Covestro advances polyurethane dispersions capabilities with completion of new Shanghai facility

Covestro has completed construction on a new production facility for polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) in Shanghai, China, said the company.

Once coming on stream in the first quarter of next year, the new capacity is expected to greatly address the rising demand for environmentally compatible coatings and adhesives in Asia Pacific, serving industries ranging from automotive, construction, furniture to footwear and packaging. The plant will be producing waterborne PUDs that boast properties equal to the performance of solvent-based types, and in 2024 also grades with more circular contents.

“With this new facility we aim to offer the broadest portfolio of PUDs to support the sustainability efforts of downstream industries here in Asia Pacific,” said Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer of Covestro, at an event in Shanghai marking the mechanical completion of the plant. “The modular concept adopted in the construction phase will also enable us to implement future investment projects and build up capacity more efficiently to capture market demand.”

Housed inside Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai (CISS), the plant was built by a service provider, leveraging modular construction under controlled conditions in a hall in Nantong, Jiangsu province. The individual modules, upon completion, were transported to and assembled at the final site. This approach helps shorten the total construction lead time while making investment more efficient.

We remind, Covestro has started production in its new plant for polyurethane elastomers systems at its integrated site in Shanghai, China.

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Evonik Tasnee Marketing Company has signed an Export Credit Insurance (ECI) Policy with the Saudi Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank), which allows the company to secure payments on international exports, and enables it to cover the risks of non-payment of the same value of products and services issued to international buyers, said the company.

This contributes to the spread of Saudi exports, and increase its chances to access new markets at the regional and international levels.

The policy was signed on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 by HE Eng. Saad A. Al-Khalab, CEO of EXIM Bank, and Eng. Abdulmuhsin Al-Muhaideb, General Manager of Evonik Tasnee Marketing Company, in the presence of Eng. Yasser Al-Daajani, Tasnee VP Commercial & Business and the board member of Evonik Tasnee Marketing Company. The signing ceremony was held in the headquarters of the Saudi Export-Import Bank in Riyadh.

HE Eng. Al-Khalab explained that the agreement comes as a continuation of the EXIM Bank’s effective role in supporting the export activities of national facilities, and enabling Saudi exports to expand and spread in the most competitive global markets, expressing his happiness in cooperation with «Evonik Tasnee Marketing», as one of the leading companies worldwide, in marketing super-absorbent polymer products produced by the Saudi Acrylic Polymers Company, with an annual production capacity of 80,000 tons.

Eng. Al-Muhaideb stressed the importance of the agreement, praising the positive role of the Saudi EXIM Bank, its active initiatives and the wide opportunities it provides to national companies, enabling them to increase their export activities, access new international markets, and supportive and enabling credit facilities for emerging sectors.

It is worth noting that the Export Credit Insurance Policy provided by the Saudi EXIM Bank provides Saudi exporters with coverage against the risks of non-payment of the international buyer, and gives many advantages, including expanding the customer base in the current markets by using the insurance cover and access to new markets, and developing the relationship and trust with importers, in addition to increasing competitiveness with international buyers.

We remind, Evonik has signed an agreement to scale up and produce custom catalyst for Rohm’s new methyl methacrylate (MMA) production plant in Bay City, Texas, USA, which is due to be opened in 2024.

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Nouryon announced that it will invest in Icos Capital Fund IV, a collaborative venture capital fund connecting corporations and financial institutions with start-ups that have a potential for fast growth, said the company.

The investment strategy of the Icos Capital Fund IV will be focused on new and emerging technologies in the areas of sustainable industry, decarbonization technologies, circular economy, and sustainable food systems.

“At Nouryon, we are focused on offering innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers,” said Philip Clark, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Nouryon. “Our investment with Icos provides Nouryon with an effective way of screening a very large number of start-ups and emerging technologies that are in and adjacent to our key end-markets with a focus on accelerating sustainability.”

