Celanese Plans Major Capacity Expansions in Europe, Asia
Celanese has announced a slate of plant expansions, new builds and debottlenecking projects across Europe and Asia to beef up its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) and emulsion polymers output.
News
Clariant Opens Catalyst R&D Center in China
Clariant Catalysts has opened a new R&D center at its One Clariant Campus (OCC) in Shanghai. The research unit is part of the Swiss specialty chemicals producer’s new Innovation Center China in the east coast metropolis. The company counts itself among a handful of international players to have built a full-fledged comprehensive catalyst research unit in China.
EU4Health Plan Aimed at Pandemic Preparedness
The European Parliament (EP) has adopted the EU4Health program for 2021-2027 put forward by the European Commission in May 2020 as a response to the Covid-19 crisis. The plenary vote earlier this month confirmed a provisional agreement with the European Council aimed at preparing the EU’s health systems for future health threats and pandemics.
AstraZeneca’s Vaccine Update Shows Efficacy Change
AstraZeneca has released an updated statement on the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine after US health authorities criticized its analysis of US Phase 3 trial results as confusing and suggested that the company might be combining results from different phases.
Lummus wins China EB Contract
Lummus Technology has won a contract for its proprietary EBOne ethylbenzene process from a firm in China’s Jiangsu province that will build a unit for 508,000 t/y of EB. A start-up date was not revealed. Lummus said the Chinese company has previously licensed its technologies, including the BP paraxylene process and Chevron Lummus Global’s Isocracking technology.
Chemours Mulls Sale of Mining Solutions
Chemours has started a strategic review to assess the potential sale of its Mining Solutions business. The company has retained New York-based financial advisor Gordon Dyal & Co. to assist in the review.
GSK Accuses Ex-Warp Speed Chief of Improper Behavior
Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) said it is investigating the conduct of its former executive Moncef Slaoui, who until recently co-lead the US government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program. Following allegations from an employee of sexual harassment that took place several years ago, GSK said Slaoui has also been terminated as chairman of the board of Galvani Bioelectronics, its majority owned joint venture with Google’s Verily Life Sciences
MOL Starts Biofuels Production at Danube Refinery
Energy and petchems group MOL has begun producing biofuels at its Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta, Hungary, processing vegetable oils, used cooking oils and animal fats together with fossil fuel components to create more sustainable diesel. Over the next five years it plans to invest $1 billion in new, low-carbon and sustainable businesses to become a key player in the central and eastern European circular economy.
BASF, SABIC and Linde in Cracker Electrification Pact
BASF, SABIC and Linde have signed a joint agreement to develop and demonstrate solutions for electrically heated steam cracker furnaces and are evaluating the construction of a multi-megawatt demonstration plant at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site in Germany, to start up in 2023.
Corteva Appoints Starboard Directors to Board
Agricultural giant Corteva, spun out of DowDuPont in June 2019, has reached agreement with Starboard Value and appointed four of the activist investor’s proposed directors to its board with immediate effect.
BP Plans UK’s Largest Blue Hydrogen Plant
Multinational energy giant BP is planning to build the UK’s largest blue hydrogen production facility, capturing and sending 2 million t/y of CO2 for storage. The proposed development, H2Teesside, is a major part of BP’s plans to develop businesses in emerging technologies.
AstraZeneca and US Trial Board at Odds
The AstraZeneca Covid vaccine’s brief respite from global negative headlines achieved after it published positive results from its US clinical trial on Mar. 22 was even briefer than usual. Soon after publication, the figures were criticized by the trial’s independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB), a move experts called unprecedented or at least highly unusual. The drugmaker promised to publish more information within 48 hours.
Fujifilm Selects US Cell Site, Inks Biotech Deals
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has chosen Holly Springs in North Carolina as the site of its new large-cell culture production site in the US. The company first announced its plans in January, saying it planned to spend more than $2 billion on the project, which will be the largest end-to-end cell culture biopharma CDMO facility in North America when it starts up by spring 2025.
AstraZeneca Sees 79% Efficacy in US Vaccine Trial
Preliminary results from AstraZeneca’s recently completed US Phase 3 trial showed its Covid-19 vaccine to be 79% effective against symptomatic forms of the disease, along with offering 100% protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death, the company revealed on Mar. 22. In participants over 65, efficacy was even higher at 80%.
Novozymes Boosts Microbiome with Biota Buy
Novozymes has acquired Biota’s microbiome R&D team and data science platform for an undisclosed sum. The move builds on two previous deals in the microbiome field this past year, notably of US-based Microbiome Labs and Ireland’s PrecisionBiotics.
