The new facility located in Devnya won the 2021 Bulgarian Investment Agency’s "Investor in Enlargement" award. It meets the highest European environmental and technological standards and is certified as a Class A investment.
Solvay Sodi, a joint-venture between Solvay and Sisecam, unveiled the result of another large-scale investment project at the Devnya plant in Bulgaria. This growth project increases capacity for the production of sodium bicarbonate – a derivative of soda ash – at the plant by 200,000 tons.
The new facility responds to the growing global demand for sodium bicarbonate, an essential product notably used for removing pollutants from the flue gas in industrial applications and as an additive in animal feed, among many other applications. With this investment, Devnya, which is already Europe’s largest soda ash plant, becomes the second largest sodium bicarbonate plant in Europe and one of the biggest in the world.
The inauguration of the new unit is part of an event organized to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the privatization of Solvay Sodi. It was attended by high-level delegations of Solvay Sodi shareholders. These included representatives from the Belgian science company Solvay and Turkish industrial group Sisecam; Frédéric Meurice, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Bulgaria; and representatives from government and state administration, local authorities, trade unions and company partners, as well as journalists and employees.
“I am particularly proud of this modern and energy-efficient facility, in which we have integrated all our know-how and the best technologies available,” said Spiros Nomikos, Solvay Sodi CEO. “This investment is consistent with all those made by Solvay Sodi over the past 25 years to make this site a global reference for the soda ash and sodium bicarbonate industry."
“With the support of the government and local communities, Solvay Sodi is determined to continue investing in Bulgaria in the future,” said Philippe Kehren, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Solvay Sodi and President of Solvay’s Soda Ash and Derivatives Global Business Unit. “In order to reach our sustainability ambitions, we must continue the energy transition of the plant. We want to produce energy from local sustainable fuels instead of fossil fuels that used to be partly sourced in Russia, in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions and protect our competitiveness. This is a fight against climate change as well as for our economic survival. It will allow the Devnya plant to keep competing with non-european players operating with lesser regulations and thus lower production costs. We count on the continued support of all our stakeholders to make it happen."
Alongside this investment, Solvay Sodi is accelerating its energy transition to phase out coal by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This started with the biomass cofiring project announced last February, which will be completed by October 2022, cutting 20% of CO₂ emissions related to energy production at the plant.
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Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 21,000 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet roadmap crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering a better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €10.1 billion in 2021. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels and Paris (SOLB). Learn more at www.solvay.com.
Solvay Soda Ash & Derivatives is a global business division of Solvay. As a world leader in its markets, it provides a global, secured and sustainable supply of soda ash to its customers manufacturing glass for building, automotive, solar panels and packaging applications, as well as detergents and chemicals. It also develops solutions based on sodium bicarbonate for the health care, food, animal feed and flue gas cleaning markets. Solvay Soda Ash & Derivatives has 11 industrial sites worldwide, more than 3,200 employees and serves 120 countries.
AD (Devnya) is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Bulgaria and the largest plant in Europe for the production of soda ash. Soda ash is widely used in the manufacture of glass, detergents, metallurgy, silicates and glass fibers. Sodium Bicarbonate serves the markets of food, animal nutrition, flue gas purification and healthcare. Solvay Sodi was privatized in 1997, with the Belgian scientific group Solvay (75%) and the Turkish group Sisecam (25%) as major shareholders.