Dow and Shell have secured funding from the Dutch government and are also linking up with two research organizations to accelerate progress in the joint cracker electrification development program that they announced about a year ago. The technology has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from one of the chemical industry’s most central processes.
Dow is planning to build an integrated methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) distillation and prepolymers plant at its site in Freeport, Texas, USA, to support rising demand from the downstream polyurethane (PU) sector.
The EU Commission’s ambitious plan for a European Green Deal, launched shortly before the pandemic struck in early 2020, aims to make the continent the world’s first climate-neutral region by 2050. The goals spelled out in January last year call for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% up to 2030, compared with 1990 levels.
Saudi Aramco and Dow have amended the shareholders agreement for their Sadara Chemical joint venture with the partners taking on direct responsibility for marketing their shares of the output.
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.
Dow has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone Administrative Committee (Zhanjiang EDZ) to build the Dow South China Specialties Hub, a multi-year project providing customers local access to its products and technologies.
A coalescing of factors has led to arrested growth across the chemicals sector this year, with the brand value of the top 25 most valuable chemicals brands contracting by 8% on average, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation consultancy.
Following up earlier announcements with few detailed disclosures, Dow has now sketched out moves it plans to take to deliver on its envisioned structural cost improvement targets. The US chemical producer, which emerged from the behemoth DowDuPont somewhat trimmed down from its pre-merger status, said the aim is to” further enhance its long-term competitiveness as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.”
Dow is selling its three industrial terminals on the US Gulf Coast to a new 50:50 joint venture of Royal Vopak and BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund for $620 million. The terminals, with a total combined capacity of 825,000 cubic meters, are at Freeport, Texas and St. Charles and Plaquemine in Louisiana.
US chemicals and plastics producer Dow plans to cut its workforce by 6% in response to the coronavirus crisis, CEO Jim Fitterling said on July 23 while presenting financial results for Q2 2020. The plans, he said, reflect management’s expectations of an uneven recovery from the ongoing pandemic.
The chemical industry is on the threshold of a new era – the age of circularity. We asked industry experts to share their opinions on this transformational topic.
The fate of the agrochemical innovation, development, product launch and production are strongly linked to the parallel development of the fine chemicals and custom manufacturing industry.
