Olefins and polyolefins giant LyondellBasell (LYB) has become the latest multinational chemical company to announce plans to pull out of Russia partly or altogether. The Rotterdam-registered, Houston-managed company said this week it has decided “to cease operations” at two office locations in in the country. Its offices in Moscow and Togliatti have now begun winding down activities.
Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas has won a contract for Ineos’ ethylene cracker project in Antwerp, Belgium. The scope of work includes project management, engineering, procurement and construction management and supervision services. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Hungarian oil, gas and petrochemicals group MOL has teamed up with US hydrogen systems supplier Plug Power to build a green hydrogen production plant in Százhalombatta. MOL is investing €22 million in the project.
Brussels-based chemical major Solvay is launching a fourth new business platform called Renewable Materials and Biotechnology, dedicated to developing innovative and sustainable solutions for a range of markets and using renewable feedstocks and biotechnology.
The shipping company Gefo is building a range of new specialized tankers at shipyards in China, Turkey, Romania and the Netherlands.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
Norwegian fertilizer company Yara International is evaluating a potential initial public offering (IPO) of its Clean Ammonia business on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) was established as a separate business unit in February 2021 to focus on clean ammonia and its role in zero-emission shipping fuel, power generation, green fertilizer production and other industrial applications.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their views on the prospects for the chemical distribution sector.
The chemical distribution business is a diverse industry that provides customized solutions for important sectors such as pharmaceuticals, paints & coatings, agriculture, cosmetics, food & feed, and automotive. At the center of the supply chains of these sectors, distributors are critical partners for global corporations as well as for SMEs. This role has become particularly obvious and relevant during the corona crisis.
Brazilian chemicals and plastics giant Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, has sealed a licensing deal with process engineering firm Lummus Technology covering worldwide production of green ethylene.
Finnish chemicals company Kemira has entered into a multi-year license and supply agreement with US biopolymer manufacturer Danimer Scientific to commercialize bio-based barrier coatings for paper and board products.
LyondellBasell has won contracts to provide its Lupotech PE technology to two separate Chinese companies. The value of the contracts was not disclosed.
Ineos is pressing full speed ahead to implement its investment strategy for green hydrogen across Europe. In its latest move, the company said it is participating in a project with SGN, the network that distributes natural and “green” gas across the south of England as well as Scotland, to build a UK-wide delivery network for hydrogen.
Mergers & acquisitions activity in the chemical distribution industry was high in 2021, but current macro-economic conditions may have a dampening effect on the number of deals that will conclude by the end of this year.
A US court has awarded Huntsman damages in a long-running legal battle against Praxair, now part of Linde. A New Orleans jury has granted the Texas-headquartered chemical manufacturer nearly $94 million, which will exceed $125 million once the Court has applied interest.
Arxada, the recent specialty chemicals spinoff from Swiss CDMO Lonza, has signed an exclusive license agreement with Novoset covering production and sale of a next generation hydrocarbon-based resin system for telecommunications infrastructure and advanced semiconductor packaging.
German polyamide specialist Domo Chemicals said it plans to significantly increase its PA 6 compounding capacity in China up to the end of 2023. As this is the fastest growing market for polyamides globally, the company based at Leuna said the expansion will help local manufacturers keep pace with emerging trends and create “innovative, high-performance and sustainable products and applications.”
Symeres, a Dutch CDMO and contract research organization, has acquired Organix, a US-based specialized organic chemistry services producer that focuses on lipids. The two firms are highly complementary and the combination unlocks significant strategic value, said Symeres, which generates nearly 50% of its revenues in the US.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is taking over Mubadala’s holding in Borealis for an undisclosed sum. Once the transaction, which is subject to the usual conditions and regulatory approvals, is finalized, Borealis will be owned 25% by ADNOC and 75% by Austrian oil, gas and petrochemicals group OMV.
Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP), a Belgian-based facility that provides process development, scale-up and custom manufacture of bio-based products and processes, has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) to build a multi-purpose, open-access biorefinery pilot plant, inspired by its own success in installing an identical facility in Ghent.
Germany’s Merck has signed has an agreement with the Administrative Management Committee of Wuxi National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone to “significantly expand” the company’s first Asia-Pacific Mobius Single-Use manufacturing center in China.
Air Products has won a contract from one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers to supply industrial gases to a new production plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Air Products San Fu will invest about $900 million to build, own and operate a number of onsite plants to supply ultra-high purity nitrogen, oxygen, argon and hydrogen.
The investment arm of US industrial group Standard Industries has taken a 5.23% stake in UK-based multinational specialty chemicals and sustainable technologies company Johnson Matthey. Neither company has commented on the transaction.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) announced the 2022 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) Category Winners – including an Honorable Mention for Iovance Biotherapeutics, to be the first company in the world to commercially produce a personalized therapy for solid tumors.
UK biopharma Achilles Therapeutics has announced its intention to expand clinical manufacturing capacity in Stevenage, UK, and Pennsylvania, USA.
One of China’s key objectives of the current 14th Five-Year Plan is to reduce the dependency on imports. At least partly, this is a reaction to rising political tensions with the USA.
WuXi Advanced Therapies (Wuxi ATU), US-based CDMO offshoot of WuXi AppTec, is joining up with Singapore’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) to advance cell and gene therapy production in the Asia Pacific region.
Like those of other chemical industry players, shareholders attending Bayer’s virtual annual general meeting on Apr. 29 had a full agenda to deal with, though their list was undoubtedly one of the longest. Along with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they discussed potential plans to split pharma and crop science, the timetable for finally ending Roundup litigation and the size of executives’ bonuses.
Shell is the first company to sign an agreement to use the HyTransPort hydrogen pipeline in the Netherlands that will run for 32km from Maasvlakte in the Port of Rotterdam to Pernis. Gasunie is laying the pipeline in collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
