With an aim to accelerate Asahi Kasei’s efforts to build a global specialty pharmaceutical platform, the company has successfully completed the acquisition of Aicuris, a German-based biopharmaceutical company.

Brunei Fertilizer Industries has awarded a feed contract to Thyssenkrupp Uhde for the expansion of its ammonia handling and export infrastructure. The project comprises the design of a new cryogenic ammonia storage tank and the development of a dedicated ammonia export facility.

Evonik has successfully completed the expansion of its methionine production facilities in Singapore. With this, the firm has increased its production capacity by 40,000 metric tons, bringing the total to 340,000 metric tons per year.

Metso’s new pilot plant has recently been launched in Frankfurt, Germany. The Circored pilot plant enables continuous pre-reduction using hydrogen as the sole reducing agent and integrates pre-heating, reduction, gas cleaning, and recirculation systems for hydrogen and dust, and features electric heaters to support nearly zero-carbon operation.

Under a contract signed between Verbund and Lanxess, Verbund will supply a total of around 200,000 MWh of green electricity to Lanxess from its existing hydroelectric power plants on the Inn River in Bavaria, Germany.

Air Products has delivered over 50 trailer loads of liquid hydrogen i.e. over 730,000 gallons in all to the world’s largest hydrogen sphere at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The hydrogen will be used to fuel Nasa’s Artemis missions, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon.

With an aim to produce propylene directly from ethanol, Sumitomo Chemical has developed a new proprietary process for which it has constructed and also started operation of a pilot facility at the Sodegaura site of its Chiba Works.

Roche’s US subsidiary Genentech has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The 700-million-dollar project is expected to support the production of the company’s future portfolio of metabolic medicines, including next-generation treatments for obesity.

Tosoh Corporation has recently announced that it has developed a hydrocarbon‑based polymer electrolyte for polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis systems. The new electrolyte offers superior proton conductivity, higher gas barrier properties and lower hydrated state swelling as compared to conventional fluorinated polymer electrolyte materials.

Europe’s chemical industry is sliding into crisis as rising energy costs, weak demand, and dwindling investments force widespread plant shutdowns. Without swift policy intervention, the region risks losing its industrial backbone to competitors in lower cost, faster growing markets.