Protecting our environment, conserving natural resources, saving and generating energy in an environmentally friendly way play an increasingly important role in the development of our product portfolio. WACKER already offers its customers several products that fulfill these criteria.
Our WACKER POLYMERS division delivers the most important starting material for solar cells and hyperpure silicon. WACKER POLYMERS produces additives for construction materials used in thermal insulation of buildings. These materials significantly help to improve a building’s energy balance.
In cooperation with a leading international manufacturer of lamps, we have now developed something truly innovative. Under the LUMISIL® trademark, WACKER SILICONES manufactures high-performance optical-grade silicones that can be used to produce heat-resistant, photostable lenses for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This can be done directly on an LED chip, without difficult injection molding or replication processes, and in just one production step. Simplifying the procedure in this way greatly reduces manufacturing costs and will contribute to making the next generation of LED technology accessible to the mass market.
The developer of the LUMISIL® product line, Dr. Philipp Müller, received this year’s “Alexander Wacker Innovation Award” for his work. LEDs have enormous potential because of their energy efficiency. They consume just a fraction of the energy required by conventional light bulbs or even energy-saving lamps. Accordingly, there are huge opportunities for growth in this market and, thus, for WACKER’s silicone business. We're expecting annual growth rates of 20%.
In this way, economic and ecological interests blend together perfectly – with WACKER once again proving that its innovative products provide an important contribution to sustainability and environmental compatibility. We'll continue to pursue our R&D to supply good products and solutions in the future, too.
