Trinseo recently inaugurated its polymethyl methacrylate depolymerization facility in Rho, Italy. The depolymerization process helps to close the loop for acrylic recycling and has numerous advantages over traditional processes.

Fluor has secured an engineering, procurement and construction management services contract for Phase One of Northvolt’s large-scale lithium-ion battery factory in Heide, Germany. Completion is scheduled for 2027.

Shell Singapore has plans to sell its Energy and Chemicals Park in Singapore to CAPGC, a joint venture company between Chandra Asri Capital and Glencore Asian Holdings. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2024, subject to regulatory approval.

Nuberg EPC has been awarded a contract by Hidrogen Peroxida Indonesia to design, engineer, procure, and construct a hydrogen peroxide plant in Indonesia. On completion, the project is expected to have a production capacity of 40,000 MTPA.

Evonik has commissioned a new plant for an innovative dispersion technology for fumed silica at its Rheinfelden site in Germany. The new system will be used to produce Easy-to-Disperse products.

With chemical and chemical processing industries aiming to forge ahead in their automation and digitalization drive to develop their respective ‘Factory of the future’ or ‘Smart factory’, one thing is certain – it can’t be done without the use of robots at least for the time being. The concept of robots is not new but they have been transformed time and again to meet the challenges of today’s industrial plants especially with regard to plant inspection as well as maintenance and it won’t be wrong to term this phase as the ‘return and rise of robots.’

Christoph Kowitz who currently heads Wacker’s Corporate Research Department has been appointed as the President and CEO of Wacker Chemical Corporation in the USA. He will succeed David Wilhoit who is retiring from the firm.

Digital transformation is on the rise and industries are actively utilizing next-gen technologies such as artificial intelligence to become more productive and also develop more eco-friendly processes. The smart technology is also being explored by chemical engineers to develop more efficient processes, reduce downtime as well as discover new materials and elements.

The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has awarded a contract to Technip Energies for license, basic engineering design package, proprietary equipment and catalyst supply and related services for the 1500 kta Paradip naphtha cracker unit block of the grassroot petrochemical complex in Paradip, India.

These are the birth pangs of a new economy: the increasing demand for chemical products is bringing growth to the industry, which at the same time has to cope with the necessary transformation towards climate neutrality. For chemical plant construction, both of these factors mean a lot of work in the coming years - in addition to enormous challenges, huge opportunities await.