Orion has opened its new Battery Innovation Centre at it main innovation hub in Cologne. The facility includes a full array of production, testing and diagnostic equipment. The focus of its work will be to “accelerate Orion’s tailor-made product and process development in close cooperation with customers”, the company said.

Orion is to spend €12.8 million to further develop and demonstrate a climate-neutral process for producing carbon black from renewable sources. Half of the total is being funded by the decarbonisation programme of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, supported by the EU’s NextGenerationEU fund.

Mack Brooks Exhibitions, which is now part of Reed, has today announced the postponement of Chemspec Europe 2020, which was scheduled to take place at Messe Cologne on 11-12 November. The next event in the series will next place in its usual late spring slot, at Messe Frankfurt on 19-20 May 2021.

A digital event will take place during the planned November slot, for which details will follow. This will offer matchmaking facilities to conduct business meetings, plus webinars and further digital content.