January 20, 2009

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Michael H. Hoffmann
Phone +49 69 218-3583
Fax +49 69 218-63583
michael.hoffmann@evonik.com
A Trailblazer

Evonik has succeeded in registering synthetic amorphous silica with the European Chemicals Agency—and is the first company in the market to do so

In compliance with the new EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) chemicals regulation, Evonik Industries has successfully registered synthetic amorphous silica with the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. This authorizes the company, now and in the future, to produce, import, and market its own brands of precipitated (ULTRASIL®, SIPERNAT®, etc.) and fumed (AEROSIL®) silicas. Evonik is thus the first producer to have successfully registered synthetic amorphous silica. The substances were registered by order of the respective REACH consortia in the form of a joint submission. As the lead registrant, Evonik has blazed a trail for other organized chemical companies to have these substances registered.

According to the REACH chemicals regulation, which came into force in June 2007, existing substances—substances already listed in the inventory under the old chemicals legislation—had to be preregistered by December 1, 2008, as a first step (so as to achieve “phase-in” status). This was accomplished on schedule for all the products of the Inorganic Materials Business Unit. Following this preregistration, the important substance synthetic amorphous silica is now the first of the more than one hundred of the business unit’s substances to be registered. The registration phase for substances handled in quantities of more than 1,000 metric tons per year ends in November 2010. 

Evonik Degussa GmbH
Weißfrauenstraße 9
60287 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Phone 	+49 69 218-01
Fax 	+49 69 218-3118
www.evonik.com

Supervisory Board
Dr. Klaus Engel, Chairman
Board of Management
Patrik Wohlhauser, Chairman
Ralf Blauth, Dr. Thomas Haeberle

Registered Office is Essen
Register Court
Essen Local Court
Commercial Registry B 20227
Evonik initiated Group-wide measures early on for the proper implementation of REACH. These involved implementation of internal project management, training in the areas of procurement and marketing, data collection, and IT solutions, as well as letters to customers and workshops for customers and suppliers to familiarize them with the new chemicals regulation. Evonik has preregistered about 4,000 substances.

Company information
Evonik Industries is the creative industrial group from Germany which operates in three business areas: Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity, specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In its fiscal year 2007 about 43,000 employees generated sales of about €14.4 billion and an operating profit (EBITDA) of more than €2.2 billion. 
Disclaimer
In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.