China's Sunrise lands deal to supply 10,000 metric tons of graphite anode

Sunrise (Guizhou) New Energy Materials Co. Ltd. has signed a one-year contract to supply 10,000 metric tons of artificial graphite anode materials to China Sodium Times (Shenzhen) New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., a lithium battery pack manufacturer, as per Chemweek.

The deal underscores the growing demand for battery materials as the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors continue to expand.

Sunrise New Energy Co. Ltd. said in an Oct. 2 statement that the contract’s value is $29 million. Sunrise New Energy, via its wholly owned subsidiary Zhuhai Zibo, owns 39.35% of Sunrise Guizhou.

According to the statement, Sunrise Guizhou recently completed construction of a 50,000 metric tons per year graphite anode manufacturing plant in Guizhou province. The company, headquartered in Zibo, Shandong province, has also been expanding its production capacity, with a $41.1 million loan secured earlier this year to finance infrastructure for an additional 50,000 metric tons per year of capacity. On Sept. 19, Sunrise New Energy began construction of a new 20,000 metric tons per year graphite anode material line, a project valued at $64 million. China Sodium Times is a lithium battery pack manufacturer.

Sunrise New Energy said, “This long-term contract demonstrates strong market demand for Sunrise’s advanced anode materials and further strengthens its position as a key supplier to downstream battery and energy storage manufacturers.”

According to company data, Sunrise New Energy expects its graphite anode shipments to reach 40,000 metric tons to 50,000 metric tons in 2025, up from 28,200 metric tons in 2024. The company has projected operating at or near full capacity in 2025, with phase 1 of its Guizhou production base designed for 50,000 metric tons per year of output.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed natural flake graphite at $405 per metric ton FOB China on Oct. 2, unchanged day over day but down $5 per metric ton week over week. The price reflects the spot value of natural flake graphite with 94%-95% carbon content and a minus 100 mesh size delivered to Qingdao port.

On the same day, Platts assessed natural flake graphite on a CIF Northeast Asia basis at $505 per metric ton, unchanged day over day and down $5 per metric ton week over week. The price reflects material in Northeast Asia, normalized to Japan’s main ports.

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Private equity firm Carlyle Group LLC has emerged as the front-runner to acquire BASF SE’s coatings business, according to a report by Reuters on Oct 6. BASF’s coatings business, which primarily produces automotive coatings, generated revenue of roughly €3.8 billion last year, as per Chemweek.

Previously, according to a May 30 Bloomberg report, Carlyle and paints and coatings firm Sherwin-Williams Co. were considering a joint bid on the BASF coatings unit. There was also early buying interest from two more private equity firms, CVC Capital Partners PLC and Lone Star Funds LLC, it said.

However, according to a report by the Financial Times on Oct. 6, Caryle topped other private capital groups in an auction that raised the price of BASF’s coatings business to roughly €7 billion.

BASF sold its decorative paints business in Brazil to Sherwin-Williams in February 2025 for $1.15 billion. In March, BASF said it planned to divest the rest of its coatings business as a single entity.

In 2013, Carlyle acquired DuPont’s performance coatings unit for $4.9 billion and later renamed the business Axalta Coating Systems. In 2014, Carlyle took Axalta public and raised $975 million, selling roughly 25% of the company’s shares. In 2016, Carlyle sold the rest of its shares in Axalta for $29 per share.

As of 2 p.m. Oct. 6, Axalta is trading at $28.36 a share.

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Trinseo PLC (Wayne, Pennsylvania) plans to permanently shut down methyl methacrylate (MMA) production in Rho, Italy and upstream acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) production in Porto Marghera, Italy by the end of the year, as per company.

It is also evaluating whether to shut down polystyrene (PS) production at Schkopau, Germany, the company said Oct. 6. Trinseo estimates that together, the measures would improve its profitability by $30 million annually.

“These plans are a byproduct of the continuing challenges we and our peers in the European chemical industry have been facing for the past several years, including weak end-market demand, high energy prices and increased imports from Asia,” said Frank Bozich, Trinseo’s president and CEO.

Trinseo also said its board of directors has voted to suspend the quarterly dividend, freeing up another $1.5 million per year.

Trinseo’s stock was trading at $2.08 per share as of 1:47 p.m. local time the day of the announcement, down from the previous close of $2.33.

