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.

Under the new joint venture agreement, BASF and Heraeus will establish a new company called ‘BASF Heraeus (China) Metal Resource Co.’ in China. The collaboration will enable a circular economy solution as precious metals will be recovered from spent automotive catalysts in the country.

Ascend has plans to develop a new hexamethylene diamine and specialty chemicals plant in Lianyungang, China which will also be the company’s first chemical production facility and the largest investment the firm has made outside the USA. The plant will produce HMD as well as specialty chemicals which will help in the technological transformations of various industries such as e-mobility and automation in the region.

Origin Materials has plans to develop its second manufacturing plant, Origin 2 at Geismar, Louisiana, USA. The facility is expected to convert an estimated 1 million dry metric tons of wood residues annually in order to produce carbon-negative materials and hydrothermal carbon which will be used to manufacture PET plastic and be used in fuel pellets respectively.

LG Chem is aiming to achieve 50.1 billion dollars in revenue by 2030 by expanding its high-value new businesses of eco-friendly materials, battery materials, and new drugs by more than half. With this, the firm intends to reset itself as a global sustainable science company.

Under a long-term agreement signed between Linde and BASF, Linde will build and operate a new hydrogen production facility at Chalampé, France in order to supply hydrogen and steam to BASF’s new hexamethylenediamine manufacturing facility in the country.

Thyssenkrupp Uhde Thailand has secured an engineering services and proprietary equipment supply contract for an Esterification plant from a major oleo and specialty chemicals producer in Asia. thyssenkrupp Uhde’s advanced batch reactor technology will be used for the project.

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.

DNV together with 18 industry leaders have collaborated to launch a new Joint Industry Project to enhance the standardization for safe and cost-efficient hydrogen production systems that use electrolysis powered by renewable energy to produce green hydrogen. A certification scheme is also being developed for electrolyzer projects.

Eastman has plans to expand its tertiary amines capacity in Belgium and the USA in order to meet the growing demand in Europe and North America amidst the Covid pandemic.