Norway-based silicon and ferro-silicon producer Elkem, a world leader in advanced silicon-based materials, has announced an expansion plan to support demand growth for speciality materials in the Europe-Middle East-Asia region (EMEA) and the Americas.
On Wednesday October 27, the company's board of directors approved a capacity expansion by 20,000 tonnes per year at the plant in Roussillon, near Lyon in France, which would bring the effective silicone intermediates capacity at the upstream plant to 100,000 tpy. The total cost of the upgrade was said to be ?,?36 million ($42 million).
The plant produces silicones, a form of specialized silicon that has been referred to as polysilicon. Silicone is used in semiconductors, electric and hybrid vehicles, decarbonized energy systems, 3D...