On January 2
Silicon Treasure Technology signed an "Investment Agreement" with the People's Government of Zhuanqiao Town, Minhang District, Shanghai. The company decided to establish Silicon Treasure Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and purchased about 16 acres of industrial land in the Yuanjiang area of Zhuanqiao Town, investing 150 million yuan to build advanced silicone material research and industrial development projects, including Silicon Treasure Shanghai R&D Center, Silicon Treasure Shanghai Marketing Center, 5,000 tons/year electronic and optical packaging material production line, etc.
On January 2-3
Premier Li Qiang of the State Council visited Xingfa Group to learn about the transformation and upgrading of the company. He hoped that Xingfa Group would further make good use of local resource advantages, continue to promote scientific and technological innovation, and take the path of ecological priority and green development.
On January 4
the relocation ceremony of Huitian New Materials Guangzhou New Base was grandly opened. Huitian New Materials Guangzhou New Base will be completed and put into use at the end of 2023, covering an area of nearly 100 acres, with a total investment of 500 million yuan and an estimated output value of 2 billion yuan.
On January 11
Wacker Chemie expanded its specialty silicone business and reorganized its production in Europe. It plans to build a new silicone production base in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The demand for silicone in electric vehicles, renewable energy and other fields is the main driving force for Wacker's expansion. The new production base is expected to be put into production by the end of 2025, and Wacker has invested hundreds of millions of euros in this.
On January 17
Jitai Co., Ltd. issued an announcement that the company plans to increase its capital by 153,436,236.32 yuan to Anhui Jitai, and then Anhui Jitai will increase its capital by 153,436,236.32 yuan to Anqing Chengtai to implement the "annual production of 20,000 tons of vinyl silicone oil, 20,000 tons of new energy sealants, and 0.2 tons of core additives construction projects".
On January 26
Demei Chemical announced that it had signed an "Equity Transfer Agreement" with Wacker Chemical (China) Co., Ltd. to purchase 50% of the equity of its subsidiary Demei Wacker Silicone Co., Ltd. from Wacker Chemical. The maximum transaction amount is expected to be no more than 69 million yuan. After the equity transfer is completed, Demei Wacker will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Demei Chemical.
On January 27
Hubei Yiheng High-tech Materials Co., Ltd. and Foshan Jinyinhe Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. officially signed a contract for an annual production of 80,000 tons of organic silicon new materials fully automatic production line project. On January 29, Elkem restarted one of its three smelting furnaces at the Salten silicon plant in Norway. The plant was shut down on December 10, 2023 due to a fire in the building where raw materials were stored (which contained some highly flammable items).
On February 18
Xin'an Tianyu Silicone Co., Ltd. High-performance Organic Silicon Electronic New Materials Intelligent Manufacturing Base Project started.
On February 26
Xin'an Shares issued an announcement: The company will jointly invest with electronic-grade silane specialty gas and semiconductor precursor companies to establish a joint venture company, and use the resources and advantages of both parties to cooperate in the construction of electronic-grade monosilane and silicon-based specialty gas projects, and provide corresponding products for industries such as semiconductors, display panels, photovoltaics and silicon-carbon negative electrodes. The registered capital of the joint venture is RMB 80 million, and the company and its subsidiaries invested RMB 36 million, accounting for 45% of the shares of the joint venture.
On March 20
the second phase of Hubei Zheng'an New Materials Co., Ltd.'s 65,000-ton annual production of high-performance special silicon materials project officially started.
On April 25
Elkem's first quarter financial report revealed that its expansion project in China will be put into production in May this year. It is reported that Elkem is expanding and upgrading its silicone factory in China to increase the production capacity of 120,000 tons of polysiloxane.
On April 27
Xingfa Group issued an announcement that its wholly-owned subsidiary Hubei Xingrui intends to acquire 100% of the equity of Gucheng Xingfa New Materials Co., Ltd. in cash for a transaction price of 328.961 million yuan. After the transaction is completed, Gucheng Xingfa will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xingfa Group. At present, the designed operating capacity of Gucheng Xingfa Silica Mine is 1 million tons/year.
