LANXESS Mobility Day China

Shanghai, China (September 6, 2012) – German specialty chemicals group LANXESS kicked off “Mobility Day China” in Shanghai today by sharing insights into the latest development in the Green Mobility megatrend. The theme of the event is “sustainable technologies for China’s future”.

Around 400 participants from industry, academia and associations exchanged ideas and explored sustainable solutions in response to China’s Green Mobility trend. Topics covered Green Tires, high performance materials, sustainable leather management, technical rubbers and battery technology.

LANXESS Mobility Day China

Today there are 100 million cars in China and over 225 million vehicles overall. Those numbers will continue to increase dramatically in the coming years. Meanwhile, about 25% of all CO2 emissions in China come from transport. While China is moving towards greater mobility with improved living standards, the country is increasingly turning its focus on the sustainable development of vehicles. People want more economical and more environmentally friendly automobiles without sacrificing safety and comfort.

As a leading specialty chemicals company, we feel that we can help our Chinese customers meet the sustainability goals so clearly set forth in the 12th Five Year Plan, which sets an ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020.

“The growing demands for Green Mobility bring challenges but also opportunities for the right products to make a difference,” said Dr. Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management LANXESS AG. “LANXESS is committed to contributing to sustainable mobility with our expertise and innovations.”

LANXESS has a variety of applications that are geared towards Green Mobility, including synthetic rubbers for the production of “Green Tires” and auto parts, high-performance plastics and innovative leather technology for lightweight automotive construction as well as battery technology for electric cars.

“The megatrend of mobility has become one of the most important factors for LANXESS’ commercial success,” said Heitmann.

Dr. Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management LANXESS AG. 

In 2011, products for Green Mobility accounted for 17 percent – or EUR 1.5 billion – of LANXESS’ total sales. LANXESS aims to boost the number to 2.7 billion by 2015.

To meet the growing demand from the growing mobility, LANXESS keeps investing in R&D and expanding its production capabilities.

On September 5, LANXESS has broken ground for the world’s largest Ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China with an investment of EUR 235 million. The plant is expected to start up mid-2015 with a capacity of up to 160,000 metric tons per year. It will generate annual sales of about EUR 300 million, when running at full capacity. EPDM is used above all in the automobile industry as door sealants or windscreen wipers.

LANXESS will use Keltan ACE technology to enable sustainable production at the new plant. In comparison to conventional technology, the ACE catalyst technology reduces the energy and production costs for EPDM and at the same time enables the manufacture of new rubber grades, such as oil-extended EPDM and high molecular weight EPDM.

Later in September, LANXESS will also break ground for the world’s largest Nd-PBR plant in Singapore. Nd-PBR is essential material in the production of green tires.

LANXESS has designated 2012 as the “Year of Green Mobility” to help make modern and sustained mobility a reality with its professional expertise in chemistry and multiple state-of-the-art technologies. As a part of the year’s activities, a series of LANXESS Mobility Days will be conducted on various continents this year.