BASF has completed its capacity expansion for key specialty amines manufactured at its US site in Geismar, Louisiana. The project, announced in June 2022, allows the company to increase production of polyetheramines and amine catalysts marketed under the Baxxodur and Lupragen brands.
PGNIG Upstream Norway (PUN), part of Polen's Orlen, has signed an agreement with Horisont Energi to acquire a 50% stake in the CO2 exploration license Polaris in the Barents Sea and become its operator. The transaction, Orlen said, marks a significant step in advancing the group’s emerging business line focused on the management of industrial CO2 emissions.
On January 1, 2024, Anna Bertona will take on the role of Group CEO, succeeding Hans Joachim Müller, who will retire after serving more than 11 years in that role. Ralf Kempf asked Müller and Bertona about the foundations for the group's continued success and plans for its future strategic direction.
Lars Wallstein, IMCD’s Managing Director Germany, who was elected in September as President of FECC – the European Association of Chemical Distributors. He discusses current market trends and the organization's vision for the future of the sector.
Chemical industry's pivotal role in sustainability; Carbon accounting as a game-changer for competitiveness
Rising demand for sustainability-related products will create a huge growth opportunity for chemical companies.
In today’s world, where environmental sustainability is at the forefront of global concerns, green chemistry stands as a beacon of hope. This field focuses on inventing sustainable solutions that mitigate the harmful impact of traditional chemical processes.
The Heidelberg-based start-up Blue Activity replaces 100% of biocides in cooling water treatment with natural, functional microorganisms. The product change increases the efficiency of cooling tower performance and reduces water consumption and operating costs.
Austrian energy group OMV and synthetic rubber producer Synthos have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which the two companies will cooperate on sustainability. The focus is on the supply of sustainable raw materials that can be used for the production of high-performance tires.
Yesterday, Syensqo announced the listing of its shares on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris. After completing the spin-off from Solvay, the listing marks a historical milestone as the company embarks on an innovation-driven journey.
Solvay’s shareholders supported the separation with 99.53 % approval, giving official birth to Syensqo.
Process manufacturing companies waste almost $100 billion globally every year while formulating novel materials and chemicals due to the trial-and-error approach to R&D and the lack of tools to leverage the experimental data in real-time.
Manual experiment monitoring and data capture is still the status quo in most biotech and pharma labs, compromising efficiency and project timescales. But there is a better way.
The Spanish computational chemistry start-up Nextmol (Bytelab Solutions), a spin-off from the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that accelerates research and innovation in sustainable specialty chemicals through “in silico” experiments using molecular modeling and artificial intelligence (AI).
AkzoNobel has signed a strategic agreement with China’s Wuxi El Pont Radiation Technology to develop a pioneering process that uses electron beams to cure coatings on metal substrates.
Surfactants, a portmanteau of “surface” and “active” agent, play a pivotal role in various industries. These molecules are designed to work at interfaces, with the most common interface being the boundary between oil and water.
At the end of last week, Belgian chemicals and recycling company Umicore held the groundbreaking ceremony in Changshu, Jiangsu province, China, for its new large-scale fuel cell catalyst plant.
In a move to complement its neuroscience portfolio, US drugmaker AbbVie has agreed to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics, which has a pipeline of multiple clinical-stage and preclinical candidates with potential across several diseases including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease (PD), and mood disorders.
In a move to participate in the race for anti-obesity drugs, Swiss pharma giant Roche has agreed to acquire Carmot Therapeutics, a privately owned US company based in Berkeley, California.
Japanese manufacturer Asahi Kasei invests in Canadian startup Ionomr Innovations, known for its high-performance anion exchange membrane (AEM). The membrane has applications in cost-efficient and scalable green hydrogen production.
In a move to focus on its core businesses, Finnish chemicals company Kemira has signed an agreement to divest its oil and gas-related portfolio for €260 million to Sterling Specialty Chemicals, a US subsidiary of Artek Industries, a global industrial chemicals group based in India.
Capchem Technology USA Inc., a subsidiary of Shenzhen Capchem Technology Co., may invest €320 million ($350 million) in building an integrated carbonate solvent and lithium-ion battery electrolyte facility in Louisiana, USA.
UK’s RoslinCT, a cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization, will be part of the Vertex Pharmaceuticals global network producing the CRISPR-based therapy exa-cel, which will be used for treatment of sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.
South Korea-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) SK Bioscience wants to expand its vaccine manufacturing plant located in Andong, South Korea to approximately 4,200 m2 through joint investment with Sanofi.
US fertilizer producer CF Industries has completed the acquisition of the ammonia production complex of Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) in Waggaman, Louisiana, USA, for $1.675 billion.
On Dec. 1, 2023, French chemicals and materials company Arkema has finalized the acquisition of Glenwood Private Equity’s 54% – based on a €728 million enterprise value – stake in South Korean company PI Advanced Materials (PIAM). Arkema said in a statement that this acquisition acquisition – first announced last June – complements its portfolio of high-performance technologies for the high-growth markets of advanced electronics and electric mobility.
US biopharma AbbVie has agreed to acquire ImmunoGen in a deal which values the company at about $10.1 billion and gives AbbVie access to flagship cancer therapy Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC), as well as a pipeline of promising next-generation ADCs.
UK’s Elementis, a global specialty chemicals company, will be opening a new unit in Portugal, featuring a center of excellence and R&D laboratory. The new unit, which will be headquartered in Porto and is scheduled to open in the first half of 2024, will support the company’s business segments Personal Care and Performance Specialties and also reinforce the current R&D capacity of the Elementis' laboratories in Asia and the Americas.
Olefins and polyolefins producer Borealis has signed an agreement to acquire Integra Plastics, a Bulgarian advanced mechanical recycling company. Closing of the transaction, for which no financial details were disclosed, is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced £29.5 billion ($36.8 billion) of private sector investment in Britain at a gathering of global executives intended to showcase Britain’s appeal to global investors.
Novo Nordisk wants to make another major capital investment in production capacity for its diabetes and obesity therapies. The Danish drugmaker announced to spend more than 16 billion Danish kroner (€2.1 billion euros) starting in 2023 to expand its production site in Chartres, France, adding aseptic production and finished production processes and an extension of the current Quality Control Laboratory.
EuroAPI has completed the acquisition of BianoGMP, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in oligonucleotides.
Major French oil company TotalEnergies SE and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) are considering selling a jumbo US plant that produces styrene and polystyrene, used in products such as plastic packaging, disposable cups, and insulation.
Merck & Co. (MSD) and Caraway Therapeutics announced that the companies have agreed Merck & Co., through a subsidiary, will acquire Caraway Therapeutics for a total potential consideration of up to €557 million ($610 million), including an undisclosed upfront payment and contingent milestone payments.
Ineos Styrolution, a styrenics producer, has opened a new world-scale ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) facility located in Ningbo, China, together with its joint venture partner Sinopec. The facility has an annual nameplate capacity of 600,000 tons.
