Şişecam Invests in Basalia Technology

Şişecam aims to bring Basalia, a game-changing Turkish invention in sustainability, to the world. Global player in glass and chemicals, Şişecam, has decided to invest in Basalia Technology, an important Turkish invention in the bio-economy sector that is green and circular. With this decision, Şişecam, investing in the biotechnology field for the first time, signed a memorandum of understanding with 7CBasalia, the owner of Basalia Technology developed to achieve a more sustainable world. With the establishment of the global company envisioned in the protocol under Şişecam partnership, Şişecam will first pilot the Technology, which it saw positive results in its initial trials, at its own facilities. After evaluating the outputs of this trial, it will contribute to enabling 7CBasalia's circular business model that transforms waste into added value to reach the entire world.

Şişecam Board Chairman Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman,

"We have signed a memorandum of understanding with 7CBasalia, a biotechnology start-up, to establish a global company in order to contribute to the development and global dissemination of Basalia Technology, which we have seen produces successful results in initial trials and which we believe could be groundbreaking in the bio-economy field. With our investment in Basalia Technology, which converts all types of waste into harmless substances, we will support research and development activities in this field. Additionally, after first piloting this technology that aligns with our sustainability goals within Şişecam and experiencing the results on a larger scale, we will also contribute significantly to its dissemination on international platforms. Şişecam, which today operates production in 14 countries and reaches 150 countries with its value-added products, is the starting point and global representative of Turkish industry in glass, the most sustainable material. With this new investment, Şişecam will play an active role in the global dissemination of Basalia Technology, which we believe will make a significant contribution to sustainability," he said. Ahmet Başal, developer of Basalia Technology and founder of 7CBasalia, "This innovative system transforms waste from being an environmental problem into environmentally friendly value-added products. Thanks to Basalia Technology, wastewater becomes reusable, while solid waste combined with organic waste is first rendered harmless. Subsequently, hydrogen gas, an environmentally friendly energy source, can be obtained through these wastes. While Basalia provides solutions for companies with waste problems, it also produces Green City solutions for comprehensive city and country administrations. I believe that Şişecam, one of the pioneers of institutional R&D activities in Turkey, will play a very important role in further developing the project with its strong know-how and capabilities in technology development. With the contribution of Şişecam's broad global footprint, which operates production in 14 countries worldwide and reaches 150 countries with its products, I firmly believe that this unique innovation will spread at the pace it deserves in the world," he said. Şişecam, the global game changer in the glass and chemicals sectors, has decided to invest in Basalia Technology, an invention developed with the goal of a sustainable world. Signing a memorandum of understanding with 7CBasalia, the owner of Basalia Technology, a technology for green and circular economy, Şişecam will support research and development activities in this field with its investment in this technology developed with the objective of converting all types of waste into harmless substances. Additionally, after piloting this game-changing invention, which it saw succeed in initial trials, within Şişecam, it will also contribute to its dissemination to all international platforms worldwide. This investment will be Şişecam's first investment in the biotechnology field, as it operates in 9 different business sectors in Turkey.

Circular innovation creating added value from waste

Basalia Technology, an innovative technology for which 7CBasalia, established in Turkey in 2020, holds global royalty rights, is an important invention with a system different from conventional technologies. The system works with the goal of transforming waste from being an environmental problem into environmentally friendly value-added products. As the mixing of wastewater into nature has become one of the world's biggest problems today, Basalia Technology converts these waters into pure water. As a result of the process, wastewater becomes reusable and transforms into a resource again. The system, which also focuses on bringing a critical solution to the solid waste problem, makes solid waste combined with organic waste harmless first.

Subsequently, hydrogen gas, an environmentally friendly energy source, can be obtained through these wastes. Working in cooperation with international institutions in the fields of climate change, environment and sustainability, the company aims to provide solutions for companies with waste problems while producing Green City solutions for comprehensive city and country administrations.

Technology aligned with Şişecam's sustainability goals Şişecam Board Chairman Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman explained the new investment decision as follows: "Throughout its 86-year history, Şişecam has been committed to being a company that respects people and nature in every era, and by offering solutions with value-added products developed through its strong R&D infrastructure for a more sustainable world, Şişecam had been examining new investment areas in recent years to support strong growth targets. Şişecam's development goals toward sustainability and the innovative circular biotechnology and Green Cities vision put forward by 7CBasalia came together in a good alignment. In order to transform this alignment into synergy and support the global dissemination of Basalia Technology, which we believed was useful in our initial trials and in which we have confidence in its development potential, we signed a global partnership letter of intent. Today operating production in 14 countries and reaching 150 countries with its value-added products, Şişecam is the starting point and global representative of Turkish industry in glass, the most sustainable material. With this new investment, Şişecam will first implement Basalia Technology, which it believes will make a significant contribution to our planet facing risks from climate change, and after the results obtained, it will play an active role in its global dissemination. Şişecam, which places sustainability at the foundation of all business processes from raw materials to final products, will continue its uninterrupted investment activities that will create value for our planet and all stakeholders." Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman continued his statement as follows: "Today, in terms of production capacity, we are the second largest producer in the world in the glass tableware sector. We are among the five largest producers in the flat glass and glass packaging fields. In addition to being the world's eighth largest soda producer, we are also world leaders in chromium chemicals. As we progress toward our goal of becoming one of the world's three largest producers in our main business areas, we are proud to represent our country across a wide geography. In line with our Care for Next Sustainability Strategy, which sets out Şişecam's sustainability approach, we focus on ensuring that the value we create today serves better tomorrow in all our activities. In every investment we make, in every new technology we develop, in every stakeholder we strengthen, we embrace sustainability once more.

Our latest investment move in Basalia, an invention we believe in, is an important expression and indicator of this broad and inclusive approach of ours."

Technology responding to warning signals linked to global climate change Ahmet Başal, developer of the Basalia invention and founder of 7CBasalia, provided the following information about the technology and the newly established company after intense work over many years: "As warning signals related to global climate change manifest themselves through natural disasters occurring everywhere in the world, we have engaged in intensive work in green and circular technologies that will respond to these warnings and produce value-added solutions to the waste issue. After completing the development process of Basalia Technology, which we have been working on for many years, we are ready to present it for use by the world. We also established 7CBasalia in 2020. This system, which has the ability to capture and bind carbon and other pollutants in combustion gases, also provides benefits such as obtaining hydrogen gas from all organic and inorganic waste sources. In addition to these, it consists of a new-generation microbial community and physico-chemical systems evolved in extreme conditions and working in synergistic relationship with each other, capable of being used in areas such as waste disposal, extraction of valuable elements from waste, deionized water production, production of environmentally friendly insulation materials, and production of organic soil conditioners. We expect the system, which is much more effective, efficient, sustainable and economical compared to alternative bio-remediation systems, to create an opportunity to bring a holistic and bio-cyclic solution to global warming and chemical waste, which have become the world's longest-term most important issues. I believe that Şişecam, one of the pioneers of institutional R&D activities in Turkey, will play a very important role in further developing the project with its strong know-how and capabilities in technology development. Şişecam, which operates production in 14 countries worldwide and reaches 150 countries with its products, will also take a pioneering role in realizing much larger-scale applications of Basalia Technology, as it has done in many other fields. We feel great joy in having the support and confidence of Şişecam, the founder of Turkey's glass sector and global representative in glass and chemicals. With the contribution of Şişecam's broad global footprint, I also firmly believe that this unique innovation will spread at the pace it deserves in the world."