Business Concentrates ECONOMY CATALYSIS
Umicore will acquire Evonik Industries’ intellectual property for metathesis chemistry and cross-coupling catalysis for an undisclosed sum. Metathesis chemistry is suitable for making complex molecules required by pharmaceutical and fine chemical companies and more, Umicore says. The deal follows Umicore’s purchase of Materia’s olefin metathesis catalyst business in 2018 for $27 million. In 2017, Materia lost a legal case in the US against Evonik relating to the validity of its metathesis patents.—ALEX SCOTT
Growth slows in Europe’s chemical sector Sales growth for the European chemical sector slowed in the first quarter of 2019 to 0.9%, down from more than 2% in the same period a year ago. The sector’s total sales were $162 billion, according to the European Chemical Industry Council, a trade association. The export market was stronger than the domestic market in the quarter, with exports rising 1.4% to about $47 billion. European Union chemical exports to the US for the period were down 6.8%, though, to $9.2 billion. EU chemical exports to China rose 9.1% to $3.9 billion. An EU business and consumer survey in June shows that industry confidence in the region has fallen more sharply than at any other time during the past 8 years. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the UK’s exit from the EU has led to a 50% drop in second-quarter chemical sector investment in the country compared with the same time a year ago, according to the UK’s Chemical Industries Association. “We have the most uncertain business investment conditions for decades,” says CIA CEO Steve Elliott.—ALEX SCOTT
FOOD INGREDIENTS
▸ DSM, Avril to launch canola protein DSM will partner with the French agribusiness firm Avril to launch a plant-protein ingredient made from canola. Canola crops are grown for the oil in the plants’ seeds, but the remaining protein portion is highly nutritious, has a balanced taste profile, and functions well in meat and dairy Seeds from canola alternatives, bevcrops will be a erages, and baked source of plant products, the proteins. partners contend. The companies say they expect demand for plant-based protein to grow exponentially. Production at Avril’s facility in Dieppe, France, could start as early as late 2021.—MELODY BOMGARDNER
reactor. Topsoe’s technique for producing synthesis gas from methane with electricity was recently published in Science. The demonstration facility, to open in 2022 in Foulum, Denmark, will convert methane from organic waste decomposition into synthesis gas and then into methanol.—MICHAEL MCCOY
PETROCHEMICALS
▸ OMV plans isobutene plant in Germany The Austrian oil and gas firm OMV will spend about $72 million to build a high-purity isobutene plant at its refinery in Burghausen, Germany. To open in September 2020 with a capacity of around 60,000 metric tons per year, the facility will use a catalyst from BASF and heat-integration technology developed jointly by OMV and BASF. OMV says the facility con-
OMV is adding high-purity isobutene production at its Burghausen refinery.
tinues the firm’s move away from refining and into chemicals.—MICHAEL MCCOY
ENERGY STORAGE
▸ Toray invests in battery separator film Toray Industries plans to build a facility for lithium-ion battery separator films in Nyergesújfalu, Hungary, that will increase its separator film capacity by 20%. The Japanese firm, which currently makes separators in Japan and South Korea, says it wants to meet growing demand for electric vehicles in Europe. South Korea’s SK Innovation previously announced plans to build a battery-separator-film plant in Poland as well as an $860 million battery facility in Hungary.—MICHAEL MCCOY
NATURAL PRODUCTS
▸ Demetrix pursues THC, CBD from yeast
RENEWABLES
▸ Topsoe to test biogas route to methanol The Danish catalysis company Haldor Topsoe will build a 10 kg/h plant to demonstrate technology for producing methanol from biogas using its electrified
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | JULY 22, 2019
Demetrix has raised $50 million in a first round of venture funding to establish high-volume fermentation production of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and other cannabinoids. Backers include Tuatara Capital and Horizons Ventures. The California-based start-up was cofounded in 2015 by University of California, Berkeley, chemical engineer-
C R E D I T: S H U TT E RSTO C K ( CA N O LA ) ; O MV ( R E FI N E RY )
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▸ Umicore buys Evonik’s metathesis IP
