CHARLESTON, Tenn.—Wacker Chemie A.G. will build a production plant for its HDK brand of pyrogenic silica at its U.S. site in Charleston.
Wacker said it is making a $150 million investment in the new facility, which will have an annual capacity of about 13,000 metric tons. Construction work will start in the second quarter of next year, with completion planned for the first half of 2019.
The project will create around 50 jobs at the Charleston site, the company said.
Wacker already produces hyperpure polysilicon for the solar and semiconductor sectors in Charleston, with around 650 employees there.
"The additional capacities strengthen our market position as a leading global producer of pyrogenic silica and help us to meet our customers' growing demand," Wacker CEO Rudolf Staudigl said in a statement. "The new plant is the next logical step toward expanding Charleston into a fully integrated silicon site in the world's second-largest chemical market."