Plant Watch
Saint-Gobain Ceramics to construct catalyst carriers plant in New York
March 11, 2025 — Saint-Gobain S.A. (Courbevoie, France; www.saint-gobain.com), through its subsidiary Saint-Gobain NorPro, intends to build a new manufacturing facility in Wheatfield, N.Y. With an investment of over $40 million, the new facility, which will be co-located with Saint-Gobain Ceramics’ existing Specialty Grains and Powders operations, will expand NorPro’s abilities to manufacture ceramic catalyst carriers for petroleum refining, biofuels and chemical manufacturing. NorPro also operates facilities in Texas, Tennessee and Ohio.
LyondellBasell to expand propylene capacity at Channelview complex
March 3, 2025 — LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.lyb.com) plans to expand propylene production capacity at its Channelview Complex near Houston. Groundbreaking and construction are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with a projected startup in late 2028. The unit will have a propylene production capacity of approximately 400,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). The new metathesis unit will convert ethylene into propylene for use in the production of polypropylene and propylene oxide.
Idemitsu Kosan to construct new lithium sulfide plant in Japan
March 3, 2025 — Idemitsu Kosan Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.idemitsu.com) plans to construct a large-scale production facility for lithium-sulfide (Li2S), a material used in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The planned site for the Li2S facility is within the company’s Chiba Complex in Ichihara City. Construction is scheduled to be completed in June 2027.
TotalEnergies commissions its eighth biomethane plant in France
March 3, 2025 — TotalEnergies SE (Paris, France; www.totalenergies.com) commissioned its eighth biomethane production unit in France, located in Fontaine-le-Dun, Normandy. French sugar manufacturer Cristal Union, a partner in the project and 10% shareholder, will provide beet-pulp residues from its adjacent production site to the biomethane plant, which will represent up to 80% of the 185,000 m.t. of organic materials used at the site.
Arkema to expand PVDF production plant in Kentucky
February 26, 2025 — Arkema S.A. (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) has decided to increase its polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) production capacity by 15% in North America. This capacity expansion at Arkema’s production site in Calvert City, Kentucky represents an investment of around $20 million. Startup is planned for mid-2026.
BASF breaks ground for new microcellular polyurethane plant in India
February 24, 2025 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has broken ground on a new plant to increase the production capacity of microcellular polyurethane (MCU) in Dahej, India. The plant is expected to be operational in the second half of 2026.
Nouryon to double production capacity for chromatography media in Sweden
February 24, 2025 — Nouryon (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.nouryon.com) is expanding its Kromasil chromatography-media manufacturing facility in Bohus, Sweden. Construction will begin in early 2025, and the start of production is expected in early 2027.This expansion will double the facility’s production capacity. Kromasil chromatography media is used for purifying peptide-based pharmaceuticals.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Huntsman and AMD announce strategic collaboration for nanotube composites
March 11, 2025 — Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.huntsman.com) will collaborate with Advanced Material Development Ltd. (AMD; McLean, Va.; www.amdnano.com) through a strategic relationship to develop carbon nanotube-integrated composite materials in the U.S. The collaboration will allow for the development of electrically enhanced materials by integrating AMD’s all-carbon technology into Huntsman’s resin systems to provide performance composites for the defense and aerospace industries.
Momentive Performance Materials links with Chinese silicon firm for silanes JV
March 11, 2025 — Momentive Performance Materials Group (Niskayuna, N.Y.; www.momentive.com) and Jiangxi Hungpai Material Co., a silicon research and manufacturing firm in China, signed a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) focused on the manufacturing, promotion and sale of silanes in Asia. This strategic partnership combines Momentive’s global expertise with Hungpai’s manufacturing capabilities of silane products, including organofunctional silanes.
Syensqo and Vartega to jointly develop carbon-fiber recycling
March 5, 2025 —Syensqo S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.syensqo.com) and Vartega Inc. (Denver, Colo; www.vartega.com) have entered a collaboration to create an ecosystem to foster the use of recycled carbon-fiber products in high-performance applications. This partnership will leverage Vartega’s process to convert Syensqo’s dry carbon fiber and prepreg waste from its North American sites into Vartega’s carbon-fiber bundles. This recycled material will then be integrated into Syensqo’s carbon-fiber-reinforced specialty polymers for use in the automotive industry.
Nova, Borealis and Borouge combination creates major new firm
March 4, 2025 —Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC; www.adnoc.ae) and OMV AG (Vienna, Austria; www.omv.com) have announced plans for the proposed combination of shareholdings in JV Borouge plc and Borealis AG (Vienna, Austria; www.borealisgroup.com). ADNOC and OMV have also agreed that upon completion of the combination, Borouge Group International will acquire Nova Chemicals Corp. (Calgary, Alta., Canada; www.novachem.com) for $13.4 billion. The acquisition would create a new $60-billion global polyolefins firm, set to be the world’s fourth-largest by nameplate production capacity.
Honeywell to acquire Sundyne for $2.16 billion
March 4, 2025 — Honeywell International, Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.; www.honeywell.com) has agreed to acquire Sundyne (Arvada, Colo.; www.sundyne.com) from private-equity firm Warburg Pincus for $2.16 billion. Sundyne provides pumps and compressors for the process industries and will contribute to Honeywell’s Energy and Sustainability Solutions (ESS) business segment.
Thermo Fisher acquires Purification & Filtration business of Solventum
February 27, 2025 — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.; www.thermofisher.com) has agreed to acquire the Purification & Filtration business of Solventum (St. Paul, Minn.; www.solventum.com) for approximately $4.1 billion in cash. Solventum’s Purification & Filtration technologies are used in the production of biologics, as well as in medical technologies and industrial applications. The Solventum business operates sites across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
AkzoNobel to acquire powder coatings assets in India
February 25, 2025 — AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) offered to acquire the Powder Coatings operations and International Research Center from its subsidiary, AkzoNobel India Ltd. The offer also includes transferring the intellectual property for the local Decorative Paints business to its Indian subsidiary. The transactions will make AkzoNobel India more focused on liquid paints and coatings.
Sumitomo Chemical acquires LCP resin business from Syensqo
February 20, 2025 — Sumitomo Chemical Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp) has acquired the assets of Syensqo’s liquid-crystal-polymer (LCP) neat resin business. LCP is a type of engineering plastic known for its heat resistance, fluidity and dimensional accuracy. It is used in various applications, including electronic components for computers and smartphones. ■