Solvay expands Amodel PPA capacity to address growth in demand in the automotive industry

Solvay announced it is increasing its Amodel® polyphthalamide (PPA) resin capacity by 15% at its Augusta manufacturing site in Georgia as a result of operational excellence initiatives, said the company.

The new capacity facilitates the production of innovative and more sustainable Amodel® PPA grades that offer a reduced CO2 footprint due to manufacturing improvements.

Recognized as one of the most strategic product families for the Materials Global Business Unit, Amodel® PPA has played a critical role in replacing metal in the automotive industry for more than 30 years. Today, as the automotive industry continues to move toward electrification, the Amodel® PPA family is finding use in battery electric vehicles (BEVs), in electric motors, power electronics and battery technologies.

“Driven by the needs of our customers and society, Solvay is not only investing in additional capacity, but also in new breakthrough Amodel® PPA resins for e-mobility and in sustainability at our manufacturing sites.” said Brian Baleno, Head of Marketing Automotive at Solvay.

The Augusta manufacturing site has made substantial progress in addressing sustainability, dramatically decreasing the plant’s global warming potential by 30% since 2013. Today, 100% of the electricity sourced by the site is renewable, a major step in carbon footprint reduction. Additionally, the plant has reduced water consumption and non sustainable waste by 15% and 30%, respectively, compared to a 2018 baseline.

Solvay’s continued investment in Amodel® PPA demonstrates a clear commitment to PPA and automotive transition to e-mobility. The company recently introduced two new product ranges, Amodel® PPA Supreme and Amodel® PPA BIOS, which are designed to meet new challenging requirements of e-motors, power electronics and batteries.

Solvay announces a new action plan to reduce limestone residues released into the sea from Solvay Chimica Italia’s soda ash production in Rosignano, as part of the Group’s efforts to continually optimize the efficiency and sustainability of its operations, and in line with the IPPC* permit renewed in January 2022.

The action plan represents an estimated €15 million investment in new technical and process solutions, some of which will require approval by the authorities. The plan will include targeted improvements at different steps of the production process, as well as an optimization of the limestone granulometry and quality.

We remind, Solvay Ventures, the Company’s venture capital fund unit, is extending its partnership with Longwater Investment by investing in the Longwater Advanced Materials Fund II, a fund focused on advanced materials and chemistry-related technologies in China. This investment will support innovation in new and sustainable chemistries that can be used in key markets such as transportation, electronics and smart devices.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities.
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INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has introduced a lineup of commercially available sustainable polystyrene products that is second to none, said the company.

The new products provide customers a choice to select the best fit for their application. The complete lineup introduced today follows initial announcements on mechanically-recycled polystyrene solutions in 2021[1]. The new “ECO” products offer the performance of the respective virgin products, but with a significantly lower CO2 footprint. All products are drop-in solutions.

INEOS Styrolution’s polystyrene portfolio includes general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) resins and impact modified polystyrene (HIPS) resins. GPPS resins are transparent polymers suitable for injection molding or extrusion applications. They are typically used for food service, food packaging, refrigerator components, building & construction and healthcare applications. HIPS resins, also suitable for extrusion and injection molding, are typically used for yoghurt cups, food packaging, electronic devices and durable fridge liners.

INEOS Styrolution’s portfolio of sustainable polystyrene solutions consists of recycling solutions and bio-attributed polystyrene.

We remind, INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced the introduction of a comprehensive range of sustainable solutions for its specialty ABS product group Novodur. The individual grades come with a significant product carbon footprint (PCF) saving of up to -71% as compared to the respective non-ECO product reference.

INEOS Styrolution is the leading global styrenics supplier, with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties. With world-class production facilities and more than 90 years of experience, INEOS Styrolution helps its customers succeed by offering solutions, designed to give them a competitive edge in their markets.

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The eighth package, currently in draft form and seen by EURACTIV, is being discussed between EU ambassadors this week and is likely to be finalised before an informal EU summit in Prague next Friday, said Bnn-news.

The European Commission proposal might prove particularly heavy for the Russian industry and citizens, as the list of sanctioned companies includes many big names, while restricted products span across multiple key sectors.

While the tensions between the West and Russia have triggered an energy crisis in Europe, the European Commission proposed to hit energy giants Transneft, Rosneft, and Gazprom Neft. The latter is the oil subsidiary of the Gazprom group, which has been at the centre of Moscow’s threat to shut down the gas supply.

Other state-owned companies on the draft sanctions list include defence conglomerates Rostec and Almaz-Antey, machine manufacturers Uralvagonzavod and Kamaz, aerospace companies Oboronprom and United Aircraft Corporation, shipbuilders Sevmash, Sovcomflot, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and United Shipbuilding Corporation.

