Skip to main content

Our flame retardants save lives
and belongings -
Clariant helps to protect health and nature

Fire retardants that are halogen-free but full of fire-stopping power

Flame retardants help to save lives by slowing down or stopping the spread of fire or reducing its intensity. Also called fire retardants, they are used in anything from phones and curtains to car seats and buildings. If a fire starts, they may be able to stop it completely – or slow it down and so provide precious extra time for escape.

Clariant’s flame retardants are produced to modern standards in Germany, Switzerland and China. Their brand name Exolit™ has become a byword for sustainable fire safety.

Invisible firefighters how do flame retardants work?

Electrical fires in homes are particularly dangerous because they often spread unseen. How better to prevent or slow down the spread of these unseen fires than with invisible firemen?

x

Non-toxic cutting-edge safety key benefits of our fire retardants

1.

All our Exolit™ flame retardants are capable of slowing down or stopping the spread of fire, thereby saving precious lives and belongings

2.

Based on phosphorus instead of halogens like bromine or chlorine, they offer non-toxic, more eco-compatible solutions

3.

Our range can give cutting-edge fire protection to engineering plastics, polyurethanes and thermoset resins, as well as to intumescent and fire-resistant coatings

Get a lightning-quick overview of what we offer

Industries

The five main segments we serve are Building & Construction, Electrical & Electronics, Textiles & Fibers, Transportation, and Industrial Applications. Our flame retardants are used to protect steel structures, insulation and coatings in homes and buildings, and help to ensure the safety of cables, switches, housings and other E&E components. Our products go into seat frames, engine covers and many other parts of vehicles, allow the protection of the fibers of carpets and textiles, and we offer phosphorus chemicals for cleaning, metal treatment and other uses. > MORE
Icon of fire extinguisher
Reliable safety
Dependable fire safety for meeting strict requirements
Icon for sustainability benefits
Low toxicity
Non-halogenated solutions
Icon for innovative solutions
High flexibility
Cutting-edge chemistry for a wide range of applications

Product Lines

We offer tailor-made chemistries for your needs. Based on ammonium polyphosphate, our Exolit™ AP line can protect a wide range of materials with intumescent technology, while our liquid EP line is particularly suited for epoxy resins. The Exolit™ OP series provides organophosphorus compounds for demanding E&E applications, VF facilitates use with viscose fibers, and RP handling of red phosphorus. Our Hordaphos™ products are flame-retarding phosphate esters with many benefits, and we also supply other phosphorus chemicals for uses in industry. > MORE
Icon for megatrends
Highly innovative
Solutions for lightweighting in e-mobility and other trends
Icon for renewable-based solutions
More sustainable
Halogen-free and available from renewable-based materials
Icon for technical service
Thoroughly tested
Developed and serviced with strong capabilities and expertise

Polymers / Materials

Our non-halogenated flame retardants can be used for a wide variety of polymers, with a focus on polyamides, polyesters and polyurethanes. They can be applied in epoxy and phenol resins, latex, linoleum and rubber, as well as for many types of thermoplastic elastomers. They can be added to adhesives, sealants and dispersions, and can protect viscose and non-wovens as well as cotton products. The materials they can be used for also include wood and wood-plastic composites, as well as paper and steel.
Icon for wide variety of materials
Broad compatibility
Excellent solutions for many different matrices and substrates
Icon for easy handling solutions
Easy handling
Supplied as powders, liquids and special easy-to-add forms
Icon for proven environmental and health profile
EPA recommendation
Halogen-free, low-migration reactive options for PU foams

Over 100 years of innovation and plenty of

Years
of phosphorus chemistry at our German Knapsack site
Decades
of cumulated technical expertise in our R&D team
New innovations
currently in development in the flame retardant field

Watch how we innovate to improve safety

Do non-halogenated flame retardants do their job? Wolfgang Diegritz has the insights

»Halogen-free flame retardants have been developed to lower the smoke toxicity and to prevent the migration of the additives.«

> MORE
Portrait of Dr. Wolfgang Diegritz from Celanese.
Dr. Wolfgang Diegritz
Senior Engineer Field Development
E&E, Europe, Celanese

Hot off the press news

  • aprilie 24, 2025
    Celebrating 50 years of flame retardants: Exolit™ AP leads the way to a more sustainable future
    In 2025, Clariant is proud to celebrate a significant milestone: 50 years of Exolit AP flame retardants protecting lives and property around the world. Based on advanced ammonium polyphosphate (APP) technology, these pioneering flame retardants have become the industry benchmark in a wide range of applications, including intumescent coatings, fire barrier sealing systems, thermoset composites for e-mobility battery housings and coatings, rigid polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation foams and more. As Clariant marks this golden anniversary, it is not just celebrating past achievements but actively shaping the future of fire protection.
    more
  • aprilie 09, 2025
    Clariant teams with Technip Energies to introduce new catalyst for unprecedented low steam-to-oil ratios in styrene production
    Clariant, a global leader in specialty chemicals, today announced the launch of StyroMax UL-100, its most advanced ethylbenzene dehydrogenation catalyst to date. This innovative catalyst achieves exceptional performance at unprecedented low steam-to-oil ratios (S/O) of 0.76 by weight, setting a new industry benchmark in SM production efficiency.
    more
  • aprilie 01, 2025
    Clariant launches Ceridust™ 1310 to address carnauba wax supply chain volatility in printing inks
    Clariant announces the launch of Ceridust 1310, an innovative wax solution designed to address the increasing supply chain complexities facing formulators who rely on carnauba wax for printing ink applications. This development demonstrates Clariant's understanding of market challenges and commitment to providing reliable solutions for its customers.
    more

Product stories

Get a closer look at our product lines and the industries we serve

Welcome to our service and delivery standards

  • Services
    Appreciating the needs of our customers is one of the leading priorities for us. As part of our on-going efforts to enhance the service towards customers we have developed a condensed and practical overview of our service and delivery standards.
    more
Discover EcoCircle
We're part of the following associations:

How can we help you?

back to top

Page summary

Summarization in progress