On May 1
Xingfa Group's annual production of 100 million meters of silicone synthetic leather project started in Gucheng, Hubei. The total investment of the project is 3 billion yuan, and the construction unit is the group's subsidiary Hubei Ruijia Silicon Materials Co., Ltd. After the project is fully completed, the annual output value can be increased by 4.5 billion yuan.
On May 8
Dow announced that its LuxSense silicone leather material has successfully achieved a new round of mass production in the Chinese market.
On May 14
Momentive announced that it had been fully acquired by its major shareholder, South Korea's KCC Corporation, and minority shareholder SJLPartners, LLC had withdrawn.
On May 15
Shin-Etsu Chemical announced an investment plan for a new organic silicon project in Dushan Port, Pinghu, Zhejiang, China. The estimated investment amount is about 2.1 billion yen (RMB 97,967,100 according to the real-time exchange rate). 40,000 square meters will be requisitioned in the Dushan Port Economic Development Zone to build a new factory, which is scheduled to be completed and put into production in February 2026.
On May 29
the State Council issued the "2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan", which deployed ten major energy conservation and carbon reduction actions around key areas and key industries such as energy, industry, construction, transportation, public institutions, and energy-consuming equipment. It mentioned that "reasonable layout of new production capacity in silicon, lithium, magnesium and other industries" and required that "the energy efficiency of new polysilicon and lithium battery positive and negative electrode projects must reach the advanced level of the industry". Promote "advanced technologies such as large-scale submerged arc furnace silicon production".
On June 2
Wacker announced the acquisition of manufacturing assets and know-how from Bio Med Sciences Inc. in the United States to expand its expertise and business in the field of silicone-coated healthcare products. Wacker and Bio Med Sciences Inc. signed a corresponding purchase agreement.
On June 20
Wacker broke ground on its new silicone production base in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Wacker will produce room temperature vulcanized high-performance silicones in Karlovy Vary from the end of 2025 and high temperature vulcanized silicone rubber from 2028 for future important technology fields such as electric vehicles, healthcare technology and grid expansion.
On June 25
the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of Xingfa Group's 200,000-ton industrial silicon project was held in Wuda District, Wuhai, Inner Mongolia. Xingfa Group plans to invest approximately 2.665 billion yuan to build a 200,000-ton industrial silicon device and supporting facilities in phases, with 100,000 tons of industrial silicon in the first phase. Subsequent plans include the construction of downstream silicone projects such as special silicone materials, silicone rubber, and silicone oil.
July 11
Henan Jinhai New Materials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 100 billion-level fluorine and silicon new materials project. The project is located in the Economic and Technological Development Zone of Wuyang County, Luohe City. The project covers a total area of about 3,000 acres and has a total investment of 30 billion yuan. The project is divided into two phases, with a total investment of 15.8 billion yuan in the first phase, and is scheduled to be completed and put into production in December 2025. The second phase of the project is being planned and designed, and construction is scheduled to start in 2025. The project mainly relies on the company's salt mines and fluorite resources to create four complete industrial chains of organic fluorine new materials, organic silicon new materials, organic chlorine materials and new energy materials.
July 18
Hubei Xingrui's 400,000 tons/year organic silicon new materials project has fully started trial production, with steady progress and smooth material feeding. On July 28, the handover ceremony of Luxi Group's 400,000 tons/year organic silicon project was held. The project began to be planned in 2021. After completion and production, it is expected to achieve an annual output value of 3 billion yuan, which is of great strategic significance for strengthening the company's chemical new materials.