AbbVie to Sell off Allergan Women’s Health Portfolio
US pharma AbbVie has put compatriot Allergan’s women’s health business up for sale. The company is said to be working with Morgan Stanley on an auction process that has attracted interest from private equity firms including CVC Capital Partners. Reuters, which broke the story, said AbbVie’s existing women’s health franchise before picking up Allergan is not part of the sale.
Topsoe and Aquamarine Plan Green Ammonia Plant
Haldor Topsoe has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US-headquartered institutional investor Aquamarine Investment Partners to develop a large-scale green ammonia facility in Germany.
Orlen Unipetrol Plans DCPD Plant
Czech group Orlen Unipetrol plans to build a new plant for producing dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) using its own recently developed technology.
Petchems Age at Porto Marghera may really End
The age of petrochemicals seems to be finally ending at the Porto Marghera site near Venice operated by Italian energy group Eni’s plastics subsidiary Versalis. While the group has made no formal announcement, Italian press reports say Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi has informed the mayor of Venice and the unions that the cracker with nameplate capacity for nearly 500,000 t/y of ethylene and 250,000 t/y of propylene will be shut down in spring 2022.
EMA Gives All Clear for AstraZeneca Covid Shot
After a day’s deliberation, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has decided that AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective and that potential side effects observed across the EU are not too great to run the risk of being infected with the virus.
DSM Sells Solar Business to Worthen Industries
DSM is selling its Advanced Solar business in backsheet products for solar modules to Worthen Industries, a US-based chemical and technology manufacturer of industrial adhesives & coatings, extruded films and coated substrates. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
WuXi Buys Pfizer China Plant
China’s WuXI Biologics has agreed to buy Pfizer’s biologics manufacturing facilities in Hangzhou for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021. The Shanghai-based company said the acquisition will immediately boost its capacities for commercial drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP) capacities to address surging manufacturing demand.
EU-UK Vaccine Cold War Gets Hotter
As the world awaited conclusive words from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the safety of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 shot, the vaccine war between the UK and the EU appeared to be intensifying. With manufacturers struggling to meet supply commitments, both sides see their inoculation programs at risk.
Pharma Logistics: A Global Perspective
Over the past few years, Camelot has been monitoring pharma distribution in different regions of the world.
New Ammonia Synthesis Technology
Tsubame BHB was established in April of 2017 based on a new catalyst technology developed by Prof. em. Hideo Hosono at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), which allows an ammonia process at lower temperature and pressure.
CO2-Neutral Chemical Industry
The European Chemical Industry has set out on an ambitious path to become carbon neutral. Germany, as one of the major chemical manufacturing nations, has committed to achieve this goal by 2050.
Clariant and India Glycols Form Renewables JV
Clariant and India Glycols Limited (IGL) are forming a joint venture for renewable ethylene oxide (EO) derivatives. To support production, IGL has entered into long-term supply agreement for EO made from bio-ethanol as well as further utilities.
Thermo Fisher to Upgrade Bioprocessing Operations
Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to spend more than $600 million to upgrade its bioprocessing operations up to 2022. It aims to more than double current manufacturing capacity and support biopharma customers as they ramp up to meet short-term demands related to COVID-19. Another goal is to support its own long-term efforts to develop new vaccines and biologics for other conditions.
Not all Gloom for German Chemicals in 2020
Punctuated by lockdowns and gaps in raw materials supply, pandemic year 2020 presented major challenges for German chemical and pharmaceutical producers. However, due to a strong fourth quarter performance in which both sales and production rose against the third quarter, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industre (VCI), said business was better than expected.
Tune Your Warehouse
The changes in customer needs and market requirements have not only been changing because of the pandemic influences within the last year, but traditional business models were quickly considered outdated in the current environment.
Complex Operations Call for Smart Tools
Gemsotec creates tailored solutions and applications that increase efficiency and safety in the process industry by applying the latest digital technologies.
Pharma 4.0: Smart Manufacturing
Marcus Michel, CEO of ACG Engineering, analyzes market trends in pharmaceutical engineering and manufacturing.
Developing Innovative Ideas, Creating New Markets
As Managing Director of Asahi Kasei Europe, Hideki Tsutsumi has implemented the Japanese chemical company's growth strategy in Europe.
Ajinomoto in Talks with Metex on Animal Feed Unit
Japan’s Ajinomoto has entered into exclusive negotiations with French fermentation firm METabolic EXplorer to sell its entire stake in Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Europe (AANE), based in Amiens, France. The company said the sale its part of a strategic reshaping of its portfolio and a restructuring of non-core businesses.
