The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published a proposed restriction of around 10,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on its website. Its scientific committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) will now start evaluating the proposal.

This followed three years of investigations by the national authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In a report submitted to ECHA on 13 January, they concluded that the risks from PFAS are not adequately controlled and should therefore be restricted.

Univar Solutions has acquired two regional distributors of speciality chemicals in quick succession, the ChemSol Group in Latin America coming shortly after Kale Kimya in Turkey. In both cases, terms were not disclosed and completion is expected within Q1. Univar said that the buys will enhance both its regional footprint and its formulation and commercial offering in key growth markets.

Swedish chemical company Perstorp has added new corporate sustainability targets for water and waste to its sustainability strategy. These comprise 30% absolute reductions of freshwater consumption and of both hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste directed to disposal by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.

Chemanol, a Saudi producer of methanol chemicals, has signed a joint venture pact with its compatriot Global Company for Downstream Industries (GDI) to establish a 60-40 joint venture (JV) to produce speciality chemicals. The company aims to establish itself as a major player in this field in the region.

Croda International has bought Solus Biotech from Korea’s Solus Advanced Materials for about $277 million, subject to regulatory approval. Solus Biotech makes biotechnology-derived beauty actives, notably naturally derived powder ceramides and GMP phospholipids for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Both are high-growth markets, with the number of new personal care products containing ceramides doubling over the last five years.

Solenis has completed the acquisition of Lima-based Grand Invest Group, including all its production assets. This is the fifth add-on acquisition since Platinum Equity acquired Solenis itself in 2021, with more potentially to come. Terms were not disclosed.

Symrise has made an unspecified investment to take a minority stake in Israeli biotech Synergio, with the option of owning a majority in future. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

Based in Jerusalem, Synergio specialises in developing natural antimicrobial combinations from plants for product protection, using a data-driven, biochemistry-based, computational platform. Symrise is already a major player in this field within the personal care sector and sees growth opportunities in working together with Synergio.