Asia Capacity Shock! Evonik Decides to Shut Down Plants Related to High-purity Silicon Tetrachloride

By SKYSEVEN Chemical Technical Team · 2026-09-16

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On September 11, Evonik announced a production capacity optimization plan, which plans to shut down two small factories in Germany next year. They are the Hamburg plant (about 50 employees, producing cosmetics and personal care raw materials) and the Bitterfeld plant (about 40 employees, mainly producing chlorosilane products). This shutdown will not terminate the relevant businesses, and the original production capacity and technology will be integrated into Evonik's large German factories for continued operation. Subsequently, the company will negotiate with employee representatives to formulate socially responsible resettlement plans for affected personnel.

Hamburg Plant: Shut down in mid-next year, care raw material business moved to Essen site

The Hamburg plant is scheduled to shut down in mid-next year. The makeup and personal care raw material business and technical accumulation will be integrated into Evonik's Essen-Goldschmidtstraße plant to continuous operation. The Essen plant is already the core production base of the care solutions business line, and the Hamburg plant belongs to this business segment. Affected by the weakening global demand and intensified international competition, the profit margin of this segment has been under continuous pressure, which is consistent with the predicament faced by the chemical sector as a whole.

Bitterfeld Plant: Shut down at the end of April 2027, dual pressures of market and operating rate force adjustment

The Bitterfeld plant is scheduled to shut down at the end of April 2027.

This decision mainly stems from the market ecological stability to high-purity silicon tetrachloride: new supply in Asia continues to be released, intensifying sector competition; at the same time, the prolonged operating rate of the plant's equipment is too low, making it difficult to maintain economical operation. Evonik previously evaluated multiple alternative plans such as adjusting the operation mode, reducing production capacity,equipment, and selling the factory area, however none of them could guarantee prolonged sustainable economic benefits, so the final choice was to shut down the plant.

Promote employee consultation and emphasize transparent resettlement

Subsequently, Evonik will communicate with the employee representatives of the two factories in Hamburg and Bitterfeld on follow-up arrangements. Hussin EL Moussaoui, chairman of the company's central works council, said: "Even if difficult choices need to be made, treating Evonik's employees responsibly remains our top priority. Therefore, it is crucial to transparently communicate the necessary changes in advance, so that each of us can understand the situation, leave sufficient time, and jointly develop feasible and socially responsible resettlement plans to all affected personnel."

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