Rhodia And Dow Corning Sign Silica Agreement

Rhodia and Dow Corning Corporation have announced an agreement for the development and commercialisation of new silica/silane products to support the tyre industry’s drive for energy efficient, safer motoring.

This agreement aims to develop and commercialise innovative silica/silane combinations, principally for the tyre industry where the association of precipitated silica and silane is used in low-energy tyres to help reduce the rolling resistance and hence the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The silane is the component which enhances the interaction between polymer and silica.

Through this partnership, Dow Corning and Rhodia see opportunities to create breakthrough solutions for their customers, enabling further performance improvements in the field of sustainable mobility, such as fuel savings and emissions reductions.

“This collaboration between two global leaders – Rhodia for high-performance silica and Dow Corning for silanes – will further strengthen our technological leadership on a high-growth market” said Rhodia Chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu. “Rhodia confirms its strategic focus on markets driven by sustainable development concerns, which currently represent 30 percent of the group’s sales.”

Stephanie Burns, chairman, president and CEO of Dow Corning commented: “We are proud to partner with Rhodia to continue our drive towards innovative, fuel-saving technologies. From this common development platform, we can better deliver innovative solutions and enable tyre manufacturers to meet customer demand for more sustainable technologies.”