Degussa to licence dispersible silica technology from Rhodia

Cologne, Germany - Rhodia, has announced a cross-licensing agreement on highly-dispersible precipitated silica with Degussa. The two companies entered into a cross-licensing agreement with each other on 21, Dec., 2006, allowing Degussa to make the silica - used primarily in low rolling resistance tyre tread compounds - under licence from Rhodia.

Peter Browning, global business director of Rhodia Silcea told ERJ that Rhodia has believed for some years that Degussa's silica materials infringed some of Rhodia's patents. In order to ensure continued availability of these important materials, he said, Rhodia has agreed to licence certain technologies to Degussa. He said that Rhodia is willing to discuss similar deals with other suppliers.

"This agreement responds to a legitimate request from a number of our major customers. After several years of legal discussions, we have found an acceptable solution to ensure that Rhodia's patent position is not a blocking factor for customers in the development of applications that use highly dispersible silica" commented Eric Noyrez, President of Rhodia Silcea.