SOLVAY AND EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY SET UP JOINT RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTER ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

Embargo: Brussels and Seoul, 30 May 2011, at 3:15 a.m. (Brussels time)
 
                 Solvay and EWHA Womans University set up joint
               Research & Development Center on University Campus
 
 Solvay invests EUR 13 million in RD&T Center, which is focusing on high-growth
   markets such as electronics, lithium ion batteries and photovoltaic cells
 
Solvay  and the EWHA Womans University in Seoul, Korea, have signed an agreement
under  which  the  company  will  locate  its  Korean  Research, Development and
Technology  (RDT)  Centre  and  Headquarters  of  Solvay's  Global Business Unit
Special  Chemicals on the EWHA  University Campus in Seoul.  EWHA is the largest
women's  university in the world and it can capitalize on a strong international
research  network with universities  and research institutes  in the USA, France
(CNRS),  Germany (Max Plank  Institut), Japan (National  Institute for Materials
Science) and Russia (Academy of Science).
 
Solvay  will invest EUR  13 million in the  RDT Center, which  will enhance both
research collaboration with the academic world as well as customer intimacy, and
EUR  3.8 million in a five year collaborative research fellowship with EWHA. The
RDT  Center will be  mainly focused on  high-growth markets such as electronics,
lithium  ion batteries and photovoltaic cells, markets for which Solvay produces
high  value-added specialty  polymers and  chemicals. Solvay's  researchers will
conduct   chemical   research  in  close  cooperation  with  EWHA's  Centre  for
intelligent nano-biomaterials, EWHA's Institute of nano-biotechnology and EWHA's
New & Renewable Energy Research Centre, which counts 5 groups working on lithium
batteries  (cathode, anode and  electrolyte), electro chromic  systems and solar
cells.
 
It is the first time a non-Korean private company strikes such an agreement with
a  Korean University. The  agreement complements Solvay's  R&D efforts in Korea.
Solvay is investing KRW 20 billion (EUR 13 million) in Korean technology venture
capital fund Korea Advanced Materials Fund, which takes participations in start-
ups  with  promising  technologies  and  focuses  on  renewable  energy, printed
electronics, clean technologies & green chemistry.
 
"The  Solvay R&D Center  at EWHA Womans  University will be  the first and major
global  research facility boasting the largest scale in all of Korea. This joint
agreement  between  EWHA  and  Solvay  will  once again bring into the spotlight
EWHA's   competitive   edge  in  international  research.  Solvay  is  a  global
corporation  that  has  supported  numerous  world-renowned scientists including
Marie Curie, while EWHA is an educational institution dedicated to women, with a
long  history of nurturing the dreams of women scientists. I anticipate that the
collaboration  between the two institutions will  create great synergy. It is my
dream  that a successor to Marie Curie will  come out of EWHA through this joint
venture," says Dr. Sun-Uk Kim, EWHA President.
 
"This  agreement will enhance  Solvay's activities in  Korea, a country that has
developed  an impressive knowhow and  is conveniently located in  the heart of a
dynamic  region.  By  teaming  with  such  a  well-established  and  prestigious
university  as EWHA, we  will intensify our  R&D in close  co-operation with the
academic  world. Our RDT Center in Seoul will focus on developing products which
will  help the  world to  overcome the  challenges of  the 21(st) century," says
Christian Jourquin, Solvay's Chief Executive Officer.
 
EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY is one of the Korea's most prestigious universities. As a
research-oriented   university,   Ewha  has  world-class  researchers  producing
invaluable  research  outcomes  which  are  supported  by  the  strong  research
infrastructure.  Ewha  is  now  responsible  for  many  female  firsts in Korean
history,  contributing to the  fields of science,  medicine, politics, business,
media,  social welfare, NGO, culture, and arts. Ewha has 11 colleges (65 majors)
and  15 graduate schools (MA and Ph.D) and 25,000 enrolled students. Details are
available at www.ewha.ac.kr/english.
 
SOLVAY  is an  international industrial  Group active  in Chemistry. It offers a
broad  range of products  and solutions that  contribute to improving quality of
life.  The Group is headquartered in Brussels and employs about 14,800 people in
40 countries.  In  2010, its  consolidated  sales  amounted  to EUR 7.1 billion.
Solvay  is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Brussels, Belgium (NYSE
Euronext:  SOLB.BE  -  Bloomberg:  SOLB.BB  -  Reuters:  SOLBt.BR).  Details are
available at www.solvay.com.
 
For further information please contact:
 
 ERIK DE LEYE              PATRICK VERELST
 
 Corporate Press Officer   Head of Investor Relations
 
 SOLVAY S.A.               SOLVAY S.A.
 
 Tel: +32 2 509 7230       Tel. +32 2 509 7243
 
 erik.deleye@solvay.com    patrick.verelst@solvay.com
 
Press Release: 
http://hugin.info/133981/R/1519481/455968.pdf
 
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Source: Solvay S.A. via Thomson Reuters ONE
 
[HUG#1519481]