Chlor-alkali producer Nobian, which was separated from the rest of Nouryon last year, has signed an agreement with German-Australian lithium developer Vulcan Energy to assess the feasibility of producing lithium hydroxide from lithium chloride in Germany. 

Nobian has an electrolysis and crystallisation demo-plant at its site in Frankfurt, near to Vulcan’s own geothermal-lithium reservoir sites in the Upper Rhine Valley area, where it plans to build several geothermal plants and a central lithium-hydroxide plant. 

CropEnergies, a specialist in biomass-based sustainable chemicals, has taken a licence to use Johnson Matthey’s (JM) DAVY ethyl acetate process technology in a new 50,000 tonnes/year plant at Zeitz, Germany, that will make renewable ethyl acetate from renewable ethanol feedstock using renewable energy. Ethyl acetate is widely used in cosmetics, flexible packaging and coatings, paints and adhesives, food, beverage and pharmaceutical applications.

Clariant has completed the previously announced sale of most of its Pigments business to Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners, completing its transformation into a speciality chemicals firm. The business has about 3,000 employees and revenues of €1 billion/year.

The deal gives Pigments a base enterprise value of CHF 805 million, subject to closing accounts adjustments and before a potential earn-out payment of CHF 50 million depending on its financial performance in 2021. Clariant has retained a 20% stake in the new holding company. in order to profit from its future growth

A private equity consortium made up of BroadPeak Global, Asia Green Fund and Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) has acquired DuPont’s Clean Technologies business and relaunched it under the name Elessent Clean Technologies. Eli Ben-Shoshan has been named as the new firm’s CEO.

The Huntsman board of directors has authorised management to conduct a strategic review of the Singapore-based Textile Effects division, including a possible sale. This will begin within Q1. No timeline has been set but the company said that “plans to move expeditiously”.

Textile Effects is expected to generate close to $100 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2021, recovering much of what was lost due to COVID-19. On this basis, said Peter R. Huntsman, chairman, president and CEO, “we believe now is the right time to explore options for Textile Effects”.

Croda has agreed to sell most of its Performance Technologies & Industrial Chemicals (PTIC) business to Cargill Velocity Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill in a €915 million deal should close in the summer of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals and consultation with employee representatives. The company had stated its intention to reviewing ownership options for PTIC in May 2021.

Clariant is to build its first Chinese production facility for Exolit OP range of aluminum diethyl-phosphinate flame retardants. This will supply the electrical and electronic equipment industries, in particular e-mobility, 5G communications technology and transportation in China and other Asian markets.