Evonik to close Hamburg and Bitterfeld sites, consolidating German production

Evonik plans to close its Hamburg and Bitterfeld sites in Germany by the middle of next year and end of April 2027, respectively. Around 50 Hamburg employees supply cosmetics and personal care products, which will move to the Essen-Goldschmidtstrasse site, while around 40 Bitterfeld employees producing high-purity silicon tetrachloride (chlorosilanes) will be phased out. Customers will be supplied primarily from the Rheinfelden site in southern Germany.

Key facts

Market context

Silicon tetrachloride is a key intermediate in the chlorosilane family, used mainly to produce fumed silica, silicone precursors and other silicon-based materials. Fumed silica serves as a reinforcing filler and thickening agent in sealants, coatings, adhesives and rubber, while silicones supply lubricants, electronics materials and personal care ingredients. Demand is therefore linked to construction, automotive, electronics and cosmetics end markets. Chlorosilane production is capital-intensive and depends on integrated chlorine and silicon supply, so changes in the number of producing sites can alter regional logistics and lead times more than global volumes. Fewer production points can make a supply network more dependent on a small set of plants, which matters to buyers who rely on high-purity grades for electronics or specialty uses. Cosmetic ingredient production, by contrast, is typically a smaller and more specialized operation that can be relocated between existing sites with less direct effect on bulk chemical markets.

Source: official release on evonik.com. Summary and context written by Market Krystal.