Evonik Q1 net income rises

Evonik's net income rose by around 69% year on year in the first quarter of this year amid higher selling prices at its performance materials and specialty additives businesses, said the company.

"Across all divisions, we were able to adjust selling prices successfully and therefore offset the increase in variable costs,” Evonik's chairman Christian Kullmann said in a statement.

"The performance materials division benefited from higher demand and improved selling prices for C4 products in the first quarter. "In the present situation, its naphtha-based price clauses act as a natural hedge against higher oil prices," the company said.

"The company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of between EUR2.5bn and EUR2.6bn and sales of between EUR15.5bn and EUR16.5bn. In 2021, Evonik’s adjusted EBITDA was EUR2.38bn and sales were EUR15bn.

"Higher energy prices and considerable uncertainty about the supply of raw materials are weighing on industry and the entire economy, Kullmann said.

"Based on our strong start to the year and assuming there will be no further escalation in the geopolitical situation, we are confirming our outlook for the full year," he added.

As per MRC, Evonik Catalysts has opened a new zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant at its facility in Dombivli, India. The new plant reduces the amount of fresh water required for production processes and turns material that was previously considered waste into saleable products. ZLD purifies and recycles wastewater at the end of an industrial process, leaving little to no effluent remaining when it is completed. This means not only more efficient water use, but also a significant reduction in waste liquid.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers.
mrchub.com

China’s Hualu Hengsheng Chemical is planning to construct a nylon 66 project as well as a solvent project at Dezhou in Shandong province, the company said.

The nylon 66 project will have two product lines, each at 40,000 tonnes/year of capacity. A 200,000 tonne/year adipic acid plant and other supporting facilities will also be installed.

For the solvent project, the company will build two dimethyl carbonate (DMC) plants each at 300,000 tonnes/year of capacity, a 300,000 tonne/year ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) plant and some supporting units.

Hualu Hengsheng estimates that investments will be roughly yuan (CNY) 3.1bn (USD464m) for the nylon 66 project and CNY1bn for the solvent project. Constructions are expected to take 24 months for the nylon 66 project and 20 months for the solvent project.

As MRC informed earlier, Domo, a manufacturer of engineering and high performance materials has announced it will be investing millions of euros in updating and expanding the production capacity for high-performance Technyl polyamides over the coming years. The company said that the investment was necessary to meet growing demand in the automotive, electrical & electronics, and industrial consumer goods industries, and to help build a sustainable future. Domo Chemicals acquired Solvay's performance polyamides business, including its Technyl brand, in 2020. It has been selling its Technyl polyamide products in China and elsewhere since February 1, 2022.
mrchub.com

Sika has agreed to sell Aliva Equipment, a Swiss unit supplying machines for the application of shotcrete, to Normet Group Oy, a Finnish global company providing solutions for underground construction, said the company.

In 2021, Aliva Equipment generated sales of CHF 12 million. Aliva is a leading manufacturer of machines and accessories for the application of shotcrete, supplying customers through a wide network of dealers. With the equipment business only representing a small part of Group sales, Sika has decided to sell Aliva to an owner where it will be part of the core business. Normet Group is a global provider of equipment and services for underground construction. For Normet, the acquisition will provide improved presence in the DACH region, access to Aliva’s global dealer network, and an expanded portfolio of high-quality products.

"With Normet Group, Sika has found the right strategic owner for the Aliva Equipment business. Normet is specialized in underground construction and will expand investments in the long-term development of the Aliva business, its people, products, and technologies. Being a part of the core business of a global company will open up new opportunities for the strategic development of Aliva and its employees. Customers can continue to rely on the availability of high-quality equipment and support in the future."

As MRC reported previously, Sika has recently closed the transaction related to the divestment of the European industrial coatings business. The deal, which includes Sika's European industrial coatings business with the main location and manufacturing facility in Vaihingen, Germany, was announced on 19 August last year.

We remind that earlier this year, Sika acquired Canada’s Sable Marco Inc, which manufactures cementitious products and mortars, for an undisclosed amount. Sable Marco is headquartered in Pont Rouge, near Quebec City, and generates annual sales of Swiss francs (Swfr) 20m (USD22m). The acquisition “should open up new opportunities for Sika in the eastern region of Canada and clearly improve Sika’s access to the retail distribution channel,” the company said.

We also remind that Sika commissioned a manufacturing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which produces epoxy resins aimed at flooring solutions. Sika has decided to invest in the expansion of its manufacturing facilities at the Dubai site in order to increase flexibility in production, shorten delivery times, optimize cost structures, and reduce inventories.

Sika is a specialty chemicals company with a leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle industry. Sika has subsidiaries in 101 countries around the world and manufactures in over 200 factories.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL Group, has teamed up with Plug Power Inc. , a leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, to build one of Europe’s largest-capacity green hydrogen production facilities at MOL’s Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta, Hungary, said the company.

Green hydrogen will reduce the carbon footprint of the Danube Refinery operation and enable emission-free mobility in the longer term.

