Skip to main content

BASF and Stena in black mass agreement

BASF and Swedish firm have entered into a black mass purchase agreement. This is described as part of a broader collaboration, with the goal of setting up a battery recycling value chain for the European electric vehicle (EV) battery market.

Heraeus begins hydrogen business line

Heraeus Precious Metals has established a new dedicated Hydrogen Systems business line, headed by Dr Philipp Walter. This provides precious metal-based products for electrolysers and fuel cells, notably electrocatalysts for next-generation applications, plus technologies for precious metal recovery from production scrap and end-of-life materials, such as catalyst-coated membranes.

LG Chem breaks ground in Tennessee

Korea’s LG Chem has broken ground on a nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminium cathode materials facility on a 170 hectare site in Clarksville, Tennessee. Starting in 2026, this will supply 60,000 tonnes/year of battery materials, enough for about 600,000 electric vehicles, and will be the largest of its type in the US.

ICL plans battery centre

ICL has announced plans to invest $30 million to develop a customer innovation and qualification centre (CIQC) for the energy storage systems market in North America. This should become “a hub for ICL, its partners and its customers, as the company looks to make significant advancements in its battery materials R&D capabilities”, ICL said.

Sunliquid plant to close

Clariant has decided to close its Sunliquid bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania. This followed a review that concluded that the economics of the plant could not justify the additional capital expenditure needed to continue the ramp-up.

The company will also downsize the related activities of the Biofuels & Derivatives business line at three sits in Germany. The required capabilities to maintain the technology and to fulfil existing contractual obligations will be kept.

Kemira divests to focus on water

Kemira has agreed to divest its oil and gas chemicals portfolio to Sterling Specialty Chemicals, a US subsidiary of India’s Artek Group for €260 million subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The company said that this will enable it “to focus on its core businesses and accelerate its profitable growth strategy”. The two parties expect to complete by the end of Q1 2024.

Origin Materials to cut back

‘Carbon negative’ materials company Origin Materials has announced an organisational realignment. With immediate effect, the California-based firm has cut the workforce by about 30%. It will will incur about $500,000 in severance costs and about $2.2 million “for the accelerated vesting of certain equity awards”.

Subscribe to Materials, Oils & Energies