Profibus & Profinet International (PI) has introduced a number of new process automation technologies for industrial plants in the process industry.

Sumitomo Chemical has begun studying a potential alliance with Rever Holdings Corporation, a Japanese integrated recycling company, in order to accelerate material recycling and thus, establish a sustainable circular economy.

There is currently a lot of interest in renewable and green chemistry, bio-based chemistry, CO2 Capture and Utilisation and chemical recycling. Refineries and verbund sites of large-scale chemicals are under considerable pressure; the biofuel industry is looking for new markets in chemistry and start-ups are looking for investors.

Neste has plans to switch over to 100 % renewable electricity worldwide in the next two years. For this purpose, the company will increase the use of renewable electricity at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. The move is in line with the company’s aim of reaching carbon neutrality in its production by 2035.

Under the Hybrit initiative, SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall have produced the world’s first hydrogen-reduced sponge iron at a pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden. The technological breakthrough aims to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the steelmaking process.

Sascha Kleiber from the University of Technology in Austria demonstrated a carbon capture and utilization approach in which magnesium oxide-based catalysts were produced. These catalysts can be used as a marine fuel, electricity and even as feedstock for further chemicals.

In nature, there are microorganisms that produce hydrogen. To do this, they use special enzymes called hydrogenases. An international team of researchers has now studied this process in more detail. The findings are a foundation for the energy-efficient production of hydrogen as a sustainable energy carrier.

Equinor has signed an agreement to sell its refining business in Denmark to the Klesch Group. The move will enable Equinor to focus on its strategy of strengthening its refining position around Mongstad, Norway.

Goudsmit Magnetics recently launched a rotating Cleanflow magnetic separator suitable for installation in free-fall lines in a continuous process. Cleaning takes place without stopping the product flow - an explicit request from a customer who wanted to recycle cans of milk powder in a continuous process.

Namur (The User Association of Automation Technology in Process Industries) has recently released the NE176 Namur Open Architecture NOA Information Model. The aim of the NOA concept is to enable new Monitoring and Optimization services and applications that create additional value for the production plant.