Solvay establishes Solvay Energy to manage energy purchases

New subsidiary will optimize net energy costs of Solvay Group

27-Jul-2009 - Belgium

Chemical and pharmaceutical group Solvay announced that it has established a new subsidiary, Solvay Energy S.A., based in Brussels. Solvay Energy will negotiate, conclude and manage main contracts for natural gas, coal, coke, fuel, electrical energy, steam and carbon dioxide emission rights on behalf of the entities of the group.

The new subsidiary will also implement an energy hedging strategy in collaboration with the relevant Strategic Business Units of the group to protect their business against the wide price volatility that has been witnessed in the recent past. Energy is an important cost driver in the production of chemicals and plastics, as it accounted for 10.3% of group sales in 2008.

“The establishment of Solvay Energy is a new step in Solvay’s proactive energy strategy which is focused on sustainable development and cost-efficiency”, says Jean-Michel Mesland, Group General Manager of Research, Technology & Procurement and member of the Executive Committee. “The dynamics of energy markets worldwide represent both a challenge and an opportunity for the Group, as response time to market fluctuations becomes more and more important. Centralizing and consolidating the expertise on energy markets as well as hedging capabilities within one single entity will ensure the Group is adequately positioned to react rapidly to evolving market conditions. Solvay Energy will be targeting selected energy exchanges it deems representative and having sufficient liquidity as main reference for underlying contracts”, adds Patrick Lacroix, Managing Director of Solvay Energy.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/103796/solvay-establishes-solvay-energy-to-manage-energy-purchases.html