China wants to reduce its ‘import dependence’ on engineering plastics. This is stated in the new 14th five-year plan of the communist leadership in Beijing, which has its eye on the strategic value of these special chemicals used across a number of domestic industries. Recently, concrete targets for ‘self-sufficiency’ in these materials were published, reports the chemical newspaper Zhongguo Huagong Xinxi Zhoukan.

Specialty chemicals company Lanxess is taking on a mammoth task and digitalizing all its process engineering, electrical engineering and automation documentation — including lifecycle management. Uniform plant and project documentation and comprehensive data management will increase quality and efficiency in production and maintenance operations going forward.

HH2E and Met Group have established a joint project company for building one of the largest production plants for green hydrogen in Germany. On completion, the project is expected to produce more than 60,000 tons of green hydrogen annually.

Exxonmobil has developed an innovative methanol-to-jet SAF technology by using renewable methanol as feedstock. The move is aimed at decarbonizing the aviation industry and achieving a net-zero future.

In a new series, PROCESS looks at the individual sectors of the chemical industry in China. In the second part of the series, after the fertiliser industry, the focus is on the petrochemical industry. In the wake of the new five-year plan, the industry is expected to grow and secure China's self-sufficiency.

BP has acquired a 40.5 % equity stake in Asian Renewable Energy Hub, one of the largest renewables and green hydrogen hubs in the world. Located in Pilbara, Western Australia, the project on full scale is expected to produce 1.6 million tons of green hydrogen or 9 million tons of green ammonia annually.

The Ima Group has recently announced that its Pharmaceutical divisions will be present at Achema 2022 to exhibit its ‘All-In-One Pharma’ range of solutions as well as a few projects aimed at sustainability and digitalization.

What does the future handling of field devices look like? Why has digitalization in the process industry not yet progressed as far as users and manufacturers would like? The discussions around device management provide an insight into the challenges. Thanks to Profinet and APL, solutions for this are already starting to emerge.

Total Energies has acquired a 20 % interest in the new company Adani New Industries. The new firm is expected to be the exclusive platform of Adani Enterprises and Total Energies for the production and commercialization of green hydrogen in India.

The Corona crisis, particularly the lockdowns adopted by many governments, has hit the chemical industry hard in China. However, sales in many of the top companies in China already declined in 2019, even before Corona. But there are exceptions, as the figures from 2019 in our latest top 10 show here.