Evonik Industries, Essen, Germany, and its partner Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TNSC) have officially started up a new integrated production facility for monosilane and AEROSIL® in Yokkaichi, 400 kilometers south of Tokyo.

ESSEN, Germany - Evonik Industries, Essen, Germany, and its partner Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TNSC) have officially started up a new integrated production facility for monosilane and AEROSIL® in Yokkaichi, 400 kilometers south of Tokyo. The facility will serve the growing photovoltaic and electronic markets. The project volume was around EUR 150 million, and the facility was Evonik’s largest single project in 2010. Evonik has a long-term agreement to supply monosilane to TNSC.

Monosilane is used in the production of thin-film solar cells, flat-screen displays and semiconductors for the electronics industry. Applications for AEROSIL® include processing into plastics, colorants and coatings.

The process used to produce monosilane at the new plant was developed by Evonik, which already operates a facility using this technology in Rheinfelden, Germany. The new plant in Yokkaichi will serve the Asian market with electronic-grade monosilane.

Evonik is one of the world's major producers of chlorosilanes and monosilanes and therefore produces key components for the solar energy and electronics industries.

TNSC is one of the leading global distributors of industrial and special gases, including silanes, and has supplied key customers in the Asian electronics industry for many years.