Solvay launches Naternal, its new brand of bio-based biodegradable polymers

Solvay, a global leader in naturally-derived polymers for beauty care formulations, has announced the launched of Naternal, its new brand for eco-design hair and skin care solutions, said the company.

Naternal brings together biodegradable beauty care polymers, from guar and other natural feedstocks.

“The introduction of Naternal clearly demonstrates Solvay’s long-term commitment to sustainable growth,” explains Jean-Guy Le-Helloco, Vice-President, Home & Personal Care at Solvay. “Naternal represents a new era where beauty, the planet and fair treatment of farming communities can all be balanced."

According to Solvay, the array of ingredients offered by Naternal aligns with the biodegradable by-design approach, which aims at integrating end-of-life management at the early stages of research and ensuring that product development is driven by both application and end-of-life performances.

We remind, Solvay has opened a new application development lab (ADL) in Shanghai, China, to expand its global footprint of its research and innovation facilities. The new facility will develop solutions for applications industries including automotive, new energy, life solutions and pharmacy, smart devices and semiconductors for Solvay’s customers active in local and global end markets.

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TotalEnergies and German gas distributor VNG have signed an agreement for the supply of green hydrogen to TotalEnergies’ Leuna refinery in Germany’s Saxon-Anhalt state, said the company.

Under the agreement, the hydrogen will be produced from renewable electricity with a 30 MW electrolyzer in Bad Lauchstadt, near Leuna, that will be built and operated by VNG and German power generation company Uniper.

The green hydrogen is expected to contribute to the refinery’s decarbonisition, reducing its annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 80,000 tonnes by 2030. Furthermore, a pipeline connection to Bad Lauchstadt would give the refinery access to the future European hydrogen infrastructure and international markets for green hydrogen, officials said.

A final investment decision (FID) on the EUR210m Bad Lauchstadt electrolyzer project has been reached and groundbreaking took place on Wednesday. From Q3 2025, the pipeline is scheduled to transport green hydrogen from the Bad Lauchstadt for use at the refinery, officials said.

For the refinery, the supply agreement with VNG is “a first step that will enable us to purchase green hydrogen in large quantities in the future and to produce low carbon footprint products such as renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or e-fuels,” said Thomas Behrends, the refinery’s general manager.

TotalEnergies added that it focuses on decarbonising the hydrogen used in its European refineries, reducing CO2 emissions by 3m tonnes/year by 2030.

We remind, TotalEnergies confirms its commitment to the energy transition in Kazakhstan with the signature of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Mirny project. This will be the first PPA signed in the country for a wind project of such scale. Located in the Zhambyl region, the project aims to build a 1 GW onshore wind farm combined with a 600 MWh battery energy storage system for a reliable power supply.

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The Biden administration has increased the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must blend into the nation's fuel mix over the next three years, but the plan includes lower mandates for corn-based ethanol than it has initially proposed, the administration announced on Wednesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized biofuel blending volumes at 20.94 billion gallons in 2023, 21.54 billion gallons in 2024 and 22.33 billion gallons in 2025. That compares with the initial proposal announced in December of 20.82 billion in 2023, 21.87 billion in 2024, and 22.68 billion in 2025.

It was reported earlier, European Union lawmakers plan to accept changes made by countries last week to the bloc's renewable energy law, to give assurances to France and others on potentially exempting ammonia plants. EU countries on Friday agreed late changes to the law, adding an amendment that said some ammonia plants would struggle to switch to renewable fuels, and a pledge from the European Commission to consider exempting them from renewable targets.

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Oil prices weakened on Wednesday, extending falls to a third straight day, as the dollar strengthened on a U.S. housing market recovery while fears persisted that monetary stimulus may not be enough to revive growth in China, said Reuters.

Brent futures fell 21 cents, or 0.3%, to USD75.69 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at USD71.06 at 0043 GMT. The dollar rose after data showed U.S. homebuilding surged in May to the highest in more than a year and permits for future construction climbed, suggesting the housing market may be recovering after being hammered by Federal Reserve rate hikes.

A firmer dollar weighs on oil demand as it makes the commodity more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. The market remains concerned about a faltering recovery in China, the world's top oil importer. Looking to boost growth, China on Tuesday cut its benchmark loan prime rates (LPR) for the first time in 10 months, with a smaller-than-expected 10-basis-point reduction in the five-year LPR.

The rate reduction followed recent economic data showing the China's retail and factory sectors were struggling to sustain momentum from earlier this year. "Investors remained impatient with China's efforts to boost economic growth," ANZ Research said in a client note on Wednesday. "Beijing's slow stimulus rollout is adding concerns about the weakening economy."

Oil trade was also cautious ahead of congressional testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later on Wednesday which is expected to provide clues on future rate moves in the world's biggest economy. Two Federal Reserve policymakers and an economist nominated to join them on the Fed's Washington-based board on Tuesday said their focus is on bringing down too-high inflation so that the U.S. economy can get back to sustainable growth.

We remind, Oil prices fell in choppy trading on Tuesday as a clouded oil demand outlook outweighed the potential boost from a cut to China's benchmark lending rates. Brent crude fell 92 cents, or 1.2%, to USD75.17 a barrel by 1345 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July was down USD1.53 from Friday's close at USD70.25. The July contract expires at the end of trade on Tuesday. The more active WTI crude contract for August delivery was down USD1.51 from Friday at USD70.42 a barrel. There was no WTI settlement on Monday because of a U.S. public holiday.

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Repsol has declared force majeure on supplies of polypropylene (PP) after a technical issue resulted in the shutdown of its PP2 unit in Tarragona, Spain, said Petrochemical-news.

The company has two PP production plants at the site with capacities of 190,000 tonnes/y and 200,000 tonnes/y. The affected unit mainly produces PP copolymer grades. An expected restart date and other details were not given.

We remind, Repsol will nearly double the production capacity of its Reciclex recycled polyolefins with a new production line at its Puertollano Industrial Complex in Spain. The company will invest EUR 26 M to install a new 25,000 tonnes/y production line for polyolefins with mechanically recycled plastic content. Repsol currently has 16,000 tonnes/y of Reciclex polyolefins capacity.

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