Asilikos New now featured in "JOT magazine"
Under the heading “New blasting abrasive made from volcanic material”, the article provides background on the material composition of Asilikos New and the specific benefits it offers our customers. Read the English translation of the German article here.
New blasting abrasive made from volcanic material EP Power Grit has developed a blasting abrasive that contains a mineral raw material of volcanic origin. With this modified formula, the company is becoming less dependent on the fluctuating availability of traditionally used raw materials – and thus achieving greater long-term delivery reliability for its customers. Asilikos New is the name of the new product that EP Power Grit has been manufacturing since May 2025 at Europe's largest abrasive plant in Lünen (Germany).
The raw material for Asilikos New comes from the south of Iceland and is transported to Germany by ship.
The company operates Europe's largest abrasive plant at its Lünen site, along with four other sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland.
At its launch, Asilikos introduced a groundbreaking alternative to conventional blasting abrasives, which typically contained quartz sand—a substance known to pose health risks. In contrast, Asilikos is based on synthetic aluminium silicate, offering a safe and more responsible solution without compromising on performance.
Raw material shortage leads to innovative idea
EP Power Grit obtains the synthetic aluminium silicate from melting chamber granulate – a by-product of coal combustion in power stations. However, with the ongoing energy transition increasingly leading to a shortage of this raw material, EP Power Grit is prioritising the development of new raw material
sources. "Ensuring a high level of supply security for our customers is a must for us," says Marco David. "That's why we started looking for alternatives at an early stage."
EP Power Grit found what it was looking for in Iceland, where natural materials of volcanic origin are available in large quantities and can be processed into high-quality abrasives. For the new Asilikos, EP Power Grit now mixes synthetic aluminium silicate with natural aluminium silicate from volcanic lava.
Millions invested in new plant technology
Due to the special processing requirements of volcanic material compared to conventional raw materials, EP Power Grit has invested several million euros in upgrading its production facility in Lünen. After three months of conversion work, the plant was officially reopened in June. This is the largest single investment since the company was founded. "This shows the great importance of this product development for our company," says Jeroen Keswiel, Managing Director at EP Power Grit.
With the kind permission of the magazine “JOT,” we are making the German article available to anyone interested for download as a PDF.