• Recycling system enables re-use of hydrochloric acid
• Customized solution; energy saving up to 45%
• Contract value more than 20 million euro

Wiesbaden / Shanghai, August 23, 2012. SGL Group - The Carbon Company - and Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. (Qinghai Salt Lake) held yesterday a project launch ceremony to celebrate contract signing for the supply of a recovery system which enables the recycling and re-use of hydrochloric acid (HCl). The contract has a value of more than 20 million euro. SGL Group delivers the system until end of 2013. Thereafter, Qinghai Salt Lake will be able to recycle and re-use HCl, which is accumulated in liquid form at various steps of the magnesium smelting and chemical manufacturing process.

"We are honored to be awarded by Qinghai Salt Lake as cooperation partner for this key project. We have developed an innovative, tailor-made and reliable system for Qinghai Salt Lake which generates remarkable energy saving compared to standard systems", said Frank Wittchen, Chairman of Business Unit Process Technology, SGL Group.

Yu Guoli, General Manager of Qinghai Salt Lake stated at the ceremony: "The investment in our magnesium smelting and chemical manufacturing complex marks a milestone in the comprehensive development and utilization of salt lake resources. The project will contribute to establish Geermu as world magnesium capital. Given the high technical treshold and complex process of the project, it requires equipment with state-of-the-art technology, to achieve both economic and environmental benefits".

SGL Group leveraged its comprehensive process and engineering know how in designing and building of systems for corrosive applications. On that basis, SGL Group developed a tailor-made process solution based on magnesium chloride as extracting agent to minimize operating cost. The system consists of various equipments like stripping columns, heat exchangers, reboilers, pumps, tanks, pipes, etc. As core quality materials the well known DIABON® graphite and POLYFLURON® PTFE are used.

SGL Group's HCl recycling systems are well established in the market, particularly in the production process of metals and polysilicon.

® is a registered trademark of the SGL Group companies

Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. (Qinghai Salt Lake, SZSE: 000792), affiliated to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Qinghai, is located in Golmud, Qinghai, near Chaerhan Salt Lake, the largest interior salt lake in China. The company is China's largest potash production base and an international credit certified company. It was recognized as the Exemplary Enterprise in potash industry, the Backbone Enterprise in Qinghai and one of the four leading resource-based companies in the province. It also ranks among the key enterprises in the state-approved Qaidam circular economy pilot zone and one of the innovation pilot companies certified by China.  

With a registered capital of RMB1.59 bn and almost 12,000 employees, the company currently owns three holding subsidiaries, seven branches, five wholly-owned subsidiaries, four subsidiar-ies with stakes and a national technical center. It has a potash capacity of 2.4 million tons per year and total assets of RMB 25.1 billion.

SGL Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of carbon-based products and materials. It has a comprehensive portfolio ranging from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibers and composites. SGL Group's core competencies are its expertise in high-temperature technology as well as its applications and engineering know-how gained over many years. These competencies enable the Company to make full use of its broad material base. SGL Group's carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as very good electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength combined with low weight. Due to industrialization in the growth regions of Asia and Latin America and increased substitution of traditional with innovative materials, there is a growing demand for SGL Group's high-performance materials and products. Products from SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive and chemical industries as well as in the semiconductor, solar and LED sectors and in lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also being used increasingly in the wind power, aerospace and defense
industries.

With 47 production sites in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network covering more than 100 countries, SGL Group is a company with a global presence. In 2011, the Company's workforce of around 6,500 employees generated sales of €1,540 million. The Company's head office is located in Wiesbaden.

Further information on the SGL Group can be found online at: www.sglgroup.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on the information currently available to us and on our current projections and assumptions. By nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as a consequence of which actual developments and results can deviate significantly from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not to be understood as guarantees. Rather, future developments and results depend on a number of factors; they entail various risks and unanticipated circumstances and are based on assumptions which may prove to be inaccurate. These risks and uncertainties include, for example, unforeseeable changes in political, economic, legal, and business conditions, particularly relating to our main customer industries, such as electric steel production, to the competitive environment, to interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, to technological developments, and to other risks and unanticipated circumstances. Other risks that in our opinion may arise include price developments, unexpected developments connected with acquisitions and subsidiaries, and unfore-seen risks associated with ongoing cost savings programs. SGL Group does not intend or assume any responsibility to revise or otherwise update these forward-looking statements.