Arkema has boosted its previously announced expansion plans for Pebax elastomer at its Serquigny site in France. The company will now increase capacity by 40% rather than the 25% it announced in January this year.
The board of directors at US plant-based synthetic biology company Calyxt is evaluating potential strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, the company announced on Sept. 22. Options may include financing alternatives, merger, reverse merger, other business combinations, an asset sale or licensing. A timescale for completing the process has not yet been disclosed.
Chemical parks are locations of intensive value creation. They are a driver for sustainable development with a high economic, ecological and social impact.
Belgian chemical producer and recycler Umicore and PowerCo, the newly created battery company of the Volkswagen (VW) group, have officially founded their envisioned joint venture to produce precursor and cathode materials for VW’s European vehicle fleet.
Lonza has completed of the expansion of its Highly Potent API (HPAPI) multipurpose suite at the Basel-based CDMO’s alpine production site in Visp, Switzerland, adding development and manufacturing capacity for ADC payloads.
Borealis has agreed to sell its 98.09% stake in Belgian fertilizer producer Rosier to Turkey’s Yildirim Group. The proposed deal puts an enterprise value of €35 million on Rosier.
Solvay is linking up with Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola in a project that will provide green electricity for its plants in Tavaux and Saint Fons, France.
After months of difficult negotiations, Germany’s coalition government has reached initial agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help close energy gaps following the shutdown of pipelines from Russia.
US agricultural company Corteva, which combines businesses formerly belonging to DuPont, Dow and Pioneer, has agreed to buy Symborg, an expert in microbiological technologies based in Murcia, Spain. Financial terms were not disclosed.
French chemicals and materials company Arkema is participating in a Spanish consortium to explore and advance the recyclability of post-consumer polyester resin (PET from bottles and other items) in order to regain monomers for use in more sustainable powder coatings.
US specialty materials manufacturer Aceto and 10 other companies with business operations in North America, Europe, India and China have merged into a new cross-industry player called Actylis, under the umbrella of private equity investor New Mountain Capital.
British-multinational consumer products giant Unilever has announced that its chief executive, Alan Jope, will retire at the end of 2023. The potentially earlier than planned departure announcement had been anticipated.
Michael Bloomberg, the founder of US-based financial, software, data and media group Bloomberg LP and a United Nations special envoy on climate ambition and solutions, has launched a campaign to stop the expansion of petrochemicals and plastics production in the US.
Celanese has offered concessions to EU regulators to allay concerns about its proposed $11 billion acquisition of DuPont’s Mobility and Materials business, according to Reuters.
Italian API producer Olon has announced plans to install a new high-containment production line at its site in Mahad, India.
BASF has entered into an exclusive licensing deal with US start-up RiKarbon to commercialize the latter’s proprietary emollient technology.
Air Liquide, Chevron, PetroChina and Keppel Infrastructure are planning to form a consortium that will explore the development of large-scale carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) solutions and integrated infrastructure in Singapore.
Bachem, a Swiss specialist developer and manufacturer of peptides and oligonucleotides, has announced the signing of two major contracts for supplying large volumes of peptides over the next two years. The orders are worth 25 million and 150 million Swiss francs for 2023 and 2024, respectively.
During this year’s K show, SABIC will highlight its commitment to circular, sustainable solutions designed to reduce plastic waste and support the shift to product electrification.
Swiss-based and Chinese-owned agrochemicals company Syngenta has entered into a global commercial and R&D collaboration with Bioceres, a US-based provider of biological inoculants. Implementation of the agreement is subject to regulatory clearances.
Roquette, a French-based provider of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical excipients, has acquired Crest Cellulose, an Indian excipient manufacturer, reinforcing its presence in India and Asia.
Solvay has announced plans to expand its rare earths operations in La Rochelle, France, in order to enter the permanent magnets sector in Europe and serve customers in the fast-growing electric vehicle, wind power and electronics markets.
Finnish oil refiner Neste has launched a study on transforming its Porvoo facility to renewables and circular feedstocks, ending crude oil refining in the mid-2030s.
Haldor Topsoe and First Ammonia have entered into a capacity reservation agreement that they said will kickstart the global market for green ammonia.
Danish coatings company Hempel has acquired Cap Couleurs’ store network in southeastern France, maintaining its segment leadership in the Var region and supporting its growth initiatives. Financial terms were not disclosed.
German specialty chemicals producer Lanxess and private equity group Advent International have named Calum MacLean as CEO-designate of their planned joint venture for high-performance engineering plastics.
Koch Technology Solutions, the licensing arm of Koch Engineered Solutions, is partnering Ioniqa Technologies, a Dutch clean-tech spinoff from the Eindhoven University of Technology, to scale up and commercialize the latter’s advanced PET recycling process.
Henkel has acquired US advanced materials start-up NBD Nanotechnologies for an undisclosed sum. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, NBD specializes in developing coatings and additives with surface wettability.
CEO Werner Baumann may be headed for an early exit from Bayer, Bloomberg reports.
US specialty chemicals company Stepan has agreed to acquire the surfactant business and associated assets of compatriot firm PerformanX Specialty Chemicals. The purchase will include intellectual property, commercial relationships and inventory.
Singapore’s Global Amines – a joint venture between compatriot company Wilmar and Switzerland’s Clariant – has successfully started up a new fatty amines plant in Surabaya, Indonesia.
French industrial gases group Air Liquide has announced the sale of its industrial merchant business in Saudi Arabia to Abdullah Hashim Industrial Gases & Equipment for an undisclosed sum.
LyondellBasell has won two separate contracts to supply its Lupotech T high-pressure technology for new PE plants.
Kemira has agreed to sell its colorants dye business to Chromascape, a US-based specialty colorants and additives supplier.
WuXi STA has opened a sterile lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation development and manufacturing facility at its campus in Wuxi city, China, in response to rising demand for complex injection dosage forms.
