Solvay reveals new name for plastics business

In advance of its plan to split in two, Belgian chemical maker Solvay says that its commodity chemical business will keep the Solvay name, while its specialty chemical activities will be carved out into a new company named Syensqo.

In a news release, Solvay officials said the Syensqo business will include polymers and thermoplastic composites as well as specialty chemicals for sectors such as oil and gas, batteries, green hydrogen, and renewable materials. The businesses that will make up Syensqo had pre-tax profits in 2022 of US$2.0 billion and sales of US$8.5 billion.

According to Solvay, the breakdown of the new name is as follows:

• SY links back to the first and last letters in Solvay.
• EN is a nod to Ernest Solvay’s name.
• SYENS refers to Solvay’s scientific heritage, which goes back to 1911, when its founder Ernest Solvay brought 24 of the world’s most brilliant scientific minds together – including Albert Einstein and Marie Curie – for the first Solvay Conference. In fact, the impact was so profound that the Unesco World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe the archives of the Solvay Conferences for Physics and Chemistry in its Memory of the World Register.
• Q points to this same 1911 conference, which laid the foundations for Quantum Physics, and launched one of the greatest scientific journeys ever, still feeding cutting-edge innovation today.
• And QO is for company.

The Solvay entity’s continuing business portfolio, meanwhile, will include Soda Ash, Peroxides, Silica, Coatings, and Special Chemicals, which generated approximately US$6.1 billion in net sales in 2022.

The split up of Solvay, whose business units include engineering thermoplastics and composites, is due to take place in December of this year.