Solvay’s businesses are closely aligned with the powerful trends driving growth in our end-markets. Our broad portfolio of technologies, our expertise and deep customer relationships have allowed us to build robust positions in seven fast-growing markets, where we hold a number one or two position and where our innovative and competitive solutions can bring value and meet our customers needs.
More than half of the Group’s portfolio is now solidly positioned as Sustainable Solutions with sales generated in markets related to strong sustainability trends like clean mobility, resources efficiency or eco-friendly based solutions.
The World Alliance for Efficient Solutions created by the Solar Impulse Foundation has awarded its Efficient Solutions label to twelve Solvay strategic products for their role in protecting people and the environment in a profitable way. Solvay was one of the first technological partners of Solar Impulse, which achieved the first-ever solar flight around the world in 2016. 15 Solvay technologies and products and more than 6,000 parts made with our material were aboard the solar aircraft.
We provide solutions to various end-markets
in % of Group net sales
Automotive & Aerospace
Cleaner mobility
Customer demand for sustainability and stringent regulations on CO2 and particulate emissions are driving the industry to develop cleaner mobility systems. Lightweighting, the shift to… electric and hybrid vehicles, and fuel efficiency are key market drivers in the automotive and aerospace industries.
Automotive:
innovating to make the cars cleaner and more efficient
Lightweighting
Solvay has strong expertise in composite materials, an innovative alternative to metal and solid plastic structures to make vehicles lighter. We are the only company in the world that can combine its best in class portfolio of specialty polymers with a strong expertise in composite technologies to create thermoplastic composites (TPC) that both reduce weight and manufacturing time, answering key challenges in the industry. The market need for TPCs is sharply growing in the transportation industries.
Electrification
Solvay is at the cutting edge of battery innovation with solutions that address the needs of the entire battery system. Our materials enable the operation of next generation batteries, offering enhanced safety, energy density and power at a lower cost. And, by leveraging our unique expertise in metal recovery, we play a key role in enabling battery recycling.
Powertrain efficiency
Our specialty polymers, like our thermoplastics product ranges, help to build lighter and more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines. They are also key in developing hybrid electric vehicles that combine gasoline engines and electric motors to achieve the best balance of fuel economy and demand on batteries.
Green and clean technologies
Our silica products designed for tire manufacturers can reduce rolling resistance by up to 25%, for about 7% lower fuel consumption. Several Solvay solutions are used in automotive catalytic converters to minimize pollutant emissions while boosting performance.
Aerospace:
materials for more energy-efficient flying
Aircrafts and space exploration
From world-leading commercial airplane manufacturers to space exploration programs, Solvay serves the entire aerospace industry. We provide innovative composite solutions from airframes to interiors, electrical, air and fluid systems as well as propulsion. Our advanced composite materials make aircrafts lighter and therefore more fuel efficient, while increasing safety and design appeal. Our technology leadership includes the Airbus A220 wing and the LEAP engine used in Boeing and Airbus single-aisles programs.
Urban Air Mobility*
Our solutions for an emerging market
Solvay is well positioned with its thermoset and thermoplastic composites that have the ability to significantly reduce both weight and costs compared to metal, with added benefits such as higher design flexibility and increased manufacturing efficiency.
Focus
OPtalys®
Reducing emissions and controlling particulate matter
OPtalys® is a material that enhances the catalytic activity and the durability of the advanced gasoline catalytic converters in automotive, enabling compliance with ambitious emission standards. It has also been optimized for hybrid engines and is compatible with current and future biofuels, which tend to generate slightly different types of pollutants.
SolvaLiteTM
A range of composites for lighter, more fuel efficient vehicles
Our SolvaLite™ composites are up to 40% lighter than metal and cure much faster than traditional composites. A step-change from traditional composite materials, it also means more efficient, much faster production and enhanced cost effectiveness in high-volume production runs.
Electrification
Lightweighting
Resource Efficiency
Resources & Environment
Environmental protection and affordable resources
Growing concerns over sustainability and stringent regulations on CO2 are shaping the future of the mineral resources and environment protection markets.
