Wacker plans new specialty silicone site in Czech Republic

MUNICH—Wacker Chemie A.G. has been on an expansion tear over the last decade-plus to address global demand for both upstream hyper-pure polysilicon metal and specialty silicones.

Wacker Silicones, one of four designated business units for Wacker Group, said Jan. 11 that it plans to build a new specialty silicones production site in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, investing "low-triple-digit millions" of dollars in the project.

The silicone giant also announced a reorganization of its production operations in Europe such that it might better leverage upstream and downstream materials for its products.

"Karlovy Vary will be an important pillar for our silicone activities in Europe, especially when it comes to the production of customized silicone compounds," said Christian Kirsten, an executive board member with Wacker. "With this project, we will be creating important conditions for further optimizing our production processes and making us even more flexible within our integrated production system comprising four locations."

Completing the four production points for Wacker—a combination of facilities within both Wacker Silicones and Wacker Polysilicon—are its silicone chemical, fumed silica and refined polycrystalline silicon metal production site in Nunchritz, Germany; its polysilicon production site in Burghausen, Germany; and its Pilsen, Czech Republic, site, which specializes in electromobility.

"Our grades of silicone rubber are in demand in all key growth markets," Kirsten said. "Customized silicone elastomers are especially needed where conventional materials ... can no longer meet the high and ever-increasing requirements. To meet the growing demand for such solutions in the long term, we need to lay the groundwork for it now."

Wacker has invested nearly $2 billion in the Nunchritz site on the banks of the Elbe River over the last 25 years; and dropped $384 million into the Burghausen site in 2023 to expand cleaning capacity for semiconductor-grade polysilicon.

Driving the greenfield project in Karvoly Vary are the blossoming electromobility, renewable energy and energy grid production markets, all of which require unique silicone and hyper-pure polysilicon grades.

Production is expected to start in Karvoly Vary at the end of 2025. The first phase of the project is estimated to create about 200 jobs, Wacker said.

Wacker said the site initially will produce room-temperature silicone vulcanizates. Production of high-temperature vulcanizing silicone compounds will be added in the future, the company said.

Capacity at the western Czech Republic location is estimated at more than 20,000 metric tons of specialty silicones per year, according to Wacker.

The raw materials required for production—including polymers, fillers and additives—will come to Karlovy Vary from Burghausen to be mixed for ready-to-use silicones, Wacker said.

"By bundling our production capacities for compounds in Karlovy Vary, we can utilize our fully continuous plants in Burghausen even better, further increase our efficiency and accelerate the planned automation of our processes," said Thomas Koini, president of Wacker Silicones. "In the future, our site in Pilsen will focus on the growing market for silicone gels and thermally conductive silicones.

"Such products are in high demand in the electromobility sector in particular. This means that our existing plants will also benefit from the new production concept."

U.S. real estate developer Panattoni is assisting Wacker in its construction of the new Karlovy Vary site. Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024, subject to approval by regional authorities.

The site ultimately will cover about 248,000 square feet.

Wacker Silicones' portfolio includes silicone fluids, emulsions, resins, elastomers and sealants to silanes, silane-terminated polymers and pyrogenic silica.

Wacker Chemie also comprises Wacker Biosolutions, Wacker Polymers and Wacker Polysilicon.

Even as it lobbies for a better energy rate in the expensive German energy market, Wacker has undertaken major expansions there.

It has transformed the Nunchritz plant into one of the largest and most modern in the world, and as such Nunchritz has become one of Wacker's most profitable plants.

"In terms of production technology, Nunchritz now plays in the 'Champions League,' " Christian Hartel, CEO of Wacker, said in late August 2023.

Hartel and Wacker for years now have lobbied for an industrial electricity price of 4 euro cents per kilowatt-hour as an interim solution until sufficient green energy is available at a more favorable price.

Wacker produces more than 200 different silicone grades at the Nunchritz site, along with fumed silica and hyper-pure polycrystalline silicon metal for the solar industry.

The plant also operates a cartridge-filling facility for silicone adhesives and sealants.

In Burghausen, expanded surface-cleaning capacity for upstream silicone materials like polysilicon metal should come online by mid-2025. The expansion was announced in June 2023.

The infrastructure project also includes the potential for about $50.2 million in research and development funding, pending application approval from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection.

This expansion in Upper Bavaria (by up to 50 percent) is in response to semiconductor wafer demand, as Wacker remains the only producer of ultra-pure polysilicon in Europe.

Wacker Polysilicons, which has about $107 million earmarked for capital improvements in each of the next several years, saw sales of $2.48 billion in 2022, a 50-percent jump over the $1.66 billion generated in that business segment in 2021.

Net sales, not yet released for the full year, are expected to increase again for 2023.