Utilizing a 10-megawatt (MW) electrolysis unit from Plug Power, MOL’s €22 million facility will be able to produce approximately 1,600 tons of clean, carbon-neutral, green hydrogen annually, removing up to 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide by displacing the currently used natural gas-based production process. As this process represents one-sixth of the carbon dioxide emissions of MOL Group, this investment supports MOL’s carbon neutrality goals and will contribute to energy independence for the region.

Once operational in 2023, MOL will use the green hydrogen in its Danube Refinery during fuel production of its own hydrogen system. It will be incorporated into the molecules of MOL fuels, lowering the carbon outputs from the production technology and the final product.

The production of green hydrogen does not generate any greenhouse gas emissions. The Plug equipment uses electricity from a renewable source to split water into oxygen and hydrogen gas by a process called electrolysis. This process does not produce any by-products that harm the environment. By producing one ton of hydrogen, eight-to-nine tons of pure oxygen is also produced by the equipment, saving nearly 10,000 tons of natural gas consumption in the process. Plug’s electrolyzers, with nearly 50 years of operational experience in applications demanding high reliability, are modular, scalable hydrogen generators optimized for clean hydrogen production.

The company behind the world’s first and most comprehensive Green Hydrogen Ecosystem , Plug is making green hydrogen adoption simple for companies ready to improve both efficiency and sustainability of their operations. Plug’s independent green hydrogen production network is targeting 70 TPD by the end of 2022 and remains on track to have 500 TPD of green hydrogen generation network in North America by 2025 and 1,000 TPD on a global basis by 2028.

As MRC reported earlier, MOL Group (Budapest, Hungary) has recently announced that Rossi Biofuel (a joint venture wherein MOL Group and Envien Group are the 25-75% owners) inaugurated a new plant in Komarom, Hungary, which will significantly increase the biofuel production volume in the country. With this investment, MOL Group and Envien Group launched a technology in Europe that can boost greenhouse gas savings by more than 85%. With a capacity of 50,000 tons per year, the plant is the first in Europe to use the RepCat technology offered by Austrian firm BDI-BioEnergy International GmbH, which is highly flexible in terms of raw materials - it allows the processing of greasy wastes of different types and origins, such as used cooking oils, trap grease, animal fats or residues from vegetable oil production. Biodiesel produced in this way is one of the most climate-friendly fuels.

We remind that in March 2021, MOL became a biofuel producer through the realization of an investment in the Danube Refinery. Bio feedstock will be co-processed together with fossil materials increasing the renewable share of fuels and reducing up to 200,000 tons /year CO2 emission without negatively affecting fuel quality.

MOL Group is an international, integrated oil, gas, petrochemicals, and consumer retail company, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. It is active in over 30 countries with a dynamic international workforce of 25,000 people and a track record of more than 100 years. MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemicals plants under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia, and owns a network of almost 2000 service stations across 10 countries in Central & South-Eastern Europe.
mrchub.com

Orion Engineered Carbons, a specialty chemical company, announced plans to build the only plant in the U.S. producing acetylene-based conductive additives – a critical link in the value chain for lithium-ion batteries, high-voltage cables and other products powering the global transition to electrification and renewable energy, said the company.

Orion’s planned facility in La Porte, Texas, south of Houston, will be backed by a long-term agreement for acetylene supplied from a neighboring site owned by Equistar Chemicals LP, a subsidiary of LyondellBasell.

Acetylene is a colorless gas widely used as a chemical building block. Orion’s production process turns acetylene into a powder, which is added to lithium-ion batteries, enhancing electrical conductivity and extending the lifetime of the most valuable component of an electric vehicle. The material plays a similar role in high-voltage cables used for wind and solar farms.

Orion will invest between USD120 million to USD140 million in the facility, expected to start up in the second half of 2024. This investment should increase the company’s conductive additives capacity by approximately 12 kilotons per year.

The company, which has a similar plant in France with locally supplied acetylene gas from LyondellBasell, is the sole producer of acetylene-based conductive additives in the European Union. The U.S. plant will bring new technology and high-skilled jobs to the country and positively impact long-term job creation for the local community. Demand for battery additives is expected to grow rapidly amid a global boom in the construction of gigafactories making lithium-ion batteries.

The plant will have a favorable environmental profile and will be subject to obtaining the routine regulatory approvals.

As per MRC, Orion Engineered Carbons (Houston, Texas) says it will raise prices by 20% globally for acetylene black after a period of investment in its production plant in France “to better serve the growing market demand for acetylene black used in lithium-ion (Li-on) battery production” . The price increase takes effect on 1 March 2021 or as contracts allow.

We remind, Orion Engineered Carbons has raised its fourth-quarter guidance for adjusted EBITDA earnings to a range of USD64-67 million from the previously issued range of USD44-55 million given during its third quarter results on 5 November.

Orion Engineered Carbons is a worldwide supplier of Carbon Black. The company offers standard and high-performance products for Coatings, Printing Inks, Polymers, Rubber and other applications. Our high-quality Gas Blacks, Furnace Blacks and Specialty Carbon Blacks tint, colorize and enhance the performance of plastics, paints and coatings, inks and toners, adhesives and sealants, tires, and manufactured rubber goods such as automotive belts and hoses.
mrchub.com