BASF announces launch of commercial LFP cathode materials production in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has announced the launch of commercial production of LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode materials in Weimar, Germany, as per the company's press release.

BASF is operating a 3,000 metric ton (MT) per year plant in Weimar, leveraging LFP precursors produced at the BASF headquarters site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. IBU-Tec, a specialist in rotary kiln technology and systems, is carrying out operations at the Weimar manufacturing plant under the supervision and full operational control of BASF.

BASF’s innovative LFP materials are used in the production of advanced lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) for various applications, providing advanced power and safety characteristics. LFP is a valuable extension of BASF’s LiB cathode materials portfolio which includes NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese), produced at a BASF manufacturing plant in Elyria, Ohio.

BASF’s HED LFP is produced using a proprietary process developed by BASF to ensure superior performance of the product as well as superior batch-to-batch consistency.

As MRC reported earlier, BASF is the first European manufacturer to have completely switched a production plant for XPS (extruded polystyrene rigid foam) to a new polymeric flame retardant (PolyFR). Styrodur insulating panels produced at BASF’s plant in Tudela, Spain, are now made exclusively with the polymeric flame retardant, which has a superior environmental profile while offering the same flame retardancy. BASF’s other Styrodur production plants in Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide, Germany, and Bibbiano, Italy, will all be switched to the new flame retardant by the end of 2014.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kentz has won a lucrative contract to supply support services to several petrochemical plants under construction in Saudi Arabia. The Sadara Chemical Company is constructing a series of petrochemical plants near the industrial city of Jubail, as per Plastemart.

Kentz said it has been hired to supply manpower, management and skilled labour. The company will also support construction, commissioning and start-up activities.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, last June, Dow Chemical, an American multinational chemical corporation, announced the signing of the main financing for the Sadara project. Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara), Dow's joint venture with Saudi Aramco, entered into definitive agreements with certain export credit agencies, commercial banks and the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for approximately USD10.5 billion of additional project financing.

The financing supplements the USD2 billion raised through a Sukuk Islamic bond issuance in April, 2013, bringing the total Sadara project financing raised to approximately USD12.5 billion, which will be used to fund the construction and start-up of the joint venture.

Sadara is building a world-scale, fully integrated chemicals complex in Jubail Industrial City 2, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The complex will be comprised of 26 manufacturing units, will possess flexible cracking capabilities and is expected to produce more than 3 million metric tons of high-value performance plastics and specialty chemical products. The first production units are expected to come on-line in the second half of 2015, with full production starting in mid-2016. As MRC wrote previously, last March petrochemical company Sadara contracted Intertec to protect around 1,000 field-based process analysers at its new complex in Saudi Arabia.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) is nearing completion of preliminary studies for the construction of a new oil-to-chemicals (OTC) plant in Saudi Arabia, according to the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council (SABC), reported GV.

The facility, expected to be operational by the end of 2020, will process about 200,000 b/d of crude oil to produce downstream petrochemicals. The complex, for which an exact location was not disclosed, is expected to create about 100,000 new jobs.

"The OTC complex will set a new competitive standard and establish Saudi Arabia as a technology leader in the petrochemical industry," reported SABC quoting Sabic Chief Executive and Vice Chairman Mohamed Al-Mady.

"OTC technology allows for the conversion of crude oil to petrochemical products at the highest ever achieved conversion rate in a competitive and sustainable way," Al- Mady added.

The project will allow Sabic to develop advanced specialty chemicals in line with their 2025 strategic plan, the SABC added.

As MRC informed earlier, Sabic Innovative Plastics will invest in a production line for Stamax-brand long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) resin at its manufacturing site in Shanghai. Investment or production capacity numbers were not revealed, but the new line is expected to come on stream in H2-2015. This will be Sabic's third Stamax plant, joining existing facilities in Genk, Belgium, and Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Sabic is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia and the largest company in the Middle East. Sabic is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. Sabic is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ethylene vinyl acetate & (EVA) is estimated to generate global value of USD12,131.4 million by 2018, reported Plastemart with reference to Marketsandmarket.

The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest market of ethylene vinyl acetate, with around half of its total demand in 2012. China is the key consumer of ethylene vinyl acetate in the Asia-Pacific. Injection molding, film,compounding and wire & cable are the application segments, driving the demand for ethylene vinyl acetate products, which in turn is pushing the demand for ethylene vinyl acetate within the region. The growing industrial expansions in the region have also led to increased consumption of ethylene vinyl acetate.

The market is also growing due to high penetration of this material in industries such as film and other extrusion which have further helped the ethylene vinyl acetate market to emerge in the region. Various innovations, developments, and expansions in different industries have in turn made the region a potential growth market for ethylene vinyl acetate.

High density ethylene vinyl acetate is manufactured by the copolymerization of ethylene and vinyl acetate. It contains around 25%-45% of vinyl acetate content. High density ethylene vinyl acetate is consumed in applications such as hot melt adhesives and injection molding. It is the fastest growing ethylene vinyl acetate form with a CAGR of 6.50% to 2018.

The important growth driver for ethylene vinyl acetate is the huge economic progress of the Asia-Pacific countries, increase in end use applications, and easy availability of cheaper raw materials in North America and the Asia-Pacific. Compounding and wire & cable application market for ethylene vinyl acetate has a wide scope for its expansion, which in turn would help in increasing the consumption for high density ethylene vinyl acetate and medium density ethylene vinyl acetate.

Medium density ethylene vinyl acetate remains the dominant type and is estimated to grow with a healthy CAGR in the coming future. Film is the biggest application of ethylene vinyl acetate and is anticipated to be worth USD4,741.1 million by 2018.

ExxonMobil Corporation (U.S), LyondellBasell Industries NV (The Netherlands), E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (U.S.), ENI S.p.A (Italy) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (China) are some of the key manufacturers of ethylene vinyl acetate.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem) said it completed the construction works of its ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant in April 2014, expecting the experimental operation to commence in Q2-14.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiyo Petrochemical is in plans to shut its styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance, reported Apic-online.

The company has planned a maintenance turnaround at the plant starting August 20, 2014. The shutdown is expected to remain in force for around 40 days.

Located at Ube in Japan, the SM plant has a production capacity of 370,000 mt/year. The plant is currently operating at full production capacity levels.

As MRC informed before, another Japanese petrochemical producer - Taiyo Vinyl Corp., a subsidiary of Tosoh Group, is in plans to shut its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant located at Osaka in Japan for maintenance. The PVC plant has a production capacity of 170,000 mt/year and is likely to be shut for a maintenance turnaround in July 2014 for a period of about one month.

Taiyo Vinyl Corporation, a subsidiary of Tosoh Group, is one of Japan's largest manufacturers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The plant in Chiba is one of the company's key assests, which supplies 50% of its products to the domestic market. The company also produces PVC at the plants in Yokkaichi and Osaka with the annual capacity of 310,000 and 150,000 tonnes, respectively.
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