Clean technologies:
solutions for renewable energy production
Renewable energy
In solar power, our innovations include protective films for photovoltaic panels, and our wind power solutions range from seals and cables to epoxy compounds for wind turbine blades. With more than 250,000 solar panels producing enough power annually for 15,000 homes, Solvay is among the top 10 companies in the US with the largest installed solar capacity and the only manufacturing company in this top ten.
Water and air treatment, soil remediation
Our solutions to support air and water treatment and soil remediation address the requirements of more challenging regulations, and use filtration, gas separation, absorption, and chemical reactions.
Mining:
a more efficient use of scarce resources
Solvay’s specialty mining reagents help our mining customers improve metal yield while reducing consumption of water and energy compared to traditional recovery methods. They meet the most stringent safety and environmental requirements while reducing operating costs in the recovery of many metals and minerals.
Oil & Gas:
innovative solutions to improve efficiency and reduce costs
Our high-performance specialty polymers and thermoplastic composites improve operating efficiency and lower total cost of ownership. Used in oil & gas in offshore fields, which require longer, heavier and costlier pipes, they offer both the mechanical reinforcement of steel and lower weight for offshore oil and gas pipes, potentially reducing the weight of a single pipe by dozens of tons.
Focus
Cyanex®
Sustainable solutions for mining
Cyanex® 936P enables the production of high-purity lithium salts in a matter of hours, rather than 12 to 18 months under conventional evaporation methods (which require massive amounts of water), and regardless of weather conditions. With this new process, the lithium-free (and unpolluted) saltwater can be re-injected into the salt pan, saving billions of liters of water. The product also helps reduce the operators’ environmental footprint by eliminating the need for large evaporation ponds.
Oxystrong®
Disinfecting municipal wastewater
A critical step in municipal wastewater treatment is the final disinfection of the water prior to discharge into the environment or reuse for irrigation and recreational purposes. The Peracetic Acid Oxystrong® is an economic and sustainable solution for municipal wastewater disinfection. An efficient removal of pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoan parasites from treated wastewaters decreases the risk of waterborne infections.
Agro, Feed & Food
Eco-friendly agriculture, healthier food
Feeding a growing global population is the key market driver in Agriculture, requiring greater yields, more eco-friendly products and better resource management. Consumers are demanding healthier… , more natural and more convenient food.
Agriculture:
feeding everyone with the only planet we have
Crop protection, plant nutrition, seed and grain care
Solvay offers an array of products and solutions that enable all segments of the agricultural industry to improve yield with more sustainable agricultural practices, e.g. using bio-sourced seed stimulant.
New technologies
We also offer pioneering automation and digital technology, including on-target drift control adjuvants for agricultural spray drones.
Food:
making products healthier and more convenient
Flavors, aromas and food ingredients
Solvay is the market reference for vanillin and natural vanillin solutions. We offer the food and beverage industry a wide range of products for food preparation, preservation, healthier living, and food safety. For example our new generation of vanilla flavors allow food professionals to reduce sugar contents without compromising taste.
Packaging
We can provide materials for safe, reliable and convenient food packaging with our High Barrier Polymers that combine water vapor, oxygen barrier and good heat-sealing properties.
Feed:
supplements for healthier livestock and fish farming
Animal nutrition, health and welfare
Solvay offers a range of highly efficient feed supplements for livestock that prevent and control diseases, and optimize the flow of nutrients that are essential for animal health. These solutions, as well as our insect and hygiene control solutions for livestock, are effective and safe for humans, animals and the environment.
Focus
Aqualisan®️
Our aquaculture solutions for shrimp farming
Aqualisan® is a premium, effective and environmentally friendly water conditioning solution that eliminates a wide range of waterborne pathogens and kills bacteria likely to cause shrimp diseases. The Aqualisan® program has been launched to improve shrimp survival rate and enables farmers to achieve a higher harvest weight.
Green solutions for crop protection
Consumer demand, regulation and the urgent need to preserve the environment are driving a clear shift in agricultural practices. In particular, the agrochemical industry is investing heavily in greener solutions including biologicals and microorganisms. Solvay is helping its customers in this transition by launching its brand new portfolio of additive solutions for biopesticides specifically designed to answer the unique technical challenges of formulating microorganisms.
