Fallout as BASF closes plant at Ineos site
BASF has notified Ineos that it intends to close its hexamethylene diamine ( HMD ) at Seal Sands on Teesside , UK . It has also served notice on its contract to supply services and utilities there until 2028 . As a result , Ineos has begun consultation on the proposed closure of the services and utilities plant . In all , some 30 jobs could be lost . The plant , which Ineos operated for BASF , had been idled since January 2020 . The plan was for it to be transferred to BASF for a scheduled restart in February and for site services to be restructured accordingly . However , in December , Ineos confirmed that it will decommission and close its 28,000 tonnes / year acrylonitrile ( ACN ) plant at Seal Sands during 2021 . The company said that the investment needed to make operations safe and profitable was unviable after “ decades of underinvestment ”. This put another 145 jobs at risk . Both HMD and CAN are mainly used to make polyamide 6,6 . Demand has been low during the automotive turndown and prices hit a twoyear low in November . Because of this , BASF UK had been concerned about its facility ’ s competitiveness and discussed “ alternative supply concepts ” with Ineos . It has now decided to partner with the Butachimie HMD plant in France instead of restarting Seal Sands . Speaking to Teesside Live , a worker at the site said : “ We were told BASF was going to take over control of the whole thing . They had spent a fortune on it ; it had all been overhauled . The plant in France was already running . It was good news - next phone call was ‘ We are shutting the plant now ’ … We were like ‘ What ’ s going on ?’”
Novasep in double exit
French-based CDMO Novasep has sold . Henagen , its Belgium-based viral vectors operation , to Thermo Fisher Scientific for about € 725 million . In a much smaller deal , it also intends to sell its chromatography equipment division to Sartorius Stedim Biotech . Henagen includes two sites at Seneffe and Gosselies , with over 7,000 m 2 of combined manufacturing space and about 400 employees , turning over € 80 million in 2020 . It offers contract manufacturing services for vaccines and therapies to biotechnology companies and large biopharma companies . Thermo Fisher is already a major player in the field . The chromatography equipment division comprises resin-based batch and intensified chromatography systems , mainly for high-pressure , multi-use applications for smaller molecules . The divsision employs about 100 at different sites , mostly at Pompey in eastern France . Its sale , which is subject to works council consultation and regulatory approval , is described as being aligned with Novasep ’ s Rise-2 strategy “ to focus the group towards our core business ”, according to CEO Dr Michel Spagnol . In late 2020 , Novasep invested € 6.5 million to add a 4,000-litre Hastelloy and a 1,600-litre glass-lined reactor to boost capacity for low to medium volume APIs at Chasse-sur-Rhône , France . A 1,500-litre , 15 bar hydrogenation reactor is also being moved to a new , dedicated area .
Sumitomo Chemical targets carbon neutrality
From 1 February , Sumitomo Chemical will establish a strategy council and a cross-functional team , led by executive officers supervising research planning and coordination , Responsible Care and related functions , to promote and formulate strategies for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 . This will be based on four approaches :
• Minimising greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions associated with its production activities through innovation , and deploying new technologies to that end
• Driving innovations for GHG emissions reduction regarding materials used in society , and provide products and solutions that contribute to carbon neutrality from a life-cycle assessment perspective .
• Developing technologies for recovery , separation , use and storage of GHGs emitted from other sources
• Developing carbon-negative technologies to reduce the absolute volume of GHGs in the atmosphere
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