South Korean engineering and construction company DL E&C has secured a contract for designing the plants of the mega-scale Russian Baltic Complex Project and will also procure equipment for the same. The plants which are a part of the complex will be capable of producing 3 million tons of polyethylene, 120,000 tons of butane, and 50,000 tons of hexane every year.

BASF has entered into an agreement with China BlueChemical and Wuhuan Engineering to develop and supply innovative catalysts, special reactor design and related process technology that enable CO2 direct utilization via reforming and synthesis gas to chemicals. The deal focuses on the utilization of marine gas with a high CO2 content and will help to reduce carbon footprint via improved process efficiency and carbon efficiency.

Haldor Topsoe has entered into a 51-million-dollar loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support its research in the development of low-carbon technologies for the production of green hydrogen, green ammonia, biofuels, and electrified methanol.

Perstorp, a manufacturer of Trimethylolpropane (TMP), has ramped up the capacity to meet growing demand from the European market.

Danish biotech company Biosyntia and the German Wacker Group have announced the signing of a contract to develop a large-scale production process for fermentation-based biotin. The long-term partnership aims to make fermentation-based biotin available for the full range of relevant applications as a sustainable, non-chemical, European-sourced alternative.

Under an agreement signed between Wood and Green Lithium, Wood has been made the Owner’s Engineer for delivering UK’s first large-scale commercial lithium refinery. Claimed to be the first of its kind facility in Europe, the plant is expected to meet the growing demand for battery-grade lithium chemicals which is important for the commercial viability of the European battery supply chain, the electric vehicle revolution and its transition to net-zero.

Germany-based company Merck has secured a 137-million-dollar contract from the US Government for developing a new lateral flow membrane production facility in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA. The new plant will produce Merck’s hi-flow plus lateral flow membrane which is used in rapid diagnostic test kit manufacturing for infectious disease testing such as Covid-19.

Sabic has entered into a MOU with Saudi Aramco and PKN Orlen for exploring the potential of petrochemical expansion projects in Poland, Central and Eastern Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, the investment opportunities will include a new chemical production facility in Poland, the expansion of various existing assets and development of a new world scale cracker.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in its latest report ‘Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor’ elaborates on the new global power dynamics in the background of a hydrogen economy. It also states that green hydrogen has the potential to disrupt global trade and bilateral energy relations with new hydrogen exporters and users.

Nabaltec has plans to invest in the double-digit million range to more than double production capacity of Boehmite at its Schwandorf site in Germany from 10,000 to 25,000 tons per year. The move has been undertaken to meet the growing demands of the lithium-ion battery market.