MOL Group plans to spend more than USD4 bn on green investments by 2030

MOL Group (Budapest, Hungary) said it plans to spend more than USD4 bn on green investments by 2030 and expand its waste management activities to potentially provide up to 1.5 million metric tons per year (MMt/y) of feedstock for its oil, chemicals and energy activities by the end of the decade, said the company.

To diversify away from fossil fuels, the company said on March 14 in a strategy update that it will invest USD1 bn in “waste integration, recycling and medium-scale chemical investments by 2030.”

MOL, which has a previously announced target to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, announced an updated long-term strategy that it said places “greater emphasis on renewable fuels, green hydrogen, biomethane and geothermal energy.”

In terms of circular waste management, MOL said it plans to hike its recycling rates to 65% by 2035, while reducing landfilling to 10%. The waste management business could potentially provide 1.5 MMt/y of feedstock to the regional oil, chemical and energy sector from 2030, it said.

We remind, Novoloop, an advanced recycling startup based in Menlo Park, California, announced that it has raised USD11 mln in Series A funding. The funding will be used to expand the company's plastic chemical recycling process, Accelerated Thermal Oxidative Decomposition (ATOD), and bring its production process to scale.

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Air Liquide announces the divestiture to Adenia Partners Ltd of the Group’s activities in twelve countries in Africa representing a total annual sales of about 60 million euros, said the company.

Air Liquide has signed an agreement with Adenia to sell its activities in the following twelve countries in Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Togo. These activities represent sales of about 60 million euros (less than 10% of the Group’s sales in Africa).

The proposed divestiture, which is subject to the usual regulatory and financial approvals, illustrates Air Liquide’s strategy to actively manage its portfolio. Adenia, a recognized investor in Africa for over 20 years, plans to invest up to 30 million euros to accelerate the development of these businesses.

With approximately 1,600 employees in the region and 700 million euros invested in the last 3 years, Air Liquide will remain a major industrial and medical gases player in Africa where it will continue to pursue development opportunities, particularly in the fields of energy transition, hydrogen and healthcare.

We remind, Industrial gas supplier Air Liquide and infrastructure provider Vopak have joined forces to look into the development and operation of infrastructure for ammonia import, cracking, and hydrogen distribution in Singapore.
The companies have formalized their intention through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will study and explore the joint development of low-carbon ammonia supply chains in Singapore.

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Houthi attacks which have rerouted ships toward longer journeys around Southern Africa have sharply raised cargoes of oil at sea and hiked ship refueling sales at Singapore to all-time highs, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"In February alone, oil on water surged by 85 million barrels as repeated tanker attacks in the Red Sea diverted more cargoes around the Cape of Good Hope," the Paris-based energy watchdog said in a monthly report. "At nearly 1.9 billion barrels as of end-February, oil on water hit its second highest level since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic."

The attacks in the Middle East contributed to the rise of longer journeys globally, as sanctions on Russian barrels had already been sending cargoes on new routes to reach more distant markets. For Singapore - the world's top center of maritime refueling, or bunkering - the IEA raised its forecast for 2024 deliveries this year by 110,000 barrels per day (bpd), most of it fuel oil.

The rerouting of ships is also increasing bunkering at smaller southern African refueling ports, the IEA added, such as Walvis Bay in Namibia, Richards Bay and Durban in South Africa and Port Louis in Mauritius. "Efforts to make up time by sailing at increased speed act as an additional boost to fuel consumption," the IEA added.

We remind, crude inventories fell by 1.5 MM barrels to 447 MM barrels last week, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a poll for a 1.3 MM-barrel rise. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 220,000 barrels in the week ended March 8, the EIA said. Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 390,000 barrels per day in the week ended March 8, the EIA said.

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Lanxess AG has reported a fourth-quarter net loss of EUR753 million, compared with a net loss of EUR21 million in the prior-year period, on sales down 27.2% to EUR1.44 billion, said the company.

EBITDA before nonrecurring items declined 44.6%, to EUR97 million, but beat analysts’ consensus estimate of EUR89 million provided by S&P Capital IQ. The EBITDA margin before exceptional items was 2.1 percentage points lower year over year, to 6.8%.

“2023 was a year of multiple crises for the German chemical industry: Weak demand in numerous customer industries and market regions combined with inventory reduction by customers, high energy prices in Germany, and geopolitical tensions,” Lanxess said. This also characterized the financial year 2023 for Lanxess, the company said.

