Solvay : partners with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials to recycle end-of-life medical components

Solvay partners with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials to recycle end-of-life medical components

New collaboration will help customers reach sustainability goals for high-performance UdelⓇ PSU polymers in demanding applications

Brussels, March 22, 2022

Medical equipment made using Solvay's UdelⓇ high-performance polysulfone (PSU) thermoplastic will be recycled at the end of their useful lives in a new sustainability initiative that the company has embarked on with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials (MCAM).

In line with Solvay'sOne Planet sustainability roadmap and Mitsubishi's KAITEKI vision designed to preserve resources and contribute to safer, cleaner and more sustainable products, both companies are currently investigating the implementation of logistics for recovery, recycling, and reprocessing ofUdelⓇPSU medical components, with the aim of recycled material being suitable for reuse in the original applications.

"The agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials is the latest demonstration of Solvay's commitment to help customers achieve ambitious sustainability targets," says Antonella Di Meo, Product Sustainability Manager at Solvay. "It is part of our long-term commitment to develop sustainable solutions from bio-based or recycled resources. With this project, we want to show, in a practical way, that it is possible to recycle high-value UdelⓇ PSU parts used in the medical field, yielding important savings in CO2 emissions along the production and supply chain."

The project involves using a combination of the expertise developed by MCAM to wash and mechanically purify the material, together with Solvay's ability to evaluate the chemistry of the end-of-life polymer, to develop a robust recycling strategy that will provide customers with materials that fully meet all specifications.

MCAM has already partnered with Solvay in reclamation and recycling of other high-performance polymers, includingKetaSpireⓇ polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

"Giving back more than we take is at the heart of MCAM's strategy and sustainability approach. We have adopted the concept of KAITEKI to help us achieve our sustainability objectives based on our core values of environmental, social and human well-being," says Henning Bloech, Global Director Sustainable Solutions for Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials. "We fully support our partner

Solvay in this effort. We look forward to maximizing the potential of our synergies to help customers tackle the global challenge of plastic waste."

Together with Solvay's polymer chemistry expertise, MCAM's' mastery of mechanical recycling will help overcome the special challenges customers face to recycle and reuse such polymers in demanding applications in support of the circular economy.

Contacts

Media relations Enrico Zanini

Marketing Communications Manager, Consumer Goods & Healthcare [phone]

Wissem Chambazi [phone]

About Solvay

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 21,000 employees in 63 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet roadmap crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering a better life. The Group's innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world's top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €10.1 billion in 2021. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels and Paris (SOLB). Learn more atwww.solvay.com.

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About MCAM

Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance thermoplastic materials in the form of semi-finished products and finished parts. The company has 46 locations in 19 countries and more than 3,000 employees. Its specialty engineering thermoplastics, high quality recycled polymer materials, as well as carbon fiber and thermoset composite solutions, are superior in performance to metals and other materials and are used in a wide range of applications, primarily in the capital goods industry. MCAM helps move global engineering projects from prototype into production, addressing the high productivity and cost-effective needs of many key markets. Learn more atwww.mcam.com.