Products
Product Safety
STATUS OF GOALS FOR 2009/2010
Submit 66 registration dossiers to the ECHA for substances between 100 and 1,000 metric tons a year
Corporate entity: Groupwide
Deadline: 2013
Implementation status: goal achieved in June 2013 with 67 registration dossiers
NEW GOAL
We will publish GPS Safety Summaries – which will make information on material properties publicly accessible – for the substances we have registered with the ECHA. The Global Product Strategy (GPS) contains rules for the assessment of the properties of chemicals and on how to provide information on their safe use. So far, we have published 41 GPS Safety Summaries on the ICCA website.
Corporate entity: Groupwide
Deadline: The relevant GPS Safety Summaries are to be published on the ICCA website at the latest one year after the registration of our substances with the ECHA. This will probably amount to more than 300 substances by the end of 2018.
FUTURE TOPICS
REACH
We are preparing a further 190 substance dossiers for the third stage of REACH, which runs until mid-2018. We will continue to implement REACH legislation even beyond 2018. For example, new substances will have to be registered. In addition, we will have to update existing dossiers if the annual production of a particular substance exceeds the current threshold, if our customers use substances for new purposes, if new findings come to light about a substance, or if the European Commission amends the detailed provisions of REACH. During the coming REACH stages until 2018 and beyond, our Procurement department will continue to ask our suppliers whether the substances and mixtures supplied to us will meet the deadlines for ECHA registration.
GHS
In 2013, we will establish an English-language, non-EU-specific version of the online GHS training for our employees, which we will particularly use at our US sites.
Product Stewardship
FUTURE TOPICS
Research and Development
The Group’s research and development work remains focused on key strategic projects. Our priorities remain the highly promising fields of energy, catalysis, biotechnology, construction applications and semiconductors. We are devoting particular attention to energy storage and renewable energy generation.
WACKER will continue to participate in the National Platform for Electric Mobility, an initiative launched jointly by the German government and industry. The common goal is for at least one million electric vehicles to be on the road in Germany by 2020.
Polysilicon Production
In photovoltaics, we will continue to strengthen our technological lead in polysilicon production. Our aim is to improve our silicon deposition process and to enhance our closed production loop, which ranges from silicon metal – through hyperpure solar-grade and electronic-grade silicon – to silicones and pyrogenic silica.
WACKER will substantially expand its production capacity for hyperpure polysilicon to meet increasing demand from the photovoltaic industry and to support the switch to renewable energy sources. What’s more, we are building a new polysilicon production facility in Cleveland (Tennessee), with an annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons. This is scheduled to come on stream in 2015. WACKER’s overall polysilicon capacity will then increase to 72,000 metric tons.
Our development projects are focused on further boosting the efficiency of polysilicon production processes. We believe, for example, there is considerable scope for reducing specific energy consumption. Lower production costs will further enhance the competitiveness of photovoltaic power generation. Polysilicon can thus be a crucial contributor to the success of the energy transition – and not only in Germany.
Environmental Product Assessments
WACKER will further deploy the WACKER® Eco Assessment Tool as a standard tool across the Group. This will help us assess the sustainability performance of our key product lines.