Birthplace of Ernest Solvay

Ernest Solvay, great figure of the modern chemical industry and industrial innovator, was born in 1838 in Rebecq (a commemorative monument is dedicated to him) on the tourist territory of the Roman Païs. He modernised production of sodium carbonate thanks to an innovative chemical process baptised 'Solvay soda'. This process allowed low-cost industrial production from 1863 onwards. Solvay soda, with numerous industrial applications, was produced around the world. With the aid of his brother Alfred, he developed a real industrial chemical empire. The Solvay company, which remained a family business for a long time despite its size, still exists in Belgium and a number of countries. The wealth that Ernest Solvay accumulated allowed him to support basic research and the arts in Belgium and elsewhere. Starting in 1911, he organised international colloquia with the best physicists and chemists, the scientific prestige of which attracted scientists such as Einstein. Ernest Solvay died in 1922. The birthplace of the Solvay brothers still exists in Rebecq.