The list of sanctioned items seems poised to choke Russia’s manufacturing capacity as it touches upon all parts related to any type of vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trains, vessels, aircraft, and spacecraft, via items such as engines and testing machinery.

All sorts of iron, steel and metal products like pipes, wires and screws are covered, as well as biodiesel, lead, coal and petroleum derivates. These are all items used in all kinds of manufacturing processes.

Similarly, chemical products also feature prominently in the list. Compounds with a concentration of 90% weight or greater of chemicals such as mercury are set to be banned, together with ethanol and butane.

The new sanctions might expand to virtually all semiconductors, essential elements for all kinds of electronic equipment. According to media reports, the Russian military is already in such dire need of this technology that it is reusing semiconductors from kitchen appliances.

Notably, the EU’s executive also proposed sanctioning manufacturers of appliances like refrigerators, dishwashing machines, and water heaters. More broadly, any telecommunication equipment is also covered, including phones, smart cards, cameras, and optical fibre.

We remind, Poland will only help supply oil to Germany's PCK Schwedt refinery if Russia's Rosneft is completely removed as a shareholder, Poland's climate ministry said, raising pressure on Germany to completely nationalize the refiner. Germany took control of the Schwedt refinery, which was majority owned by Rosneft Deutschland, last Friday as Berlin strives to shore up energy supplies. It put Rosneft Deutschland under a trusteeship of the German industry regulator but Rosneft still holds 54% of the company's shares.
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INEOS Styrolution and COEXPAN claim food contact standards across all dairy formats using 100% mechanically recycled polystyrene, said the company.

INNOTECH (Grupo Lantero’s research and development center for packaging solutions) has announced the successful completion of trials with the full range of yoghurt cup formats. The trials addressed formats used in both European and American markets using Styrolution® PS ECO 440FC MR100 material, a 100% post-consumer recycled polystyrene grade produced from household food packaging waste. All dairy formats have been produced and tested to food contacts standards.

Polystyrene is the material of choice for the dairy form-fill-seal (FFS) market. The trials at INNOTECH show that mechanically recycled PS is produced and successfully tested to food grade standards across all shapes and sizes of dairy applications. According to the findings polystyrene is not only the best material for dairy applications, but also offers the shortest path to circularity for existing market applications. Members of the entire value chain, and in particular retailers and brand owners, are encouraged and invited to participate and understand what this could mean for polystyrene and for their respective businesses.

Gonzalo Sanchez, head of recycling within COEXPAN, comments: “It is a massive achievement to be able to confirm the success of this exercise, and the results speak for themselves. Many brand owners want the polystyrene journey to continue, and we now have the proof that mechanically recycled polystyrene offers a solution for their food contact applications. This will allow customers to concentrate on their core business rather than looking for alternative materials requiring changes to existing processes and investments into new equipment.”

Dr. Frank Eisentrager, Product Director Polystyrene EMEA, says: “We have expected for quite some time that polystyrene is an ideal material for the circular economy. Now we have the proof that it is indeed one of the best, if not the best recyclable polymer. In fact, polystyrene is all set now to enjoy the highest recycling rates of all polymers. I expect the quality of the mechanically recycled polystyrene to be so convincing that we will see applications that moved on to other materials switch back to polystyrene as new recycling capacities come online.”

We remind, INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced the introduction of a comprehensive range of sustainable solutions for its specialty ABS product group Novodur, said the company.
The individual grades come with a significant product carbon footprint (PCF) saving of up to -71% as compared to the respective non-ECO product reference.

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Azelis, a leading innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Eurotrading S.p.A (“Eurotrading”), one of the leading distributors of specialty chemicals to the personal care market in Italy, said te company.

The acquisition reinforces Azelis’ leading footprint in the thriving Italian market for personal care, as well as in the broader life sciences segment. Eurotrading’s extensive product portfolio in actives, emollients and emulsifiers further enhances the Group’s lateral value chain and solidifies its market leadership in the local personal care industry.

As per MRC, Azelis, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Chemical Solutions Sdn Bhd (“ChemSol”), one of the leading distributors of raw materials in the Personal Care, Cosmetics and Household markets in Malaysia.

Founded in 1996, Eurotrading has developed into one of the leading distributors of personal care raw materials (skin care, sun care, fragrances and hair care), with a strong product portfolio from the largest global and regional principals. The company provides innovative formulations to about 500 customers, leveraging an application laboratory near Padova, in the northeast of the country. Eurotrading’s strong team of more than 30 technical staff, including experienced senior management, will join Azelis, and will continue supporting the business during and after integration. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, after fulfilment of customary closing conditions.
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