Eco-friendly based solutions
Consumer Goods, Home, Personal & Health Care
Enhancing the quality of life
End consumers want more natural and bio-based solutions in the products they use daily. They want easy-to-use, multifunctional and safe solutions. The world’s growing population, advances in… treatments and health technologies, wider healthcare coverage in developing markets and high sterilization capabilities drive the demand on the healthcare market.
Consumer goods:
performant and eco-friendly
Home & Personal care
Our personal care portfolio focuses on “clean beauty” and most of our products are plant-based ones (e.g. made from natural guar polymers). They cleanse, condition and protect consumers’ hair, skin and teeth and can be found in over 2.5 billion bottles of personal care products every year, enhancing the lifestyle of millions of consumers around the globe.
In Home care and Hygiene, we support more sustainable lifestyles through our solutions for long-lasting disinfection or low energy washing.
Textiles and fibers
Our solutions bring performance and healthcare benefits that are enabling a new generation in textiles. We developed the world’s first biodegradable polyamide yarn, allowing clothes to quickly decompose after being properly discarded, as well as an additive that protects the textile against viruses.
Sports and leisure
Our specialty polymers and composites are greatly appreciated by the major brands of sports equipment for their high rigidity and the quality surface appearance they provide.
Healthcare
Medical equipment and devices
We are a world leader in thermoplastics used to manufacture dialysis membranes with excellent biocompatibility. That enables us to improve comfort for an estimated 3 million patients undergoing a.o. dialysis, orthopedic (knee, hip, spine) or cardiovascular procedures.
Solvay offers the broadest selection on the market of medical grade thermoplastics for implantable and medical devices in fields such as surgical instruments, sterilization cases and single use instruments. Our biomaterials for long-term exposure applications are suitable for implantable devices, orthopedics and dental devices.
Pharmaceuticals
We provide the pharmaceutical industry with medical devices, cleaning agents and packaging: we are in 1 in every 4 pharmaceutical blister packs globally.
Solutions for Covid-19
Our solutions are implemented for the manufacturing of hygiene, health and safety products. Solvay is one of the very few companies in the world capable of manufacturing a key ingredient of all PCR tests to detect Coronavirus, namely our RhodaPhos® Phos Reagent molecule.
Focus
Jaguar®
A naturally-derived polymer for hair and skin care
Two innovative natural ingredients from Solvay are helping L’Oreal “nourish hungry hair” with their new line of hair-care products marketed in Europe. The line is created with 98% of the ingredients derived from natural origin, including our cationic guar Jaguar® and Jaguar® HP guar. Solvay sustainably sources its guar from smallholder farms in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India through the Sustainable Guar Initiative (SGI), a program that includes (NGO) TechnoServe, Solvay, L’Oreal and Henkel among others.
Interox® H2O2
In the pharma industry, where human consumers and animals are the end-users, product quality must be irreproachable. Medical device, isolator and room decontamination must also be sterile to ensure safety and patient wellbeing. Whether in vaporized form for the pharmaceutical aseptic filling industry or as a disinfectant for medical devices, Interox® grades offer the highest possible quality on the market.
Expanding Healthcare
Electronics
Connectivity and high-performance
Growing demand for hyper-connectivity, the development of 5G and exponential growth of data are key market drivers, resulting in miniaturization, the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), and a… need for components that consume less energy.
Semiconductors and other electronic components
Our specialty polymers provide high-performance solutions for structural and electronic components and our high purity chemistry is a key enabler for the semiconductor industry. Our products meet customers’ demands for materials with high levels of purity, temperature resistance and chemical resistance.
Displays
Our portfolio offers a new generation of materials for OLED, delivering high-quality diffuse light and potentially flexible displays. Our high-purity phosphines derivatives are used to manufacture quantum dots that produce the most vivid colors and the brightest display, in the production of high definition Quantum Dot TVs.
Smart devices
Our specialty polymers can meet the growing demand for miniaturization, multi-function and enhanced performance. Our high-performance polyamide can replace metal in components where strength, rigidity and aesthetics are important (such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops), while offering unparalleled design flexibility.
