BASF to build commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant in Germany

BASF will build a commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, said the company.

This investment strengthens BASF’s cathode active materials (CAM) production and recycling hub in Schwarzheide. The site is an ideal location for the build-up of battery recycling activities given the presence of many EV car manufacturers and cell producers in Central Europe. This investment will create about 30 new production jobs, with startup planned for early 2024.

Black mass production is the first step in the battery recycling process and is based on mechanical treatment of the batteries. The produced black mass contains high amounts of the key metals used to produce CAM: lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. It will be the feedstock for the commercial hydrometallurgical refinery for battery recycling that BASF plans to build mid of this decade.

"With this investment in a commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant, we take the next step to establish the full battery recycling value chain at BASF. This allows us to optimize the end-to-end recycling process and reduce the CO2 footprint,” said Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President, Catalysts division at BASF. “The closed loop from end-of-life batteries to CAM for new batteries, supports our customers along the entire battery value chain, reduces the dependency from mined raw materials and enables a circular economy."

Battery recycling is an important lever to reduce the CO2 footprint of battery electric vehicles, and is key to meet ambitious, circularity-driven policy requirements, expected under the proposed EU Battery Regulation. These will cover recycling efficiency of lithium-ion batteries, as well as material recovery and recycled content targets for nickel, cobalt and lithium.

As per MRC, BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd. (BSBM) is expanding its battery materials capacity in China to meet fast-growing demands of the electric vehicle industry. The expansion project at its sites in Changsha, Hunan province, and Shuizuishan, Ningxia province, will enable BSBM to achieve 100,000 tonnes of annual capacity for cathode active materials, the company said in a statement.

As per MRC, BASF completed a double-digit million euro investment to increase production capacity for Tinopal CBS optical brighteners at its Monthey site. Following phase one of the stepwise capacity increase in 2021, the recent completion of the investment program has now brought significantly increased capacity on stream to meet growing global customer demand.

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.
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Azelis, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire the majority shares of ROCSA Colombia S.A., a renowned specialty chemical distributor active in both life sciences and industrial chemical markets in South America, said the company.

The acquisition represents a strategic expansion of the group’s footprint, reinforcing its platform to execute its growth strategy in the region.

ROCSA is one of the leading specialty chemical distributors in Colombia, with a rapidly-growing presence in Peru and Central America. It is active in the life sciences market, primarily in Food & Nutrition, Personal Care, and Home Care & Industrial Cleaning, as well as in industrial chemicals, with a strong presence in CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers) and Plastic Additives. With over 130 employees, including a strong and experienced sales force and logistics team, the company serves 1,900+ customers from its headquarters in Colombia and four other offices across the region.

Given ROCSA’s long-standing relationships with global strategic principals, as well as large domestic and regional suppliers, the company’s principal portfolio and product expertise significantly expand Azelis’ lateral value chain. This expansion allows the group to serve customers and accelerate its growth in the region. Following the establishment of the group’s regional innovation center (RIC) in Mexico, the addition of ROCSA’s portfolio of products and capabilities is a significant milestone in Azelis’ strategy in South America.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, after fulfilment of customary closing conditions. Dr. Hans Joachim Muller, Azelis Chief Executive Officer, comments: “Through the acquisition of ROCSA, we are proudly entering into South America with a market-leading company. This strategic platform provides Azelis with significant foothold in the market, as well as the opportunity to expand with our customers and principals, in-line with our strategic vision in the region. Together, our combined capabilities and expertise will bring forth a compelling range of new and innovative solutions."

Frank Bergonzi, CEO & President Azelis Americas, comments: "We are delighted to welcome ROCSA to the Azelis family. ROCSA brings a robust portfolio and performance track record, which is an important step in our growth strategy in South America. ROCSA maintains numerous strong relationships with principals and customers, and they share our commitment to innovation and sustainability. We look forward to growing together to become the preeminent innovation service provider in the region."

Carlos Yaipen, CEO at ROCSA Colombia S.A., adds: “We are looking forward to joining forces with the Azelis team, to serve our customers and principals even better, and expand in the region together. Our market-leading regional expertise together with Azelis’ strong global network brings us a powerful international reach, which will benefit our diverse range of principals and customers. We look forward to leveraging Azelis’ leadership in sustainability, digitalization and innovation, and we’re confident that ROCSA will thrive under Azelis’ ownership."

Eduardo Salinas, Managing Director, Latin America, Azelis, comments: “Having interacted with the ROCSA team, it is clear that they are an outstanding group of professionals that will bring significant value to Azelis. Their expertise in markets served, work ethic, enthusiasm, and customer focus fit perfectly with our values. Through this strategic acquisition, Azelis further demonstrates our commitment to becoming the leader in specialty distribution services for our customers and principals in Latin America. We look forward to welcoming ROCSA to the Azelis family."

As per MRC, Azelis announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Chemo India and Unipharm Laboratories’ distribution assets. Both companies are renowned local distributors of specialty chemicals and ingredients for the CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers), L&MWF (lubricants & metalworking fluids) and pharmaceutical market segments in India.

Nearly two weeks earlier, on Jul. 1, Azelis revealed it had purchased MH, a local distributor in the food ingredients market, providing the multinational specialty chemicals distribution group with a foothold in the food and health segment. Also headquartered in Seoul, MH is a family-owned business, supplying products such as gluten, starches, sweeteners and functional food ingredients.

Azelis is a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients present in over 50 countries across the globe with around 2,200 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals.
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Finnish shipping company ESL Shipping will become the world's first shipping company to start utilizing new low-emission Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed marine fuel in its vessels in Finland and Sweden, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The ISCC PLUS certified* marine fuel enables up to 80% reduced greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle compared to fossil fuels without compromising the product quality and performance. ESL Shipping is the leading carrier of dry bulk cargoes in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Constantly in search of sustainable shipping solutions, ESL Shipping strives to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of its fleet.

