Solvay

Solvay is a chemical company founded in 1863 by Ernest Solvay with a revolutionary soda ash production process. The company produces essential chemicals that are key ingredients in everyday products including glass, batteries, healthcare, food, electronics and clean energy solutions. Solvay combines strong technology expertise with continuous process innovation to deliver more sustainable and competitive solutions across industries including cleaner mobility, resource efficiency and environmental protection.

Solvay operates 43 production sites across 41 countries with approximately 8,400 employees and generated net sales of 4.3 billion euros in 2025. The company’s portfolio includes five global technologies: soda ash and bicarbonate, peroxides, silica, fluorine and rare earths, plus a strong regional business in Latin America focusing on solvents and the polyamide chain. Solvay’s businesses are structured around two segments: Basic Chemicals including Soda Ash & Derivatives and Peroxides businesses serving consumer goods, healthcare, food and feed, resources, environment and energy, building and construction; and Performance Chemicals including Silica, Coatis and Special Chem businesses serving automotive, consumer goods and healthcare, electronics and industrial applications.

Solvay’s value drivers include strong product knowledge and expertise, market leadership through leading process technology supported by continuous innovation, cost leadership through large-scale replicable processes and proprietary technologies, and sustainability focus. The company aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 with a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions from its sites by 2030 compared to 2021. Solvay’s sustainability roadmap, For Generations, has two pillars: Planet Progress focusing on climate and nature, and Better Life supporting people and communities. The company’s commitment to sustainability includes phasing out coal by 2030 where renewable alternatives exist, innovating processes for energy efficiency and shifting to renewable energy sources.

Solvay has committed to having 30% of its permeable land located near biodiversity sensitive areas under conservation and restoration with measurable positive impacts by 2030. Prioritized sites include Paulínia in Brazil, Rosignano in Italy and Torrelavega in Spain. The company has deployed projects at over 20 plants worldwide to address non-sustainable industrial waste and recycles over 80% of residues from SOLVAir flue gas cleaning solutions into raw materials for soda ash plants in Dombasle, France and Rosignano, Italy. At its Paulínia plant in Brazil, Solvay recycles wastewater and sludges into bricks for the fertilizer industry. In 2023, approximately 36% of water treatment sludge was sent to the cement industry for co-processing, and in Torrelavega, Spain, 35% of non-hazardous waste generated by soda ash and bicarbonate activities was recycled with a local cement plant. At its Rheinberg soda ash and bicarbonate plant in Germany, Solvay use waste wood from industrial and demolition residues to generate steam and electricity, with the plant fully powered by locally sourced waste wood replacing fossil fuel use. At its Livorno site in Italy, Solvay launched the first unit of circular Highly Dispersible Silica made with bio-based sodium silicate derived from rice husk ash.

Solvay maintains product stewardship programs designed to manage substances of concern and proactively reviews and manages hazardous substances in products and processes. The company produces safety data sheets in 39 languages and specific sheets for 63 countries. In 2024, automatic shipping of safety data sheets was activated for approximately 100% of Solvay sales with a 97.8% successful delivery rate. Solvay takes a proactive global approach to chemical regulation including REACH and regularly updates registration dossiers with the latest available information. The company has developed an extensive regulatory strategy covering all substances and mixtures manufactured and imported, with a strict approach regarding restricted substances that are neither manufactured nor used once a market ban or restriction is imposed by competent authorities.

Solvay is committed to safety, innovation and ethical responsibility in product development and strives to use testing methodologies that do not involve animals, reserving animal testing as a last resort when required by regulatory standards. The company established the Solvay Animal Care and Use Committee consisting of internal and external experts to rigorously review all commissioned animal testing activities. Since 2012, Solvay has not commissioned any studies involving dogs, cats, pigs or primates and does not conduct animal testing for cosmetic purposes. Solvay actively promotes the development of alternative methods to animal studies known as New Approach Methodologies and is a member of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing.

Solvay is committed to promoting a workplace and supply chain where workers are treated with respect and dignity and free from modern slavery, human trafficking and other human rights violations. The company implements due diligence processes embedding commitment to preventing forced labor and modern slavery throughout its value chain. Solvay complies with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Labour Organization’s eight core labor conventions, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Solvay adheres to the United Nations Global Compact, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles.

In December 2023, Solvay separated into two independent companies: Solvay focusing on essential chemicals and Syensqo dedicated to specialty chemicals including fluoropolymers. Solvay stopped trifluoroacetic acid production in Salindres, France in September 2024 with remaining use of TFA as a raw material for derivatives at Bad Wimpfen, Germany being phased out by early 2026, meaning Solvay will have stopped the production of TFA and all of its derivatives across the Group by early 2026. Solvay places compliance at the heart of operational priorities with sites regularly inspected by public environmental authorities and complying with evolving regulations applicable to industrial activity.

Solvay’s research and innovation workforce comprises 600 employees with 6 major research centers and 21 new patent applications filed in 2025. The company’s e.Solvay process represents the next era for the industry through an innovative approach aimed at cutting CO2 emissions by 50% in soda ash production, reducing energy, water and salt consumption by 20%, and reducing limestone usage by 30%. The piloting phase of this technology has moved into a new stage at Solvay’s Soda Ash R&I facilities. Solvay derives its bio-circular silica process from rice husk ash to help tire makers meet sustainability goals, which can reduce the sector’s carbon footprint while boosting renewable material use and lowering CO2 emissions by 35% per metric ton of precipitated silica produced.