Trinseo expects the closures in Italy to result in an annualized profitability improvement of about $20 million and an annual reduction in capital expenditures of about $10 million. Trinseo expects to record pre-tax charges ranging from $80 million to $100 million.

The potential closure at Schkopau, which is being negotiated with the Works Council of Trinseo Deutschland GmbH, would improve profitability by about $10 million annually. European PS production would be consolidated at the company’s Tessenderlo, Belgium facility.

Trinseo reported a net loss of $348 million in 2024 on sales of $3.5 billion. The company finished the year with long-term debt of $2.2 billion, according to data from S&P Capital IQ.

The Rho MMA plant has a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The Schkopau PS plant has a nameplate capacity of 130,000 metric tons per year, while the Tessenderlo plant has a combined capacity of 180,000 metric tons per year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

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INEOS has confirmed its intention to shut two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs. The proposed closures are the direct result of crippling energy and carbon costs, and a lack of tariff protection, said the company.

The intention to close, which has been shared with employees, reflects a deepening crisis across Europe’s chemical sector.

Stephen Dossett, CEO of INEOS Inovyn, said: “Europe is committing industrial suicide. While competitors in the US and China benefit from cheap energy, European producers are being priced out by our own policies and absence of tariff protection. Meanwhile, high-emission imports flood our market unchecked. It’s completely unsustainable and if not immediately addressed will lead to further closures, job losses and increased dependency on other regions for essential materials.”

Both plants produce essential chemicals. The Allylics unit makes the key ingredient for epoxy resins vital in defense, aerospace, cars and renewable energy infrastructure. The electrochemical facility produces chlorine crucial for clean water, medicines, industrial processes and sanitation.

These closures are part of a wider trend as Europe’s competitiveness collapses. Since 2019, output in Germany has dropped by 18%, driving job losses and reduced investment. INEOS has closed plants in Grangemouth (UK), Geel (Belgium). It is closing Gladbeck (Germany), and has mothballed assets in Tavaux (France) and Martorell (Spain).

“We’ve reached the point where well invested, efficient European plants are closing, while global emissions rise,” Dossett said. “It’s not just economic madness. It’s environmental hypocrisy.”

INEOS will now focus on preserving its remaining PVC operations in Rheinberg to support around 300 skilled jobs. This requires urgent state support to help cover significant local transitioning costs.

The business deeply regrets the decision to close Rheinberg’s cell rooms and Allylics operations and is conscious of the impact it will have on staff and wider German supply chain.

“INEOS Inovyn will work closely with partners and employees to minimize the impact.” said Dossett “We are doing everything we can to protect what is still viable, but we can’t do it alone. If governments want to keep strategic manufacturing in Europe, they must help manage this transition and restore competitiveness.”

INEOS firmly criticized the EU’s absence of tariff protection. While the US has introduced strong tariffs, effectively blocking the oversupply of commodity chemicals from Korea, Taiwan, and China, some based on cheap Russian feedstocks, Europe opens its doors to displaced local production.

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Elastomers producer Arlanxeo Holding BV (The Hague, Netherlands) has announced its intent to permanently close its synthetic rubber plant at Port Jerome, France, due to weak demand from the rubber market, as per Chemweek.

“The European chemical industry continues to face persistent weak demand and declining competitiveness driven by rising costs, unbalanced global markets, and increased regulatory pressure,” CEO Stephen Van Santbrink said Oct. 2. “These conditions have generated a significant burden on the sector across the regional value chain. Arlanxeo has not been an exception to these challenges. The Port Jerome site has remained in a structurally loss-making position,” he said.

Santbrink said that despite “numerous improvement efforts,” the company does not foresee a “viable path to a sustained structural improvement.”

Arlanxeo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco and a consumer of butadiene. It produces polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) at Port Jerome. Aramco acquired sole ownership of Arlanxeo in December 2018.

The downstream tire market has seen ongoing weak demand, with competitive imports from China entering the European market. As a result, the European Union launched an antidumping duty investigation against Chinese tires in May.

Despite this, the domestic tire and rubber markets continue to see weak demand.

“The market is very weak and poor. There is very little buying demand and no one expects any change until well into 2026,” a rubber trader said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, last assessed SBR dry grades 1500-1502 at €1,625 per metric ton Sept. 26, down €5 per metric ton from Sept 19.
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