Evonik starts up new monosilane plant in Japan

Evonik Industries, Essen (Germany) and its partner Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (TNSC) today officially started up the new integrated production facility for monosilane and AEROSIL® in Yokkaichi, 400 kilometers south of Tokyo (Japan). Evonik has thus realized a future-oriented project to serve the growing photovoltaic and electronic markets. The project volume was around €150 million and the facility was the company’s largest single project in 2010. Evonik has a long-term agreement to supply monosilane to TNSC. Monosilane is used in the production of thin film solar cells, flat-screen displays and semiconductors for the electronics industry. Applications for AEROSIL® include processing into plastics, colorants and coatings. 

At the opening ceremony in Yokkaichi, Klaus Engel, Chairman of Evonik's Executive Board, commented: “This substantial investment in Japan expands our significant market and technology position in the future-oriented solar energy market. It also makes a further important contribution to the global resource efficiency megatrend.” Engel said that he was shocked by the serious natural catastrophe that hit Japan in March and its consequences for the Fukushima nuclear power station. He stressed: “It is therefore especially important that today we are able to join with our employees, partners and guests to provide a new signal through the start-up of this facility.” 

Thomas Hermann, who heads the Inorganic Materials Business Unit, explained: “The monosilane produced in Yokkaichi will enable us to participate in the high growth in applications for thin-layer photovoltaics, flat-screen displays, and semiconductors, especially in Asia.” Evonik’s partner TNSC is one of the leading global distributors of industrial and special gases, including silanes, and has supplied key customers in the Asian electronics industry for many years.

The process used to produce monosilane at this new plant was developed by Evonik, which already operates a facility using this technology in Rheinfelden (Germany). The new plant in Yokkaichi will serve the Asian market with electronic-grade monosilane. Evonik is one of the world's major producers of chlorosilanes and monosilanes and therefore produces key components for the solar energy and electronics industries.