US-headquartered specialty chemicals company Orion announced plans to invest in Alpha Carbone, a French tire recycling company. The partnership will enable Alpha Carbone to scale up its facility in Dole, France, and produce commercial volumes of tire pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black.
On Monday, Paris-based French drugmaker Sanofi announced plans to invest more than €1 billion at three facilities in France to create new bioproduction capacity.
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will construct 18 giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for QatarEnergy under a deal worth $6 billion.
On Wednesday, China’s Wanhua Chemical opened its R&D center in Cornellà de Llobregat near Barcelona, Spain, providing technical support and services to downstream customers in fine chemicals and materials on topics like product performance, application methods, and raw material selection.
On Thursday, Syensqo broke ground on its new battery-grade polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) facility in Augusta, Georgia, US. When complete, the site will be the largest PVDF production facility in North America, the company said.
Asahi Kasei announced that it will construct an integrated plant in Ontario, Canada for the base film manufacturing and coating of Hipore wet-process lithium-ion battery (LIB) separator. Asahi Kasei and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) have reached a basic agreement about the plant and are currently exploring the possibility of a joint investment.
Last week, LyondellBasell and Genox Recycling have opened their plastics recycling joint venture (JV) in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China, which will operate under the name Guangdong Genox LyondellBasell New Material Co.
Linde announced that – through its subsidiary White Martins – will build, own and operate a second 5-MW pressurized alkaline electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen in Jacareí, São Paulo, Brazil. Start-up of the facility is expected in 2025.
Belgian chemical major Solvay has opened a new facility in Rosignano, Italy, for the production of Alve-One, a chemical blowing agent for the thermoplastic foaming industry.
BASF has started operations at its prototype metal refinery for battery recycling in Schwarzheide, Germany. The plant enables the development of operational procedures and the optimization of innovative battery recycling technology, processing end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and battery production scrap, the company said.
US-based Vantage Specialty Chemicals is to expand taurate capacity at its major manufacturing site in Leuna, Germany, in particular for the production of N-methyltaurine.
As part of its strategy to expand the company's application portfolio, Germany-based OQ Chemicals has mechanically completed the expansion of its US plant in Bay City, Texas, for the production of high-purity propionaldehyde.
Fujifilm announced an additional investment of $1.2 billion in its large-scale cell culture contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business to further expand the planned Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, bringing the total investment in the facility to over $3.2 billion. Plans for the new site were unveiled in September last year.
Air Liquide is to expand its capacities in biomethane, also known as renewable natural gas (RNG) in the US, with the construction of two new production units. These units, located in Center Township, Pennsylvania, and Holland Township, Michigan, will treat waste sourced from dairy farms.
Novoloop, a plastic circular economy technology company, recently announced the successful startup of its pilot plant in India in collaboration with Aether Industries, a publicly listed specialty chemicals manufacturer.
Specialty chemicals company Orion, a producer of carbon black, broke ground on a battery materials plant in Texas, US. According to Orion, the facility will be the only one in the US producing acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries and other applications for the growing electrification.
Roquette, a French multinational supplier of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical excipients, announced an investment by its venture capital arm Roquette Ventures in Danish start-up Biograil.
TotalEnergies and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) have agreed to develop a production unit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a Sinopec's refinery in China.
Upperton Pharma Solutions was joined by Sarah Gilbert, Professor and co-creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for the official opening of its new development and GMP manufacturing facility in Nottingham, UK.
Swiss specialty chemicals producer Archroma announced plans to expand its US operations in Martin, South Carolina.
Aragen, a CRDMO, has launched the first phase of its biologics manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India. The $30 million project, executed by its subsidiary Aragen Biologics Pvt Ltd, has completed its first small-scale manufacturing project for a US-based organization, producing a novel anticancer monoclonal antibody.
Syensqo has opened its application development labs (ADL) in Bollate, Italy. The project includes an expansion of 1,300 m2 in a new building and represents a €10 million investment over the past three years and underlines the Bollate research center’s pivotal role in developing new applications for high-tech industries, the company said.
Sandoz, a generic and biosimilar medicines manufacturer, recently opened a new production facility in Kundl, Austria, to serve more patients with affordable life-saving drugs produced entirely in Europe.
Dow announced its intent to build a world-scale carbonate solvents production facility for lithium-ion battery production on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will serve customers in the lithium-ion battery sector, in which carbonate solvents are used as a component in electrolytes.
In a move to triple its production of glass and polymer syringes for the US market by 2030, Germany’s Schott Pharma announced plans to build its first US facility to manufacture prefillable polymer syringes that meet the need for deep-cold storage and transportation of mRNA medications.
Greentech firm Afyren Neoxy, a subsidiary of Afyren, received a €3.4 million payment this week for achieving key milestones with its bio-based low-carbon products.
Interview with Edgardo Hernandez, President Manufacturing, Lilly
US CDMO Adare Pharma Solutions is to add a high-shear mixer granulator at its Pessano, Italy facility, to complement existing fluid bed capabilities. The new mixer can provide wet granulation using either aqueous or organic-based solutions.
Japan-based pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin plans to build a $200 million biologics manufacturing center in Sanford, North Carolina, creating 102 jobs. This will be the company’s first North American pharmaceutical manufacturing operation, expected to create 102 jobs.
South Korea-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) SK Bioscience has broken ground on an approximately 4,200 m2 expansion of its L House vaccine manufacturing facility in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, which will serve as the production base for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate GBP410, jointly developed by SK Bioscience and Sanofi, who are co-investing in the expansion.
AstraZeneca, whose CEO Pascal Soriot has been critical of the UK business environment for the life sciences industry in the past, wants to invest a large sum at its homebase. On Mar. 6, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the pharma giant plans to invest £650 million in the UK.
AkzoNobel has completed a significant investment project at its production facility in Bac Ninh province, Vietnam, aimed at strengthening the company’s position in Asia and focusing on more sustainable manufacturing. The total investment amounts to €18.5 million.
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) wants to invest $400 million for the construction and design of a sterile drug product (SDP) facility at its Cruiserath campus in Dublin, Ireland, significantly expanding manufacturing and laboratory capacity at the site.
Dutch paints and coatings group AkzoNobel has been opened a new €26 million manufacturing plant Faisalabad, Pakistan – the company’s largest investment in the country to date.
Merck will open a new € 20 million distribution center in São Paulo, Brazil to better serve its Life Science customers in the region. The new space, which will be operational in late February, has an area of 13,000 square meters, which is twice as large as the former São Paulo location.
