NEWS
IN BRIEF
Lithium merger complete Allkem and Livent have completed their all-stock merger of equals and have begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange as Arcadium Lithium . The new firm had about $ 1.9 billion of combined total revenue in 2022 and over 2,600 employees , making it one of the largest integrated producers of lithium chemicals in the world . Paul Graves is the CEO .
ICL plans battery centre ICL will invest $ 30 million on a customer innovation and qualification centre for the energy storage systems market in North America . This should be online before its 30,000 tonnes / year lithium iron phosphate battery materials facility , which is currently undergoing a value engineering review to optimise project costs and accelerate start-up .
Novonesis is the name Danish firms Novozymes and Chr . Hansen have announced that their post-merger name will be Novonesis . This is derived from the Latin word for ‘ new ’ that is already in Novozymes ’ name and the Green for ‘ origin ’ or ‘ beginning ’, to acknowledge the role Ancient Greek thinkers played in the development of science . Closing should take place within Q1 .
New owner for Chemtrix Japan ’ s AGI Group has acquired Chemtrix , a Netherlands-based maker of flow reactors for industry and academia . It said that this “ will bring flow chemistry scaleup capabilities into the AGI Group , supporting both pilot and manufacturing solutions ”. AGI is based in Japan and already owns Syrris , which supplies laboratoryscale flow chemistry systems , as well as glass equipment for multiple industries .
Kemira divests to focus on water
Kemira will divest its oil and gas chemicals portfolio to Sterling Specialty Chemicals , a US subsidiary of India ’ s Artek Group , for € 260 million , subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals . The company said that this will enable it “ to focus on its core businesses and accelerate its profitable growth strategy ”. The two parties expect to complete by the end of Q1 .
The business being divested saw revenues grew from € 190 million in 2020 to nearly € 430 million in 2022 . The oil and gas business comprised € 373 million ; the rest consisted of industrial polymers sold through indirect channels . The operating EBITDA margin grew from 5 % to 13 % during this period .
The deal includes three US facilities in Mobile , Columbus and Aberdeen , and another at Teesport , UK , subject to certain site-specific closing conditions . About 250 employees will transfer . Also included is the novel liquid polymer plant at Botlek , Netherlands , but Kemira will continue to operate this under a long-term agreement and will retain the employees .
The news came shortly after Kemira announced a 70,000 tonnes / year expansion of its ferric sulfate water treatment chemicals production line in Goole , UK . Due in operation by Q3 2025 , this targets growing demand for coagulants as a result of the Asset Management Plan 7 and 8 regulation on phosphorus and other nutrient discharge from wastewater treatment in the Water Industry National Environment Programme . Kemira produces currently over 350,000 tonnes / year of water treatment and other chemicals annually at Goole and three other UK sites in Ellesmere Port , Teesport and Bradford . The company has invested heavily at Goole in recent years , with the latest expansion programme being completed in 2021 .
In the same field , Kemira has reached an agreement with Royal HaskoningDHV to conduct further research on its ViviMag phosphorus recovery technology . This includes a pilot project at Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg ’ s wastewater treatment plant in Hoensbroek , Netherlands , and further demonstration projects .
In addition , Kemira and IFF have announced that a new manufacturing facility for their Designed Enzymatic Biomaterial ( DEB ) platform will be integrated into an existing biorefinery in Finland and operated by Finnamyl and Chemigate via a contract manufacturing arrangement . The facility will be operational in late 2024 .
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981