Press Release: State aid: Commission approves research and environmental aid of EUR5.7 million to Solvay Soda in Germany

The European Commission on 9 June 2005 authorised, under the EU State aid rules, subsidies to Solvay Soda GmbH (SSD) in Germany, a subsidiary of sodium carbonate producer Solvay Soda Deutschland GmbH. To reduce pollution of the river Rhine, SSD presented an environmental project to produce sodium carbonate using a raw material that pollutes less and an associated research plan. SSD was due to receive a total of €5.7 million in aid from the German authorities for the project, which was to cost a total of €29.6 million. The Commission concluded that the subsidies were not likely to cause undue distortion of competition within the Single Market and were therefore compatible with EC Treaty state aid rules (Article 87).