SOCMA, the trade association of the US speciality chemical manufacturing industry, has published an open letter to the pending Trump administration, urging it to “prioritise policies that encourage advancement, streamline regulatory processes and incentivise domestic manufacturing”. In particular, it asked the administration to

* Streamline the EPA’s New Chemicals Review Process to unlock new chemistries

* Open tariff exclusion processes for inputs and raw materials not available in the US

Travertine Technologies and precious metal refiner Sabin Metal have announced plans have revealed plans to build a demonstration plant at Sabin’s main facility near Rochester, New York. This will create sustainable, fossil-free sulfuric acid for Sabin’s adjacent operations via the carbon-negative ‘Travertine Process’.

A pilot enforcement project carried out by national enforcement authorities in 13 European Economic Area (EEA) countries between November 2023 and April 2024 found that 6% of about 4,500 cosmetic products inspected contained hazardous substances. The project was undertaken under the auspices of ECHA’s Enforcement Forum.

The authorities looked mainly for the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), long chain perfluorocarboxylic acids and related substances, plus two cyclic siloxanes. They found 285 of the cosmetics included hazardous chemicals, notably:

Suez, which describes itself as “a global leader in circular solutions for water and waste”, has joined the Global Impact Coalition (GIC). The firm has also committed to providing the coalition with its expertise in recycling and recovery, which are seen as essential to achieving the chemical industry's net zero and circularity targets. This includes collaborating with the industry on new circular business models and scaling up sustainable technologies.

Germany’s chemical industry trade association, the VCI, said that the mood in the nation’s chemical and pharmaceutical industry “cooled noticeably in August because the global economy did not pick up as hoped”. This applies particularly to chemicals. “A weak industrial economy in Europe, the USA and China, as well as a lack of price-competitiveness in Germany, are dampening sales opportunities abroad,” the VCI said.

International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has agreed to buy Clariant’s decommissioned bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania, for its biotech CDMO subsidiary Corden BioChem. No financial details were disclosed, but ICIG will rehire “a large proportion” of the laid-off employees and spend a double-digit million Euro sum, mainly in downstream operations, to make the site a flexible CMO.

Catena-X and industry body Together for Sustainability (TfS) have launched PCF Verification Framework, an initiative to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of product carbon footprint (PCF) data across the automotive and chemical supply chains. This follows long-term collaboration between the two.