For the 160th anniversary of Solvay a new laboratory with "dry room" in Bollate

On the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the Solvay Group, whose origins date back to 1863 when it was founded by Ernest Solvay in Belgium, the “Citizen Day” were held at all company sites around the world as a series of initiatives and events under the title "For Generations to Come" aimed to celebrate this important milestone with all the main stakeholders and discuss about future challenges and opportunities. 

At the Solvay research centre in Bollate (Milan) the celebrations opened with an event that saw the participation of local authorities, universities, partners, customers, employees and the press, which ended with the inauguration of the new dry room for lithium batteries inside the company lab. Marco Martinelli, country manager of Solvay in Italy, Marco Apostolo, director of the Bollate site, Francesco Vassallo, mayor of Bollate, and Alessandro Spada, president of Assolombarda also attended the event.

The company made an investment of one million euros in the new dry room, to which the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy contributed through the financial support granted under the IPCEI programme (Important Projects of Common European Interest). Thanks to the dry room, where the performance of lithium batteries assembled with the materials supplied by Solvay will be assessed, the company reaffirms its key role in the development of innovative materials that meet the growing needs and demands of high-tech industries.

Solvay Specialty Polymers has been operating for several years in the research, development and marketing of special polymers used in the production of lithium batteries. Designed for enhancing the reliability of materials and accelerating research and development, the dry room at the Bollate site is an environment with controlled temperature and humidity at very low values, which makes it possible to work in the same conditions as lithium battery producers and thus obtain reliable application results that can be shared with partners and customers.

Marco Martinelli, country manager of Solvay Italia, commented: "Today we are celebrating 160 years since the foundation of the Solvay Group. It is a milestone that few industrial companies in the world have been able to achieve. We draw our inspiration from the company founder, Ernest Solvay, who started in 1863 with the invention of the Solvay soda process. Ever since then, the group has been pursuing a path of continuous evolution, and today it is present in over 60 countries worldwide as a leader in the field of advanced materials and specialty chemicals. In line with the principles of the founder, our current vision is: connecting people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress."

"The new dry room will allow the battery lab at the Solvay Specialty Polymers research centre in Bollate to position itself as a centre of excellence for the study of lithium batteries. This investment is in line with the mission of the research centre which consists of interpreting the market demands and trends in order to meet the needs and requirements of the community. Today, in fact, the special polymers that are developed here are fundamental for the most advanced and high-tech value chains, including green energy, sustainable mobility and electronics just to name a few", said Marco Apostolo, director of the Solvay site in Bollate.

As part of Solvay's 160th anniversary celebrations, a panel discussion was held on the theme "Development of sustainable technologies for the mobility of the future" moderated by physicist, writer and theatrical actress Gabriella Greison with the participation of Marco Bocciolone, delegate for technology transfer of the Polytechnic University of Milan, Renata Mele, senior vice president for sustainability of Leonardo, and Cristiana Gaburri, central scientific director of Federchimica. 

The Solvay research centre in Bollate is home to about 350 researchers who work in close collaboration with the main Italian and international universities, partners and customers. The Bollate site is also the headquarters of Solvay in Italy and employs a total of about 500 people.