Wacker Chemie

What they do

Wacker Chemie is a Munich chemical group with two pillars that matter for technology: silicones, used in everything from cars to cosmetics, and polysilicon, the ultrapure raw material for solar cells and semiconductor wafers. Its polysilicon is made at three sites: Burghausen and Nünchritz in Germany and Charleston, Tennessee.

Why it matters

When Wacker opened its Etching Line Next purification plant in Burghausen in July 2025, an investment of more than 300 million euros, chief executive Christian Hartel said that every second computer chip is made from polysilicon delivered by Wacker, and called the company the only European and the largest global producer of ultrapure polysilicon for semiconductors. Those are company claims. Wacker says the finished material is more than 99.9999999999 per cent pure, with critical impurities in the parts-per-trillion range, and aims to double semiconductor sales by 2030 compared with 2024.

The process is energy-intensive: purified trichlorosilane is decomposed on silicon rods heated to about 1,000 degrees Celsius, after which the rods are broken and etched clean. Wacker says it has electrified its processes and invested in renewable power to lower the carbon footprint. The Burghausen expansion was supported with up to 46 million euros from the EU IPCEI microelectronics programme and is expected to add about 150 jobs.

• Hyperpure polysilicon for semiconductor wafers and solar cells (see Wacker hyperpure polysilicon).
• Silicones: elastomers, fluids and resins for industry and consumer goods.
• Polymers such as dispersible powders for construction.

The German angle

Wacker began systematic research on hyperpure silicon in 1954 and started industrial production in 1959. Its wafer arm, founded in 1968, became Siltronic, which Wacker floated in 2015 and in which it cut its stake to about 15 per cent in 2026. The Wacker family company still holds more than half the voting shares, keeping one of the world's critical semiconductor inputs in Bavarian family control.

Sources

• Wacker: New line for semiconductor-grade polysilicon (2025)
• Wacker: Wacker Polysilicon profile
• Wacker: Share and shareholder structure