Lyon, France, 20 February 2008 – By further reducing tire rolling resistance, the new generation of high surface-area silicas from Rhodia Silcea further establishes this technology as the most environmentally friendly filler option.

Invented by Rhodia in the 1990’s, high performance silica is one of the key ingredients in energy-saving tires. Until now, the best silicas have made it possible to reduce rolling resistance by approximately 25%, bringing about a reduction in fuel consumption and vehicle CO2 emissions by an estimated 5%. First launched in February 2008, the new Zeosil® Premium range from Rhodia enables rolling resistance to be further reduced by almost 10%. This unrivalled performance confirms the use of silica in the tire tread as the best compromise in terms of eco-balance.

Conducted by the BLIC* in 2000/2001, the analysis of a tire’s lifecycle is an across the board approach that covers the environmental impact of the tire, from the extraction of raw materials to the recycling process. Widely used by the industry and legislators, this analysis remains a benchmark in this field. It clearly demonstrates that the impact of the tire on health and the environment is very largely due to the fuel consumption caused by rolling resistance – and not to the production phase or how it is processed at the end of its life.

The study demonstrates that, after 40,000 km, a tire containing silica in its tread gives a gain of five eco-points – or 11% - in comparison with a tire that contains only carbon black. This gain is equivalent to the total environmental impact of the tire production and the raw materials from which it is made. In other words, “the energy savings made possible by the use of silica tire technology far outweigh the impact of its manufacture”, explains Peter Browning, Global Silica Business Director of Rhodia Silcea.

Since 2001, the progress made in relation to energy-saving tires – and particularly high-performance silicas – have served to confirm the contribution of this technology to the conservation of energy and preservation of the environment. Thanks to its tire customers, the expertise of Rhodia has already contributed to the saving of 20 billion litres of fuel and the reduction, by 50 million tonnes, of CO2 emissions.

The world leader in high-performance silica for tires, Rhodia Silcea focuses its spirit of innovation on materials that bring about a positive impact on the environment and opens up, with Zeosil® Premium, new perspectives for sustainable mobility.

*BLIC: Bureau de Liaison des Industries du Caoutchouc de l’Union Européenne, now known as ERTMA - the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturer’s Association.

Lyon, February 20, 2008 - Rhodia announces the formation of a new company to manage the construction and subsequent operation of its planned silica facility in China. Details of this major new plant, dedicated to the production of high performance precipitated silica in China, were previously released last November in Shanghai.

Located in the city of Qingdao - where the group already operates a silica plant – this new legal entity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rhodia. To be known as RSQC (Rhodia Silica Qingdao Chengyang), the company will have an initial share capital of approximately euro 16 million.

“With this announcement, I am pleased to be able to confirm the start of the construction of this major addition to our global production network,” commented Eric Noyrez, President of Rhodia Silcea, at Tire Technology Expo in Köln, Germany.

The start-up of this world-scale plant is scheduled for July 2009. It will focus on producing highly dispersible silica for the rapidly growing energy-efficient tyre market and will be built using a modular design to enable its easy expansion.

A number of Rhodia’s major customers are supporting the project. Rhodia already operates seven precipitated silica plants around the world. These are located in France, Italy, Venezuela, Brazil, Korea, China and the USA.

Rhodia Silcea launches Zeosil® Premium, a new generation of high surface-area silica offering lower resistance and greater performance

Lyon, France, 20 February 2007 – At the Tire Technology Expo trade fair in Cologne, Germany, Rhodia launched its Zeosil® Premium range – a new generation of high surface-area silicas for energy-saving tires – and confirmed its technological market leadership.

As the result of Rhodia’s expertise in the synthesis of precipitated silica and eight years of research and development, this technology enables further advances to be made in environmental gains, tire performance and manufacturing productivity.

The originality of the Zeosil® Premium technology is based on the association of a specific high surface-area and a new morphology, a unique combination of the silica aggregate and the element particles of which it is composed. This technology makes Zeosil® Premium a breakthrough product that is unique in the market.

The original structure of this silica enables very good dispersibility for such a high surface improving the mixing of silica into rubber and enhancing productivity for the manufacturer. In addition, it provides exceptional tread reinforcement for increased tire durability.

Furthermore, the new morphology associated with the high surface-area provides greater interaction with the polymer, giving a good balance of reinforcing properties and unrivalled viscoelasticity. The excellent overall level of properties in the silica-filled rubber mixture is a decisive factor in achieving improved road-holding and reduced tire rolling resistance.

Until now, Rhodia’s high performance silica has made it possible – without any reduction in tire wear performance – to improve road grip in wet conditions by 5-10% and reduce rolling resistance by 25%. This lowering of rolling resistance corresponds to a reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of approximately 5%. "Zeosil® Premium pushes back these limits even further and provides an additional reduction of almost 10% in rolling resistance, whilst improving road-holding and tire wear resistance", comments Philippe Cochet, Silica Business Development Manager of Rhodia Silcea.

At the launch of the Zeosil® Premium family, Rhodia offers a ‘200 MP’ grade, a micropearl silica with a specific surface of 200m2/g. Rhodia Silcea is working on other specific surfaces, which will further extend the performance of this new range.

Reduced environmental impact, improved road-holding, increased productivity level – with Zeosil® Premium, Rhodia Silcea, the inventor of high performance silica, again demonstrates its spirit of innovation by providing the tire industry with new a new tool for sustainable mobility.