France-based Sozio launches fragrance research and production facilities in India

Sozio (Levallois-Perret, France), a provider of fragrance products, has launched Sozio Fragrances India Pvt. Ltd. The new venture includes a research and creation center at Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra State, alongside a production facility in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as per Chemweek.

The establishment of these sites aligns with Sozio’s ambition to enhance its proximity to customers in South Asia and cater to the increasing demand for sustainable and locally adapted fragrances in the Indian market.

The company said that the Navi Mumbai center is designed to integrate three essential units: a creation laboratory for perfumers, an application lab for cosmetics and home care, and an analytical lab. This hub is built to Sozio’s international standards, aiming to foster local creativity and collaboration with Indian brands.

It will focus on developing tailor-made olfactory solutions that emphasize natural ingredients, while also serving as a training and collaboration space for local teams and clients. This initiative also supports Sozio’s global talent development program, ensuring a continuous flow of expertise and creativity.

The Ahmedabad production facility spans 1,600 square meters and is equipped with an art blending, weighing and packaging unit, along with an onsite quality control laboratory featuring advanced equipment. This site will play a crucial role in meeting the production needs of the region, the company said.

With these two new locations, Sozio is positioning India as a central hub for fragrance creation and production that will serve not only the Indian market but also the broader regions of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The company delivers tailor-made fragrances for the fine fragrance, personal care, home care and air care markets.

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Kuraray Co. Ltd. (Tokyo) has announced that its affiliate, Kuraray Holdings U.S.A. Inc. (Houston), has entered into a 10-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) starting in October 2025, as per Chemweek.

This initiative, facilitated through Tokyo Gas America Ltd., a subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., aims to shift Kuraray's energy consumption toward renewable sources in the US.

The VPPA will support a solar power project owned by Tokyo Gas America at Wharton, which is expected to provide renewable energy certificates equivalent to 300 GWh annually.

This move is anticipated to reduce Kuraray’s greenhouse gas emissions in the US by approximately 70% and decrease the entire group’s electricity usage by around 40%.

Kuraray has identified climate change countermeasures as a key priority, with a commitment to achieving carbon net-zero (Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions) by 2050. In alignment with this goal, the company has set an ambitious emissions reduction target of 63% by 2035 compared to 2021 levels.

To achieve these objectives, Kuraray plans to implement a series of self-driven measures aimed at reducing emissions. These measures include transitioning to renewable electricity across the organization, enhancing energy conservation and efficiency at production facilities, switching to natural gas for in-house power generation, and establishing carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies.

Kuraray said it will collaborate with its suppliers to promote the transition to utility fuels derived from new, clean energy sources.

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Genomatica Inc. (Geno; San Diego, California) and Sojitz Corp. (Tokyo) have partnered to commercialize biobased nylon-6, as per Chemweek.

“Sojitz has made a strategic financial investment to accelerate time-to-market, while also contributing its commercial and business expertise,” the two companies stated in an Oct. 7 press release. “Geno will seek to collaboratively establish a consortium of industry leaders focused on creating a separate entity for the flagship commercial plant with Sojitz.”

Geno developed the underlying technology for producing feedstock caprolactam by fermentation. In 2018, the company partnered with nylon-6 producer Aquafil (Arco, Italy) to build a demonstration-scale biobased nylon-6 plant at an Aquafil site in Slovenia. In 2022, Geno and Aquafil announced the first demonstration-scale production runs.

Geno licensed its fermentation-based technology for the production of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) to Qore (Eddyville, Iowa), a joint venture between Cargill and Helm. In July, Qore said its $300-million, 66,000-metric tons per year bio-BDO plant in Edyville had begun operation.

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This week, PVC spot prices tumbled while contract prices remained constant in the European region, as per Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Europe informed a Polymerupdate team member, "The European PVC market experienced a downtrend in spite of a key derivative sector like construction witnessing a seasonal upswing. Market participants cited excess supplies, slowdown in material offtake, and a drop in feedstock rates as key factors weighing on the overall market conditions. General demand sentiments were weak, with material replenishment initiatives by customers experiencing a decelerated momentum. While output was held stable by producers in Europe, demand is unlikely to witness a rebound in the immediate future."

In the spot markets, FD North West Europe PVC prices were assessed at the Euro 815-825/mt levels, a week on week decline of Euro (-30/mt).

In the contract markets, PVC Suspension grade prices were assessed at the Euro 950-955/mt FD NWE Germany and FD NWE France levels, both unchanged from the previous week. PVC Suspension grade prices were assessed at the Euro 960-965/mt FD NWE Italy levels, stable from last week. Meanwhile, PVC prices were assessed at the GBP 825-830/mt FD NWE UK levels, a fall of GBP (-5/mt) week on week.

Meanwhile, feedstock EDC prices were assessed at the USD 100-110/mt FOB North West Europe levels, marginally up USD (+5/mt) from last week while VCM prices were assessed at the USD 485-495/mt FOB North West Europe levels, a rise of USD (+10/mt) from the previous week.

Ethylene spot prices on Thursday were assessed at the Euro 660-670/mt FD North West Europe levels, a week on week fall of Euro (-5/mt).

European ethylene contract price for October 2025 settled at the Euro 1130/MT FD North West Europe levels. This price represents a roll over from its September 2025 settlement levels.

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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan; Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia; and Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, “for the development of metal-organic frameworks,” the academy said in a statement Oct. 8, as per Chemweek.

The three Nobel Prize laureates have created molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow. These constructions, called metal-organic frameworks (MOF), can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture CO2, store toxic gases or catalyze chemical reactions.

Kitagawa, Robson and Yaghi have developed a new form of molecular architecture, the academy said. In their constructions, metal ions function as cornerstones that are linked by long organic carbon-based molecules. Together, the metal ions and molecules are organized to form crystals that contain large cavities. These MOFs are porous materials. By varying the building blocks used in the MOFs, chemists can design them to capture and store specific substances. MOFs can also drive chemical reactions or conduct electricity, the statement said.

“Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

In 1989, Robson first tested utilizing the inherent properties of atoms in a new way, the academy’s statement said. He combined positively charged copper ions with a four-armed molecule; this had a chemical group that was attracted to copper ions at the end of each arm.

When they were combined, they bonded to form a well ordered, spacious crystal. It was like “a diamond filled with innumerable cavities,” the statement said.

Robson “immediately” recognized the potential of his molecular construction, but it was unstable and collapsed easily, the academy said. However, Kitagawa and Yaghi provided this building method with a firm foundation; between 1992 and 2003 they made, separately, a series of “revolutionary” discoveries, the committee said. Kitagawa showed that gases can flow in and out of the constructions and predicted that MOFs could be made flexible. Yaghi created a very stable MOF and showed that it can be modified using rational design, giving it new and desirable properties, it said.

Following the laureates’ “groundbreaking” discoveries, chemists have built tens of thousands of different MOFs, the statement said. “Some of these may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges, with applications that include separating PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air,” it said.
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