p2 receives financing
TRANSCRIPT
years old. BASF wants to increase itssales in this period from €73 bn(2011), to €115 bn. Researchspending is to increase from €1.6 bnto €1.7 bn in 2012. BASF will alsoincrease the number of R&D stafffrom the 10,100 it had in 2011, andadd to the 1950 collaborative projectsunderway with research institutes,academe, start-ups and industrypartners worldwide.
In other news, BASF has revealedthat it wants to grow sales in NorthAmerica by about 5%/y through 2020,driven by capital investments,innovations and optimization of thecompany’s portfolio throughacquisitions. The announcement wasmade in early May at the officialopening of its new 325,000 sq ftNorth American HQ building inFlorham Park, NJ, which houses 1400staff. The company sustained its goodperformance in North America in2011, with sales exceeding 2010’slevels in nearly all segments. In thePerformance Products segment, thiswas mainly driven by the full-yearinclusion of the acquired Cognisbusinesses. For the years to come,BASF expects growth of at least twopercentage points above chemicalproduction in the region. BASF’sincreasing investment in NorthAmerica is demonstrated by theoptimization of the company’sportfolio through acquisitions,including those of specialitychemicals companies Ciba in 2009and Cognis in 2010, which havecontributed significantly to thesuccess of BASF in North America.US investments in 2012 include $30M in Renmatix, a technology firm thathas developed a process to produceindustrial sugars in large volumesfrom non-edible plant-mass such aswood, cane trash and straw. Thepatented Plantrose technologyinvolves splitting the biomass intocellulose and sugar in supercriticalwater at high temperature andpressure in a two-step process.
Elsewhere, BASF is alsorestructuring its mining and oilfieldoperations. It has decided to installthe oilfield business unit’s HQ inHouston, TX. This business developschemical products (such assurfactants and polymers) forexploration and for the operation of oilwells. The group is also creating anew business unit to specialize in
enhanced oil recovery (EOR)technology.
Original Source: Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- undFinanzzeitung, 30 Mar 2012, (65), 20 (Website:http://www.handelsblatt.com) (in German) © Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt GmbH & Co KG 2012.Original Source: Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 10 Apr 2012,(588), 8 (Website: http://www.industrie.com/chimie/)(in French) © ETAI Information 2012. Original Source:Speciality Chemicals, Apr 2012, 32 (4), (Website:http://www.specchemonline.com/) © Quartz BusinessMedia Ltd 2012. Original Source: Chemical FibersInternational, Mar 2012, 62 (1), 25 (Website:http://textination.de/) © Textination GmbH 2012.Marketwire, 4 May 2012, (Website:http://www.marketwire.com)
Chandra Asri plans mid-2012 decisionon petrochemical investments
Indonesia’s Chandra AsriPetrochemical expects to havedefinite plans by mid-2012 on projectsfor its next phase of investment, afterposting solid results for FY 2011.Among other projects, Chandra Asriplans to begin downstreamproduction of the detergent materialethylene oxide, and is contemplatingpartnering with an affiliate of aJapanese company.
Original Source: Japan Chemical Web, 5 Apr 2012,(Website: http://www.japanchemicalweb.jp) © TheChemical Daily Co Ltd 2012
P2 receives financing
P2 Science(http://www.p2science.com) is a newUS company that is developing andmanufacturing a new class ofrenewable-based, high-performancesurfactants called C-glycosides (CGs)with the application of patent-pendingtechnology from the Yale Center forGreen Chemistry and GreenEngineering. The company hasrecently received financing from ElmStreet Ventures, a New Haven, CT,USA-based early-stage venturecapital firm. The CGs will be used asco-surfactants to improve theperformance properties of existingsurfactants such as linearalkybenzene sulfonic acid, sodiumalkyl sulfates, alcohol ethoxylates andother similar products. The newsurfactants are expected to findapplications in numerous consumerand industrial products such aslubricants, emulsion polymers andmany others.
Original Source: Biorefining Magazine, Mar/Apr 2012,(Website: http://biorefiningmagazine.com) © BBIInternational 2012
Groundbreaking ceremony for Evonik’snew Chinese hydrogen peroxide plant
An official ceremony has been held tomark the groundbreaking for EvonikIndustries AG’s new hydrogenperoxide plant in Jilin, China. Theplant is scheduled to go online, with aplanned production capacity of230,000 tonnes/y, at the end of 2013.This will increase by 40% thecompany’s overall current capacity ofaround 600,000 tonnes/y. EvonikIndustries recently founded EvonikSpecialty Chemicals (Jilin) Co Ltd(ESCJ) to run the new productionfacility. Evonik will supply its hydrogenperoxide from Jilin directly via apipeline to the adjacent propyleneoxide plant run by Jishen ChemicalIndustry Co Ltd. A long-term supplyagreement is in place between thesecompanies. Jishen will use the so-called HPPO process to makepropylene oxide from the hydrogenperoxide.
Original Source: Evonik Industries AG, RellinghauserStrasse 1-11, 45128, Essen, Germany, website:http://www.evonik.com (23 Apr 2012) © EvonikIndustries AG 2012
Solvay sets 50% profit growth targetby 2016
Belgium-based Solvay is aiming toboost its profits by 50%, withrecurring earnings before income, tax,depreciation and amortization(REBITDA) of €3 bn ($4 bn), by 2016.Growth is expected to be driven bythree core businesses andstreamlining related to the company’smerger with France-based Rhodia in2011.
Original Source: ICIS Chemical Business, 30 Apr2012, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com) © Reed Business Information Limited 2012
Cornelius distributes ex-Cognis rangein UK and Ireland
Cornelius has replaced Kemcare asthe exclusive distributor for the ex-Cognis product range in the UK andIreland, starting Apr 2012. Thecompany will also handle technicalsupport for this line of products inboth markets, which will be added toits existing portfolio of BASF personalcare ingredients.
Original Source: Speciality Chemicals, Apr 2012, 32(4), (Website: http://www.specchemonline.com/) © Quartz Business Media Ltd 2012
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