Focus
Ryton® PPS
High performance polymer for 5G applications
Our broad portfolio of specialty polymers offers unparalleled performance, enabling manufacturers to successfully design their next generation of 5G equipment and devices. Ryton® PPS meets performance requirements for telecom equipment antenna components, network device components, smart device structural parts, connectors, etc.
Galden® PFPE
Polymers for semicon testing, soldering and heat transfer fluids
Solvay provides high-performance materials for semiconductor processes. These specialty polymers are engineered with superior cleanliness, excellent chemical stability and high heat tolerance to meet today’s demand for long term reliability and efficiency in advanced semiconductor applications. Our Galden® PFPE fluids are a key component in power electronic cooling. Their unique compatibility with sensitive components, their low relative viscosity and their wide operating temperature range give them the ability to act as heat transfer liquids in extreme conditions.
Digitalization
Building
Longer-lasting, and more energy efficient buildings
We answer the growing demand for longer-lasting residential and commercial buildings that consume less energy (as buildings represent 40% of the world energy consumption), include… safe water management and enhance their users’ well-being.
Energy savings
We offer insulation and cooling & heating solutions for more energy-efficient buildings. We help develop solutions for energy saving triple-glazed windows with our soda ash, and sustainable foaming agents used for insulation.
Protection & safety
Our wide range of products answer markets’ needs for added functionalities and sustainability, like our waterborne coating formulations or additives for paint which offer exceptional corrosion resistance and adhesion to difficult substrates. Our line of non-toxic additives are used to formulate low Volatile Organic Compounds paints.
Resource efficiency
Cities increasingly reuse rainwater for plants and trees. This requires large quantities of plastic piping and fittings, for which Solvay provides key components. Our protective films also increase the efficiency of urban solar panels.
Focus
Cyasorb® Cynergy Solutions
Sustainable materials
Our Cyasorb® Cynergy Solutions UV stabilizers prolong the service life of polyolefin plastic-based construction materials; they improve their durability by offering optimal performance under severe UV and thermal conditions. Our stabilizers mean plastics can successfully replace traditional materials – such as wood, bitumen and PVC – lowering end-product maintenance costs and enhancing sustainability profiles.
Alve-One®
Safer foaming solutions
Alve-One® foaming solutions are an innovative generation of high-performance and cost-effective chemical blowing agents, combining efficiency and hazardous-free formulations. Based on 100% safe raw materials, Alve-One® solutions help fulfil the plastic industry’s need to move towards a circular economy, while achieving specific properties needed for insulation, strength and lightweighting.
Industrial Applications
Efficiency and value
Manufacturers must comply with ever-stricter regulations and rely on innovations for more efficient processes and more competitive products. They are also facing constraints on resources, including… requirements to reduce energy and water consumption.
Metal & Surface treatment
We create ingredients and formulate products that modify and clean the surface of several metallic and organic substrates, improving the performance of finished products and enhancing their shelf life.
Industrial equipment
We have created and formulated specific polymer products that can replace metal in harsh conditions and are suitable for highly demanding industrial equipment applications, as they combine resistance to corrosion, extreme temperatures and aggressive chemicals.
3D printing technologies
We provide dedicated polymer grades used in cutting edge 3D printing technologies.
Focus
Solef® PVDF AM
High-performance filaments for 3D-printing
Solvay’s filaments portfolio enables the world’s most demanding industries – healthcare, automotive, aerospace and oil & gas – to 3D-print fully functional prototypes, as wall as cost-efficient single to small volumes applications, much faster than traditional manufacturing. Solvay is collaborating with PrinterPrezz to develop 3D printing solutions for implants and other medical devices. Through this partnership Solvay will help accelerate the advancement of 3D printed medical devices, which will provide better patient outcomes.
Sipomer®
Enhanced adhesion on difficult surfaces
Our Sipomer® range of additives offers excellent corrosion resistance and exceptional adhesion to difficult substrates, such as aluminum, cold steel, glass, concrete, aged alkyd, wood, and plastic in waterborne systems. They can boost binder performances in terms of adhesion and corrosion resistance. They also offer a viable solution for direct-to-metal applications.
