The Munich-based chemical group, Wacker, has established a sustainability prize that will be awarded annually to projects implementing the group’s sustainability goals. The first prize winner is a project team from Burghausen and Nünchritz that has significantly improved the process for producing siloxane - the most important starting product for silicones.

Wacker aims to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and become climate-neutral by 2045. The €10,000 Wacker Net Zero Award was presented yesterday at this year’s Group Sustainability Conference in Munich.

This year’s prize goes to a project team comprising Martin Steuer from the methyl chloride synthesis/hydrolysis plant at the Nünchritz site, Sebastian Kröner from process development at central engineering in Burghausen, and Konrad Mautner from Wacker Silicones Technology Management. The winners developed a process with which a high percentage of organosilicon by-products from hydrolysis of chlorosilanes is returned into the integrated production system in a targeted manner. The hydrolysis of chlorosilane is part of the upstream process, which starts out from metallurgical silicon to produce the intermediates chlorosilane and siloxane and ultimately to obtain the downstream product silicone.

“Almost a year ago, Wacker set itself very ambitious sustainability goals, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our own products and processes and further minimising resource consumption. Since then, many small- and large-scale projects have been initiated within the group. To honour and promote this commitment, the company decided to confer the Wacker Net Zero award this year and in the years to come. This is our way of recognising outstanding projects that reduce our company's environmental footprint,” Christian Hartel, president and CEO of Wacker Chemie, said.

“Chlorosilane hydrolysis is a key process step in siloxane production and is thus one of our group’s core processes. Thanks to the award winners’ truly trailblazing approach, we can significantly improve the efficiency of our integrated production system. This reduces by-products and avoids disposal costs – good for the environment and the profitability of our production,” Hartel said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)

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