Nouryon’s corporate partnership with Icos Capital goes back to 2017 with original investment in Icos Capital Fund III, which has enabled several strategic partnership discussions and insights into innovation critical to Nouryon.

Icos Capital is active in the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and Germany, with activities across Europe. Icos Capital Fund IV will expand its geographic reach to other parts of the world, including North America, and its corporate partners will play an important role in setting the fund strategy, as well as identifying and evaluating the start-ups.

We remind, Nouryon, a global specialty chemicals leader, was recently recognized for its outstanding leadership, safety, and environmental stewardship performance with thirteen Texas Chemical Council (TCC) and Association of Chemical Industry of Texas (ACIT) awards. The awards program was recently held to recognize member companies for excellent safety performance, caring for Texas, and support for the chemical industry in 2022.

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China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has received official certification for the 30.55-billion-cubic-meter proven geological reserve of natural gas discovered in phase-I of its Bazhong gas field, a significant breakthrough of Sinopec's Project Deep Earth-Sichuan and Chongqing natural gas base that further reveals favorable potential of the tight sandstone in northeast Sichuan, China, said the company.

Sinopec Announces a Key Breakthrough of Project Deep Earth-Sichuan and Chongqing Natural Gas Base, Phase-I of the Bazhong Gas Field in China Adds 30.55 Billion Cubic Meters of Proven Geological Reserves.

The Bazhong gas field is the third Xujiahe Formation tight sandstone gas field discovered by Sinopec in the region. As of now, Sinopec has submitted a total of 154,747 million cubic meters of proven geological reserves of tight sandstone gas in the region.

The sandstone gas reserve with a burial depth of over 4,500 meters is defined as an ultra-deep, tight sandstone gas reservoir, and the burial depth of the Bazhong gas field ranges from 4,550 to 5,225 meters, which is a challenge for exploration and development. Sinopec has innovated three types of high-quality reservoir and permeability development models to clarify natural gas enrichment and high-yield production models, established reservoir prediction technique sequences, and implemented enriched high-yield zones.

Next, Sinopec will continue to tackle the geological evaluation and engineering process of the tight sandstone shale gas reserves in the Sichuan Basin to expand the scale of reserves in the Bazhong region.

We remind, INEOS has completed the formation of a 50/50 joint venture with Sinopec for the Tianjin Nangang Ethylene Project, announced in December 2022, which is currently under construction by SINOPEC and expected to be on-stream by April 2024. The petrochemical complex includes a 1.2 mtpa cracker, a new 500ktpa High-Density Polyethylene plant to produce INEOS pipe grade under license and 11 other derivative units.

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The Supervisory Board of Covestro has unanimously appointed Christian Baier as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said the company.

He will take over from Dr. Thomas Toepfer on October 1, 2023. Dr. Toepfer will leave the company as of August 31, 2023, and Covestro’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Markus Steilemann will act as CFO on an interim basis during September. Dr. Thorsten Dreier will take over the position of Labor Director in addition to his duties as Chief Technology Officer from September 1, 2023.

“Christian Baier is an accomplished top manager with a longstanding experience in the capital markets. We are delighted that, as a member of the Board of Management, he will be actively involved in shaping Covestro’s transformation to the circular economy and in the implementation of our Sustainable Future strategy,” says Dr. Richard Pott, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Covestro. “We are also pleased that Dr. Thorsten Dreier, with his long-standing knowledge of the company, will be shaping the future of Covestro and its employees in his additional role as the new Labor Director."

“I am very much looking forward to driving Covestro’s transformation and creating sustainable growth together with all Covestro employees and the Board of Management,” says Christian Baier.

Born in Freiburg/Breisgau (Germany), Baier has been a member of the Management Board (Chief Financial Officer) of METRO AG since 2016; this was preceded by various executive positions at the international wholesaler from 2011. Prior to that, his experience also includes working for Permira, a global investment firm, from 2006 to 2011.

We remind, Covestro has started production in its new plant for polyurethane elastomers systems at its integrated site in Shanghai, China.

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