input chain so you know how many planets it really needs. Use the EVE-HUB PI Planner to expand any P1–P4 product into its complete production tree, then read our companion guides on choosing profitable products and managing customs taxes and hauling.