August 15
Fang Hongcheng, former general manager of Hesheng Silicon Industry, was sentenced to four years and six months in the first instance. Pinghu People's Court publicly sentenced Fang Hongcheng and Fang Hongxing for bribery and embezzlement by non-state employees. Defendant Fang Hongcheng was convicted of bribery by non-state employees and sentenced to four years and six months in prison and a fine of RMB 1 million; defendant Fang Hongxing was convicted of bribery by non-state employees and sentenced to four years and two months in prison and a fine of RMB 800,000. At the same time, the illegal gains of more than 3.31 million yuan jointly obtained by the defendants Fang Hongcheng and Fang Hongxing were recovered and turned over to the state treasury; the properties of the defendants Fang Hongcheng and Fang Hongxing were seized as property clues and transferred for execution and handling in accordance with the law.
September 5
Wacker Chemie has successfully developed a new precursor for the production of highly integrated memory chips and microprocessors, providing innovative product solutions for semiconductor customers. The precursor is a new type of silane that can be used for chemical vapor deposition in semiconductor production to ensure the reliable and uninterrupted operation of highly integrated chips.
September 9
The main body of the R&D and manufacturing center project of Hesheng Silicon (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hesheng Silicon, was successfully capped. The project is located in Yongle District, Nanxiang Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, with a total construction area of more than 40,000 square meters. The center will rely on Hesheng Silicon's own technology to focus on the research and development of third-generation semiconductor silicon carbide crystal growth technology and high-end silicon-based new materials products. After the project is completed, it will form a series of products such as large-size SiC crystal growth furnaces, special compound rubbers, 5G potting glue, thermal conductive glue, foamed silicone rubber, etc., and realize the transformation of results through research and development, assembly, manufacturing and other methods.
September 17
Evonik announced that it will actively promote green and sustainable transformation, and plans to promote performance by focusing most of its research and development in three innovative areas: bio-based solutions, energy transformation and circular economy, to achieve an increase of 1.5 billion euros (about 11.8 billion yuan) in revenue by 2032 compared to 2023. Evonik also announced its technological breakthroughs in recycled rubber applications in tires. Evonik said that by adding a special formula containing vinyl silane, the sulfur bridges in the recycled rubber can be broken while keeping as many intact long carbon chains as possible. This process is expected to increase the use of recycled rubber in new tires by four times to nearly 20%.
September 30
The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued an announcement stating that in response to an application submitted by Momentive Performance Material (India) Pvt. Limited, an Indian domestic company, an anti-dumping investigation was initiated on Siloxane Polyoxyalkylene Copolymers having viscosity up to 2500cst originating in or imported from China.
October 1
Yichang Kelin Silicon Materials Co., Ltd. merged with Hubei Xingfa Chemical Group Co., Ltd. After the merger, Kelin will no longer be an independent legal person for financial accounting. All business operations, contractual relationships, rights and obligations of Kelin will be inherited by Hubei Xingfa Chemical Group Co., Ltd. The original contract will continue to be valid and the original service commitment will remain unchanged. Yichang Kelin is one of the most important silicone oil manufacturers in China.
October 8
Dow and carbon nanotube (CNT) technology pioneer Carbice announced a strategic partnership to provide multiple generations of thermal interface materials (TIM) products for high-performance electronic products in the mobile, industrial and consumer industries and semiconductor fields. The cooperation was announced at the North American Battery Show and combines Dow Chemical's decades of experience in the field of silicone with Carbice's patented CNT technology to provide new thermal management products.
October 11
Evonik announced that its two major businesses, coatings and adhesive resins and healthcare, will undergo a large-scale restructuring, and businesses outside the core areas will be sold or closed. Evonik said it is restructuring the two business lines to strengthen their growth prospects. Future investments in the two businesses of coatings and adhesive resins and healthcare will focus on and concentrate on their core businesses. Non-core businesses will be sold, merged into cooperative enterprises or shut down. The sales of the affected businesses totaled approximately 350 million euros.