“The co-processed marine fuel is something we have been waiting for a long time. ESL Shipping is committed to leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the maritime industry, and we are now fortunate to be able to use this low-emission alternative without having to do any fleet modifications. We believe this is the right thing to do, and I’m convinced we in the Nordics are well-positioned to show the way for the global maritime industry,” says Mikki Koskinen, Managing Director of ESL Shipping.

"Supporting the shipping industry towards carbon neutrality requires partnerships, all available solutions and further innovations. We are proud of the solutions we have provided to the global aviation and road transport sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it is a big step for Neste to be able to offer similar solutions to maritime transport, too. After all, as 90% of world trade and 13% of global transport emissions are the result of the shipping industry, it needs lower-emission solutions that are available already today,” explains Sveta Ukkonen, Head of Marine Fuels and Services at Neste.

Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed marine fuel is currently in the piloting phase and it is produced at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland, where part of the fossil raw materials have been replaced with renewable raw materials in the conventional refining process. The drop-in fuel can be taken in use without any fleet modifications as it has a similar composition to conventional bunker fuels.

The co-processed marine fuel is ISO 8217 compliant with consistent refined quality. The sustainability characteristics of the co-processed marine fuel are certified with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification with a mass balance approach.

As per MRC, Neste, Covestro and South Korean petrochemical company SK geo centric are cooperating to enable the production of a major polyurethane raw material based on renewable raw materials via mass balance. The cooperation will see Neste provide SK geo centric with renewable Neste RE, an ISCC certified feedstock for polymers and chemicals made from 100% renewable raw materials such as waste and residue oil and fats.

As MRC reported earlier, Neste has a target to process annually over 1 MM tons of waste plastic from 2030 onwards. The company plans to use liquefied plastic waste as a raw material at its fossil oil refinery to upgrade it into high-quality drop-in feedstock for the production of new plastics.
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U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that a decision on whether to pause a federal gasoline tax could come by the end of this week, as the United States struggles to tackle soaring gasoline prices and inflation, now at its highest in 40 years, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Speaking a day after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the president was evaluating pausing the tax temporarily, Biden told reporters: "Yes, I am considering it. I hope I have a decision based on data I am looking for by the end of the week." Granholm told CNN on Sunday the president was evaluating a pause on federal gas tax to bring down prices, adding that such a move was "not off the table".

The pause of the federal gasoline tax is among various options being considered by the Biden administration to control inflation and surging gas prices. The president also said his team will be sitting down with oil and gas companies to get answers. "I want an explanation from them on why they are not refining more oil," he said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday some tariffs on China inherited from the administration of former President Donald Trump served "no strategic purpose" and added that Biden was considering removing them too as a way to bring down inflation. Biden said on Saturday he was in the process of making up his mind on easing U.S. tariffs on China and planned to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.

Biden also reiterated on Monday that he felt a U.S. recession was not inevitable, adding he had spoken to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers who told NBC News on Sunday he expected a recession. Whether the United States, the world's largest economy, will slip into a recession has been a growing concern for chief executives, the Federal Reserve, and the Biden administration.

The surge in inflation has made hawks of nearly all Federal Reserve policymakers, only one of whom dissented earlier this week against what was the central bank's biggest rate increase in more than a quarter of a century.

As per MRC, U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil. Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year's increase comes as the Biden administration is calling on for refiners to ramp up output and shave profit margins to ease soaring prices. The administration has asked for a parley to explore further efforts.

As per MRC, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is expected to meet with refining executives on June 23 as tensions between the White House and the oil industry mount over soaring gasoline prices. The planned talks come as President Joe Biden, under pressure over high gasoline prices, has demanded that oil refining companies explain why they are not putting more fuel on the market as they reap windfall profits.
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Curacao will begin negotiations with a seven-company consortium to take over management of the Caribbean island's oil refinery and storage terminal, state-owned Refineria di Korsou (RdK) said, as per Reuters.

Curacao's 330,000-bpd Isla refinery was idled in 2018 amid a payment dispute between then-operator Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips. PDVSA's lease expired at the end of 2019 and attempts by the island's government have continued after several companies dropped out.

RdK said Caribbean Petroleum Refinery, which it identified as a group of six U.S. and one Brazilian company, was selected from among three finalists to manage and run the facilities. "No later than September 1st, 2022 an agreement should be reached and immediately after begin with the start-up of operations," RdK said in Sunday's statement.

Caribbean Petroleum Refinery would employ more than 800 people and converted the facility to run on natural gas, RdK said. The oil-storage terminal at Bullenbaai "will be put into operation immediately," it added. RdK did not identify the seven companies and did not immediately reply to a request for the names of the seven. The bidder "is committed towards investing in sport development and schools on the island," it said.

Officials from several companies had visited the Willemstad refinery and affiliated oil storage terminal in Bullenbaai, RdK has said. A year ago, the refinery said it reached an agreement with CORC B.V. to operate the plant and the oil terminal, but the pact fell apart over financial terms.

Tentative deals with Swiss/British conglomerate Klesch Group and U.K.-based oil firm SPS Drilling E&P to operate the refinery and lease a portion of the 15-million-barrel terminal respectively also ended over disagreements about terms and fees.

As per MRC, Curacao expects to receive final proposals from companies interested in leasing its 330,000 bpd oil refinery by the end of February, the latest attempt to restart the plant after Venezuela's PDVSA ceased operations there in 2018. A committee to find a company interested in operating the Caribbean facility late last year selected a short list of firms willing to move ahead with a proposal, Curacao's state-run Refineria di Korsou (RdK) said in a press release on Friday.
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