Evonik company to build silica production plant in Turkey

Sakarya, Turkey – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending €15 million to a Turkish chemicals company to increase its production of precipitated silica for green tires.

The European bank announced 8 Nov that it was lending the money to Egesil Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, a chemicals supplier founded in 2002 and majority-owned by German speciality chemicals company Evonik Industries AG.

As part of the project, Egesil Kimya is building a new production unit in Sakarya, Turkey, next to its existing manufacturing facility. The new plant will increase the company’s annual production capacity of precipitated silica by 40,000 tonnes.

Production at the plant is scheduled for 2020.

According to the EBRD, the silica produced at the plant can help save up to 67,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Demand for highly dispersible silica is strong and growing in the global tire industry to replace carbon black, the traditional filler material in tire manufacturing, the EBRD added. Silica increases the grip and anti-skid properties of tires. It also reduces fuel consumption by lowering rolling resistance.

The EBRD strategy for Turkey focuses on improvement of energy and resource efficiency and aims to further integrate medium-sized private Turkish companies into global value chains.

The project is also part of the EBRD's Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, as 100% of the bank’s loan will be used for green investments.