Update: Evonik preparing to sell off C4 business

Essen, Germany – German Chemicals company Evonik Industries AG is planning to sell its C4 verbun business, the group has confirmed.

In a written statement to ERJ 6 May, the Essen-based supplier said the first step in this process – i.e. preparations for setting it up as an independent unit – has just been started.

“We will set up our C4 unit as an independent entity over the next months. The next step will be to select a suitable partner for the planned joint venture,” said the company statement.

Evonik declined to comment on prospective partners.

The C4 verbund is part of the Performance Materials division and contributed over 10% of the group sales

Germany chemicals company Evonik is planning to sell its C4 Verbund unit worth over 10% of the group’s sales, which stood at €3.3 billion during the first quarter of 2022.

Within its C4 business, Evonik manufactures performance intermediates and plasticisers for a wide range of industries, including automotive, tire and construction.

Among the many applications for the C4 unit’s products are as monomers for synthetic elastomer and latex, including butadiene for rubber materials used in vehicle tires.

Evonik did not provide a production capacity for butadiene monomers, but said it produces the materials in Marl, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium – two sites that are joint with a pipeline system.

As previously reported by ERJ, the butadiene production capacity at the Antwerp plant is 100,000 tonnes per year.