November 2
As a supporting and key project for Zhaotong City to accelerate the creation of a "100 billion yuan" green silicon aluminum industry, the Xin'an Group's Yanjin 150,000 tons of industrial silicon project held an ignition ceremony.
November 6
The Forest Branch of the Shangrao Public Security Bureau successfully cracked a major counterfeit registered trademark case involving more than 10 million yuan and arrested 3 criminal suspects. One counterfeit production line, more than 100,000 silicone sealants, and more than 20,000 counterfeit well-known brand trademarks were seized on the spot, involving more than 10 million yuan.
November 15
Huitian New Materials announced that Zhang Feng, a person acting in concert with the company's controlling shareholder, was convicted of manipulating the securities market and was sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of 150 million yuan, and the illegal gains were confiscated.
December 4
Norway's Elkem Group announced that its chemical silicone waste upcycling project has been successfully expanded from the laboratory to a pilot unit at the Saint-Fons production base in Lyon, France. This is an important milestone in promoting the transformation of silicone to a circular economy.
December 11
Tel Chemical and Momentive Group announced a distribution agreement that will expand Momentive's range of silicones and performance ingredients in the European beauty and personal care market. From March 1, 2025, Tel Chemical will distribute Momentive's beauty and personal care product portfolio in Germany and Austria.
December 13
Reuters reported that Evonik is expected to launch the largest restructuring plan in its history to streamline its business, which may affect 7,000 people (Evonik currently has 32,000 employees, and the number of layoffs exceeds one-fifth of the total number of employees in the company).
December 18
The groundbreaking ceremony of Sika (Zhejiang) New Materials Factory was held in Dushan Port Economic Development Zone, Pinghu, Zhejiang. Sika (Zhejiang) New Materials Co., Ltd. covers an area of 100 mu and plans to build a series of products such as high-performance environmentally friendly adhesives and coatings with an annual output of 141,300 tons. The project products cover fire retardant coatings, silicone adhesives, floor coatings, adhesives, waterproof materials, etc., which are used in clean energy including wind power, nuclear power, new energy vehicles, and green and low-carbon buildings. After the project is completed, it will be Sika China's largest production base in China. After the project reaches full production, it is expected to achieve an annual output value of more than 4.3 billion yuan.
December 18
The Kaihua Synthetic Materials Relocation and Park Upgrading Project has been completed. The project started construction in November 2021. At present, all construction has been completed. Various preparatory work such as employee safety training is being carried out before production. It is expected to be put into production in June next year. After production, it is expected to bring 1.5 billion yuan of production benefits to the company each year, injecting new momentum into the company's high-quality development.
December 19
Hubei Xingyuan Gas Co., Ltd. was established with a registered capital of 100 million yuan. Its business scope includes: basic chemical raw material manufacturing; hazardous chemical business. The company is jointly held by Xingfa Group and Heyuan Gas, of which Xingfa Group holds 51.00% and Heyuan Gas holds 49.00%.
December 23
Yunneng New Materials officially launched the "New Cloud" brand and launched a series of new silicone products. A total of 7 new products, including hydroxyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane linear body, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), low volatility 107 glue, low viscosity 107 glue, low volatility silicone oil and high ring body, were unveiled.
December 24
Evonik Specialty Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. published the environmental impact assessment report of the new product project of the modified organosiloxane plant.
December 26
Jiangsu Aikewei Technology Co., Ltd. submitted an IPO application to the Beijing Stock Exchange and was accepted. The sponsor is Ping An Securities Co., Ltd. Aikewei is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development, production and sales of oxime series fine chemical products. Its main products include oxime silanes, hydroxylamine salts and basic oxime compounds.
December 27
400,000 tons of industrial silicon of Hesheng Silicon Industry Zhaotong Hydropower Silicon Circular Economy Project was officially ignited and put into production, marking a major step for Zhaotong to build a "100 billion yuan green silicon aluminum industry", and also means that Yunnan has made new progress in building an important integrated base for green hydropower silicon material processing.
