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.

India has entered into a collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to strengthen the country’s renewable energy in order to become a leading producer of green hydrogen. Under the terms of the contract, the two will assess the potential of green hydrogen as an enabler of the country’s transition and as a new source of national energy exports. India is also launching a National Green Hydrogen Mission that will help in the production, storage, distribution, and application technologies of green hydrogen.

Digital twins are either a must-have for any self-respecting engineering consultant; or they are dismissed as the latest shiny object dreamed up by VC-fueled ‘constructech’ mania. On the one hand, digital twins are important enough to warrant their own National Digital Twin Day; on the other, proponents are accused of ‘digital-twin-washing’ Bim just like they ‘green-washed’ their eco-sustainability credentials, driven by fear of missing out.

Air Products and the Hamburg Port Authority have entered into a MOU to explore the potential of developing a hydrogen value chain across the port of Hamburg in Germany. The collaboration aims to increase the production, supply chain and consumption of hydrogen in the region.

With an aim to reduce industry emissions, ExxonMobil has plans to develop a hydrogen production plant along with one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects at its Baytown site in Texas, USA.

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.

Pharmaceutical packaging between flexibility and turn key approaches —  This pharmaceutical packaging market is growing rapidly and pharma machinery manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned to explore the many dimensions of this critical sector. A ramble through this year's novelties.

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.

BP has acquired a stake in Green Biofuels which offers a low emission advanced hydrogenated vegetable oil fuel. This sustainable fuel can be used as a direct replacement for diesel and the acquisition will expand BP’s global biofuels portfolio and its lower carbon solutions.

Under a contract signed between thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers and Shell, thyssenkrupp will engineer, procure and fabricate a 200 MW electrolysis plant based on its large-scale 20 MW alkaline water electrolysis module for the mega ‘Hydrogen Holland I’ project in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The project will produce green hydrogen for the industry and transport sector in the region.