IN BRIEF
Evonik invests Via its recently launched Sustainability Tech Fund , Evonik has made an unspecified investment in Chinese graphene materials firm SuperC . SuperC has developed a process to produce few-layer graphene and , in turn , pastes for electrodes in lithiumion batteries . These are said to increase he batteries ’ electrical and thermal conductivity , and thus their charging speed , range , robustness and service life .
Aether expands Aether Industries has acquired a new site at Surat in India ’ s Gujarat state . This will be merged into two existing adjacent sites , giving them a total area of 10,500 m 2 . It will make two products in the speciality chemicals and intermediates category that are developed in the company ’ s in-house R & D centre but which have not been manufactured in India before .
Cyprotex US moves Evotec subsidiary Cyprotex , which focuses on predictive toxicology and ADME research , has completed the relocation of its US laboratory from Watertown , Massachusetts , to a new , 2,800 m 2 facility in nearby Framingham . This will go along with upgrades to the latest liquid handling automation and mass spectrometry technology , mirroring the assays offered at the UK site .
Three more join TfS Three more companies have joined Together for Sustainability ( TfS ), the industry procurement-driven initiative that seeks to assess , audit and improve sustainability practices within their global supply chains , bringing the total to 43 . They are : Saudi giant Sabic , UK speciality chemicals producer Synthomer and crop nutrition company Yara .
BASF , Dow cut back in Europe
In its 2022 result presentation , BASF announced measures that are expected to yield cost savings of € 500 million / year , mainly in Europe and about half of them at the largest verbund site in Ludwigshafen .
These will be implemented in 2023 and 2024 , focusing mainly on the service , operational and R & D divisions and corporate functions . It will all lead to a net loss of about 2,600 jobs and a € 200 million / year reduction in fixed costs by the end of 2026 .
“ Europe ’ s competitiveness is increasingly suffering from overregulation , slow and bureaucratic permitting processes , and in particular , high costs for most production input factors ,” said CEO Martin Brudermüller . “ High energy prices are now putting an additional burden on profitability and competitiveness in Europe .”
Among the planned changes are the closure of : the caprolactam plant , one ammonia plants and related fertiliser facilities ; cyclohexanol , cyclohexanone and soda ash plants ; and , a TDI plant and the precursor plants for DNT and TDA . All of these products will continue to be supplied from other facilities . About 700 jobs in production will go . This will also reduce CO 2 emissions by about 900,000 tonnes / year , about 4 % of the company total .
The company expects continuing geopolitical uncertainty in 2023 , with
Brudermüller - Europe is suffering competitively
high raw materials and energy costs in Europe , rising prices and interest rates , though it expects 2H to be better than 1H thanks to recovery effects , notably in China . It projects sales of € 84-87 billion and a reduced EBIT before special items of € 4.8-5.4 billion .
Earlier , Dow had outlined what it described as “ a series of targeted actions aligned to its previously stated plan to achieve $ 1 billion in cost savings in 2023 ”. This is divided into $ 500 million each of ‘ structural improvements ’ and operating expense reductions . The measures include :
• About 2,000 job cuts to reduce labour and service costs
• Shutting down select assets , while further evaluating Dow ’ s global asset base , particularly in Europe
• Increasing productivity via endto-end process improvements
• Decreasing turnaround spending , with a continued focus on maintaining safety and reliability
• Reducing purchased raw materials , logistics and utilities costs
• Aligning spending levels to the macroeconomic environment Dow will record a charge of $ 550- 725 million in Q1 for costs associated with these activities . These will mainly comprise severance and related benefit costs ; costs associated with exit and disposal activities ; and asset write-downs and write-offs .
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981