Evonik Expands Precipitated Silica Production at US Site

Business Strategy Evonik Expands Precipitated Silica Production at US Site

2024-02-01 Source: Press release Evonik 2 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

Evonik Industries AG

Turck_Your_Global_Automation_Partner.jpg ()

TURCK GmbH

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

ProMinent GmbH

Evonik has plans to expand the production of precipitated silica at its Charleston site in the USA by 50 %. The firm has already invested a mid-double-digit million Euro amount in a new production line which is scheduled to begin in mid-2024.

Evonik operates a production facility for high-grade silica in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. (Source: Evonik) — Evonik operates a production facility for high-grade silica in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
(Source: Evonik)

Charleston/USA – Evonik has invested in a plant expansion for precipitated silica at its site in Charleston, USA. The new line in South Carolina is satisfying the high demand in particular from the tire industry in North America and makes the supply chains of Evonik partners in the region resilient by enabling local silica sourcing.

Silica is a key ingredient for fuel-efficient tires and other products like toothpaste or coatings. The group is investing a mid-double-digit million Euro amount. The construction of the new production line is scheduled to begin in mid-2024. Operations will start in early 2026.

"North America is an important strategic growth region for us," says Maike Schuh, Chief Financial Officer of Evonik and responsible for the Americas region. “With the investment in Charleston, we are strengthening our strategic customer-centric approach and improving our cost and sustainability position. Evonik is investing in innovative and green solutions and technologies that offer our customers superior sustainability benefits.” With the new line in Charleston, the company will increase its production capacity for precipitated silica at the site by 50 percent.

Stay up to Date

Do you want the latest news, specialist articles and information on new products? Then you can register for our free newsletter:

Choose your Newsletter

“With this expansion, our state-of-the-art Charleston site becomes a major hub for precipitated and sustainable silica products in North America," says Lauren Kjeldsen, Head of the Smart Materials Division, which includes the silica business.

Evonik has defined a clear roadmap towards carbon neutrality for its Charleston site. “The commercial and technical teams have worked intensely in the past years to develop a robust expansion concept, which we will now implement," says Emmanuel Auer, Head of the Silica Business Line. "The expansion will contribute to meet our sustainability targets by combining the positive handprint of Evonik’s silica technologies with a low carbon footprint. It is underlining Evonik’s commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative," says Auer.

The expansion in Charleston fulfills the need for local-to-local supply chains for tires. Moreover, the company plans to introduce circular raw materials to manufacture Ultrasil Silica to satisfy the sustainability targets of the tire industry.

Silica is a key ingredient for fuel-efficient tires, reducing fuel consumption by up to eight percent compared to conventional passenger car tires. In North America, the demand for tires with reduced rolling resistance and improved fuel efficiency is experiencing above-average growth.

(ID:49895605)

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.