Dow's $100 Million Bet on Specialty Silicones
Dow is pumping $100M into silicones manufacturing across the US, China, and Japan — accelerating supply for EVs, electronics, and medical devices.
Targeted investments increase product availability, strengthen supply chain resilience and accelerate scale-up from innovation to commercialization.
Dow recently announced the advancement of a series of targeted investment projects totaling approximately $100 million by the end of 2027 to expand its global specialty silicones manufacturing and innovation capabilities. These investments reinforce the Company’s commitment to supporting fast-growing end markets while strengthening innovation and supply chain resilience for customers worldwide.
The investments will expand Dow’s specialty silicones capabilities across the United States, China and Japan, focusing on advanced silicones and processing capabilities to meet growing global demand in mobility, electronics and health care applications.
“These investments underscore Dow’s focus on scaling specialty silicones materials and bringing innovation closer and faster to our customers,” said Brendy Lange, President of Performance Materials & Coatings. “By expanding manufacturing and innovation capabilities in these strategic regions, we are investing to meet increasing consumer demand, strengthening our global supply chain capabilities, and enabling customers to move faster from innovation to commercialization.”
Investments include:
- Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) manufacturing expansions in Carrollton, Kentucky, and Zhangjiagang, China, expected to come online in 2027, supporting high-performance applications across mobility, electronics and health care.
- Capacity expansions for engineered silicone materials supporting advanced electronics applications—including power electronics, semiconductor packaging, thermal and electrical protection—are scheduled to come online this year in Songjiang, China, and Fukui, Japan, with additional expansions in Auburn, Michigan, and Zhangjiagang, China, expected in 2027, strengthening Dow’s specialty materials innovation and manufacturing backbone.
- Expanded Cooling Science Labs in Shanghai, China, earlier this year, and in Midland, Michigan, in June, supporting faster customer innovation for the development and scale-up of next-generation thermal management solutions.
This completes the series of silicones investments previously disclosed at Dow’s Investor Day event in 2024, with updated timing of the projects reflecting evolving market demand and affordability factors.
Supporting Growth in High-Value Markets
Demand for specialty silicones continues to grow faster than GDP across mobility, electronics and medical applications, where product performance, supply reliability and technical capabilities are critical. Dow’s investments are designed to support these trends through regional, local-for-local manufacturing that aligns capacity with customer demand.
The expanded silicones capacity targets three sectors: mobility (intelligence modules, energy electronics, safety systems), electronics (data centers, microelectronics, consumer components), and medical devices, where local supply chains are increasingly required for regulated products. As the world's largest silicones producer, Dow is building manufacturing close to demand centers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia to shorten the path from production to commercialization.
