Röhm inauguates new innovation centre

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemical company Rohm has spent the past 18 months on, among other things, the construction of a new innovation centre at its site in Worms, Germany, said the company.

The project has now been finished and the new centre was festively opened during a ceremony attended by the managing partners of the Thelen Group, the real estate investor and general contractor for the project, and invited guests.

The new centre was built to house the company’s European research activities and consists of a laboratory building and a technical centre with pilot plants.

“Our innovation centre will become an incubator for future-oriented technologies in methacrylate chemistry, and will strengthen our leading position in Europe and beyond,” said CEO Michael Pack in his welcoming speech. Among the guests at the opening was the prime minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer.

Special attention was given to features to enhance the centre’s sustainability and energy efficiency. “We have achieved the highest energy efficiency standard possible,” said Wolfgang Thelen, Managing Partner of the Thelen Group. The photovoltaic system planned for both roofs covers a large part of the buildings’ electricity needs, and heating is supplied by heat pumps.

The innovation centre will create a further 100 jobs at the location. Employees working in research, development, and application technology will collaborate on the development and optimisation of innovative products, processes, and applications at the new Innovation Centre. Sustainability will be a major action field for the teams, driven by Rohm’s strategic goal to achieve climate-neutral production by 2050.

Rohm has also reinforced its research activities internationally, establishing research centres in China and the USA, that were also recently taken into operation.

We remind, in June 2023, Rohm signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of Functional Forms, the polycarbonate-based films and sheet business unit of SABIC. Rohm, which is backed by global private equity firm Advent International, had already announced its intention to purchase the unit in December 2022.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik and Guangdong Marubi Biotechnology Co Ltd have entered into a cooperation agreement with the signing taking place on 6 Jul 2023, in Shanghai, said the company.

The partnership will enable consumers in the local cosmetics industry to benefit from both companies' complementary capabilities in raw materials, research, development, and production. Furthermore, the two organizations will exchange information on diverse topics including ingredient application and development, formulation, and studies on cosmetic market trends.

Evonik and Marubi will jointly promote the development and continuous upgrade of China's beauty industry. As the preferred sustainable specialties partner for the personal care industry, Evonik Care Solutions is guided by a Vision that puts sustainability, innovation, and collaboration at its core. It also plays a critical role in the continued portfolio shift of Evonik's life sciences division, Nutrition & Care, to System Solutions. The division aims to increase its share of System Solutions from the current 20% to more than 50% by 2030.

We remind, Covestro and Evonik as well as the consulting firm Accenture invited managers from production and technology divisions of Bayer, Clariant, Wacker, Shell, Lanxess and other companies to a two-day Chemicals Peer Exchange for the fourth time.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei has decided to discontinue the business of Asahi Kasei Cord Co., Ltd. and liquidate the company, said the company.

Asahi Kasei Cord was established in 1970 as a manufacturer of nylon yarn for tire cord (reinforcing fabric in tires) and has played an important role as a manufacturing and supply base for Asahi Kasei's nylon filament business. However, the market environment for tire cord in Japan has become increasingly difficult due to the sluggish growth of automobile production as well as increased imports of products from other countries. In addition, the recent sharp rise in raw material and fuel prices has led to increased costs, resulting in a significant deterioration in earnings.

As part of its ongoing business portfolio transformation, Asahi Kasei has decided to shift its nylon filament management resources from general-purpose tire cord applications to airbag and specialty tire cord applications, where further growth is expected, in order to improve profitability and achieve further growth.

The impact on Asahi Kasei's consolidated financial results is immaterial.

We remind, Asahi Kasei and Microwave Chemical launched a joint demonstration project in April 2023 with the objective of commercializing a chemical recycling process for polyamide 66 using microwave technology.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell has suspended loadings of Nigeria's Forcados crude oil due to a potential leak at the export terminal, a spokesperson for its local subsidiary, SPDC, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sources had told Reuters that exports of the grade, which was scheduled to ship 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, were halted on Wednesday evening after workers saw fumes near the single buoy mooring that was loading oil onto a vessel.

"The SPDC ... can confirm that injections into the Forcados Oil Terminal were curtailed on Wednesday 12 July 2023, following the report of some sheen in the mooring vicinity," a spokesperson said when contacted by Reuters.

SPDC said investigations were under way.

We remind, Shell (London) has agreed to pay nearly USD 10 mn (EUR 9.3 mn) for breaking emissions rules at its Monaca polyethylene complex in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to the office of governor Josh Shapiro, which said the resin maker had formally acknowledged the violations.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei announces that it has joined the Japan Hydrogen Forum (JH2F), which was established to support the decarbonization goals of U.S. federal, state, and local governments, said the company.

The company will advance activities as a member of the Hydrogen Production Committee, one of the five subcommittees of JH2F. JH2F was established by 15 Japan-affiliated companies with hydrogen-related operations in the U.S. to support the decarbonization goals of the U.S.

Activities are performed in five sectoral subcommittees for hydrogen production, land transportation, port decarbonization, power generation, and finance, supported by the Japanese government and affiliated governmental organizations such as the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).

Hydrogen-related business is one of Asahi Kasei's "10 Growth Gears" (GG10), businesses to lead the next phase of growth in fields of focus as part of its medium-term management plan for fiscal 2024 focused on the theme “Be a Trailblazer.” Asahi Kasei is currently advancing its hydrogen-related business centered on the alkaline water electrolysis system for hydrogen production developed utilizing its experience and expertise gained with the membrane process for chlor-alkali electrolysis.

Asahi Kasei installed a large 10 MW-scale alkaline water electrolysis system at the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) as part of a NEDO project,1 and performed several trial operations2 since 2020. Based on the technological achievements obtained at FH2R, Asahi Kasei plans to commercialize a larger-scale alkaline water electrolysis system comprising multiple 10 MW modules through various trial operations in the ongoing NEDO/Green Innovation Fund demonstration project of “Green hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis system,” which was awarded in 2021.

We remind, Asahi Kasei and Microwave Chemical launched a joint demonstration project in April 2023 with the objective of commercializing a chemical recycling process for polyamide 66 using microwave technology.

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