With the new plant, BASF has replaced its existing production unit at the Ludwigshafen Verbund site in Germany which has been in operation since the past 40 plus years. The new facility has the same production capacity as the previous plant of more than 10,000 metric tons of 2-mercaptoethanol per year.

Global Bioenergies has come up with a process to convert plant resources into isobutene. The 5-carbon intermediate, prenic acid, which is one of the intermediates in the isobutene synthesis pathway has been developed for the first time from renewable resources.

Messer has plans to develop a mega air separation unit (ASU) in Texas, USA which will be powered with solar energy. This will enable the company to reduce CO2 emissions at the site.

Evonik has plans to construct a new methyl mercaptan plant at its Mobile site in Alabama, USA. With this move, the company aims to strengthen its world-scale methionine production hub in the country.

LanzaJet will be developing the world’s first alcohol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plant in Soperton, Georgia, USA and has recently secured investments from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. The Freedom Pines Fuels plant is expected to produce 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel annually from sustainable ethanol in 2023.

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.

Lanxess is expanding its production capacity for the active ingredient Preventol CMK (chlorocresol) at the Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, site by around 50 percent in response to the continuing strong demand for disinfectants and industrial preservation. The specialty chemicals company has invested a single-digit million euro amount for the expansion, which will be completed still in the first quarter of 2022.

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.

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.

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.