Steve Elliott, chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association, looks at the key immediate challenges facing the industry in the UK

DSM and Swiss-based flavours and fragrances house Firmenich have agreed to merge. The deal, which is expected to close in 1H 2023, is valued at about $19.6 billion. DSM-Firmenich would have about €11.4 billion/year in sales, comparable to IFF after its combination with DuPont’s Nutrition and Biosciences business early last year.

Sarah Ingle, who specialises in chemical safety and regulatory compliance at EcoOnline, explores how chemists can create a participatory safety culture

Italian CDMO Olon is to invest €10 million to create an R&D hub at its headquarters site at Rodano near Milan. This will integrate seven existing R&D centres and will be dedicated entirely to research laboratories to be used to develop APIs and manufacturing processes. 

Construction has started and is due to be completed in Q2 2023. This will also lead to about 50 new researchers being hired, bringing the corporate total to around 350.

Johnson Matthey (JM) has exited from the batteries market by selling most of its Battery Materials business to EV Metals Group for £50 million and the Canadian part to Nano One Materials for C$10.25 million. Both buyers are specialists in the field.

EV Metals is taking the battery technology centres at Oxford and Billingham, UK, and Moosburg, Germany; a pilot plant and laboratories also at Billingham; a cathode active materials (CAMs) plant under construction in Konin, Poland (pictured); JM’s eLNO technology; and associated patents, licences and other IP rights.

Spanish energy giant Cepsa has decided to retain its Chemicals division, Cepsa Química, after completing a strategic review of options. Following an announcement in November 2021 that Cepsa Química would have greater operational autonomy, the division is now “delivering strong operational and financial performance”, the company said.

Umicore has officially inaugurated its new global R&D centre for cathode materials next to its existing R&D centre and production plants in Cheonan, Korea. Operational since April, this comprises a 30,000 m² building complex, with space for growth.

The focus of research will continue to be next-generation battery materials, including very high-nickel NMC, low-cobalt NMC, manganese-rich chemistries as well as solid-state battery materials technology. The centre also houses a large battery cell laboratory with testing capabilities.