Announcement event followed by roundtable discussion on
innovation as driver of sustainable growth
Dow Corning today unveiled plans for its $13 million investment in a Solar
Energy Exploration & Development Center (SEED) at its European headquarters
in Seneffe, Belgium. This investment expands the company’s ability to innovate
with a broad range of European customers using its silicon-based materials
while also enhancing the company’s European-based solar energy research and development
capabilities.
Following a ceremony, which included the unveiling of the investment plans,
political representatives and business leaders shared their views on the role
of innovation as a key driver for economic growth in the 21st Century in
Belgium and Europe. The dialogue created an opportunity for participants
to present their opinion on ‘Plan Marshall 2.Vert’ (Marshall Plan 2.Green)
launched by the Walloon government in September 2009 to boost Wallonia’s
economic growth, including the sixth competitiveness pole announced by
Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice-President and Minister of Economy of the Walloon
region, earlier this year as well as the upcoming innovation strategy and the
revision of the EU’s industrial policy.
"Dow Corning supports many of the tenets of these actions, as we believe
a focus on renewable energy and sustainable innovation will bring economic and
environmental benefits to Belgium as well as the entire EU.“ said Jean-Marc
Gilson, Dow Corning Executive Vice President and General Manager of Specialty
Chemicals
The investment in SEED includes two new buildings that will complement the
company’s existing Business & Technology Center in Seneffe, increasing
capabilities and capacity for research and development in Europe.
One facility, a Synthesis Technology Center for the European area, will
house laboratories and chemists focused on increasing Dow Corning’s innovation portfolio of silicon-based materials
and boosting research in sustainable technologies. A second facility, a
European Solar Solutions Application Center, will seek to advance the company’s
technology for use in photovoltaic cells. Construction is expected to begin
later in 2010.
“This investment increases Dow Corning’s innovation capabilities for
customers in Europe, allowing us to expand our research and innovation
portfolio and continue to add to our scientific and technical expertise for
multiple industries, based on the silicon atom,” said Dow Corning’s Gilson. “We
think Europe can be a global center for research and development for sustainability-focused products and
applications, and this investment will help Dow Corning continue to grow
through innovation.”
The Walloon region has
granted Dow Corning € 7.5 million of subsidies to help the company with
its investments.
Isabelle Durant, Member of the European Parliament for the Wallonia region,
said: “Wallonia is keen to play its role in increasing Europe’s innovation
capacity and cutting carbon emissions – two of the most important common goals
of the European Union. We are delighted, therefore, that Dow Corning has chosen
our region for its new solar exploration center - a project that both
confirms our status as a hub for innovation and creates jobs for the community
in the process”
NOTE TO MEDIA: B-roll, audio files and high resolution images are
available on: http://www.eyecone.com/presspack/dowcorning/.
Video formats: preview webcast in flash (.flv) and professional broadcast in
H264/Mpeg4. Audio format: radio in MP3.
Dow Corning is also the majority shareholder in the Hemlock
Semiconductor Group (www.hscpoly.com) joint ventures, which
includes Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor, L.L.C.
Hemlock Semiconductor is a leading provider of polycrystalline silicon and
other silicon-based products used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices
and solar cells and modules. Hemlock Semiconductor began operations in 1961 and
has announced more than $4 billion of investments since 2005.