Weaker demand and an associated reduction in sales volumes, as well as higher costs stemming from lower plant operating rates, led to a significant earnings decline, mainly in Lanxess’ specialty additives and advanced intermediates segments, the company said. In addition, lower procurement costs for raw materials and energy in these two segments undermined selling prices, Lanxess said.

Earnings in the company’s consumer protection segment saw a comparatively moderate decline, as the contribution from the microbial control business acquired from IFF in 2022 had a positive effect, Lanxess said.

Lanxess CEO Matthias Zachert said during a press conference earlier today that in the second- and third quarters of 2023, “we saw lots of destocking and weak demand in the customer industries that led to a dramatic decline. Then, we wanted to do our own destocking and that meant that for two to three consecutive quarters, we had a utilization rate of 50% to 60%, which, of course, is rock-bottom for the industry.”

The company added that it is counteracting the effects of the economic downturn with its previously announced plan called Forward, which includes one-time, short-term savings, which totaled €100 million in 2023 through cost reductions and lower investments.

The plan also includes 870 job cuts, 460 of which are in Germany, to support the company’s aim of reducing its annualized costs by about EUR150 million from 2025. “The respective agreements have already been signed for most of the job cuts,” Lanxess said.

Zachert said during the press conference that many parties are exhibiting interest in Lanxess’ urethanes business, but he said that Lanxess will consider its options once a shortlist of potential buyers is in place. The company announced in 2022 its intention to sell the urethanes business.

We remind, Lanxess has successfully completed and put into operation the expansion of its Rhenodiv production line in Jhagadia, Gujarat on February 1, 2024, said the company. With this new facility, the company’s Rhein Chemie business unit has significantly increased its production capabilities and will be able to meet the growing demand of the Indian Sub-continent and the Asian tire and rubber goods markets.

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EUDRAGIT polymers have been used as coatings to create more effective drugs for 70 years, said the company.

Over the decades, the portfolio of methacrylate polymers has established itself as the industry standard with more than 23,000 patents and 10,000 scientific publications1 mentioning the EUDRAGIT® brand. Today, customers in over 80 countries use EUDRAGIT polymers in their formulations for modified release (Learn more on our 70 years anniversary page).

With its long-standing experience in functional excipients, formulation and application services, Evonik provides EUDRAGIT polymers as key ingredients in multi-component systems that are tailored to a unique and specific customer need. These system solutions are driving a transformation within Evonik’s life sciences division, Nutrition & Care, which is leveraging its expertise in biosolutions to increase its share of system solutions to 70 percent by 2032.

“From baby boomers to generation alpha, we are proud to have been enabling pharmaceutical innovation with EUDRAGIT from day one, improving health outcomes around the world,” said Thomas Riermeier, head of the Health Care business line at Evonik.

EUDRAGIT® is the industry’s preferred portfolio of functional polymers for use with oral drug products. The breadth, versatility and history of EUDRAGIT, combined with Evonik’s range of drug delivery technologies, formulation and cGMP manufacturing services, provides pharmaceutical companies with unrivalled safety, supply security and functional reliability for their oral solid dosage forms.

“Nearly everyone you know will have come into contact with EUDRAGIT at some point in their lives,” said Paul Spencer, head of Drug Delivery & Products at Evonik. “With a growing and aging population, we look forward to continuing to innovate these polymers into next-generation solutions, such as the recently launched EUDRACAP® which is fast becoming a leading choice for enteric capsule protection.”

EUDRAGIT polymers are polymethacrylates suitable for use in drug delivery applications. Since 1954, Evonik has developed more than 20 types of EUDRAGIT polymers that are ideal for all solid oral dosage forms including multi-particulates, regular or matrix tablets and hard or soft-gel capsules. EUDRAGIT polymers can be used individually or in combination to match virtually any target release profile including immediate, delayed and sustained release. They are also compatible with all relevant process technologies including hot melt extrusion and spray drying for solubility enhancement.

Evonik’s Health Care business line, which is part of the Nutrition and Care division of Evonik, is one of the world’s leading integrated CDMOs for complex oral and parenteral drug products that require advanced drug delivery solutions. It is also one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical suppliers of generic APIs, amino acids and cell culture ingredients, and a top CDMO for APIs and intermediates.

We remind, the newly founded joint venture Evonik Vland Biotech, based in Binzhou, China, commenced operations on January 1, 2024. The two parent companies, Evonik China and Shandong Vland Biotech, want to jointly expand the market presence of their products, such as probiotics for the gut health of livestock in the Greater China region, and develop new products and solutions. The joint venture was officially opened in Qingdao on March 14.

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