Operational Changes and Investments news

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  1 April 2026

  ABO Energy Advances German Wind Projects

  Won tariffs for 16.4 MW; secured permits for Olpe‑Rehringhausen (21 MW), Tholey (14 MW) and St. Gangloff (35 MW); sold Nonnenholz II (6 MW); activated Ortenberg financing; 650 MW permitted.
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  1 April 2026

  Celtic Renewables renews circular partnership with Rosebank Distillery

  Distillery pot ale will be sent to a nearby biorefinery to make bio‑based chemicals (500 t/yr), extending a 3‑year supply deal; products cut carbon by >60% vs fossil equivalents.
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  1 April 2026

  LKAB: Johan Menckel on presence and responsibility

  New CEO pledges presence and clear priorities: modernise mining (automation, electrification, digitalisation), shift to carbon‑free processes, extract critical minerals, and support affected communities.
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  1 April 2026

  EIB lends €500m to Eni for Sannazzaro biorefinery conversion

  15-year loan backs Sannazzaro refinery conversion to Ecofining HVO diesel and SAF from used oils, fats and agri-food waste, ~550,000 t/yr, aiding transport decarbonisation
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  1 April 2026

  Phelan Green selects Honeywell UOP FT Unicracking for Saldanha eSAF

  Chosen tech will produce commercial-scale electro‑sustainable aviation fuel in Saldanha Bay; R47bn project to deliver >140,000 t eSAF to EU/UK, construction from Q4 2026, local job creation.
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  1 April 2026

  Reju secures €135m NIKI funding for Chemelot textile regeneration hub

  Scale industrial textile-to-textile process converting hard-to-recycle polyester waste into recycled intermediates with ≈50% lower emissions, integrated into efficient, traceable circular supply chains.

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  1 April 2026

  MAIRE/Nextchem awarded early engineering and equipment contract for 60,000 t/y SAF plant in Indonesia

  Plant will use palm oil mill effluent and certified used cooking oil, leveraging NX PTU and NX SAF BIO technologies to support the project's FID and Indonesia's domestic SAF development
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  31 March 2026

  Mesabi Metallics secures $520M Breakwall financing to advance U.S. DR iron-ore project

  Northern Minnesota DR-grade iron ore mine and pellet plant on 16,000+ acres progressing toward commercial start; $2.5B project, 750+ construction workers onsite, backed by EXIM support.
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  31 March 2026

  BASF launches Butyl and 2‑Ethylhexyl Acrylate RE with Avery Dennison

  Launches butyl and 2‑ethylhexyl acrylates made using attributed Texas renewable electricity; drop‑in for coatings and adhesives, reducing manufacturing CO2; commercialization supported by partner.
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  31 March 2026

  LanzaTech Q4 & FY2025 Financial Results

  Closed $20M private placement; awarded €40M EU grant; completed LanzaJet share transfers (peak 53%, later ~46% after Series A); revenue $55.8M; net loss $49M; opex -21%
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  31 March 2026

  Gestamp signs 10-year renewable PPA with Iberdrola for 660,000 MWh

  Supply of 100% renewable power (80% wind/20% solar) from 34 MW capacity at fixed competitive price; supports electrification and decarbonisation of the auto supply chain. Certificates of origin.
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  31 March 2026

  Messer 2025 results: €4.5bn revenue, €1.4bn EBITDA, €747m investments

  Stable 2025: margin held, net debt reduced, staff >12k. Investments in air-separation, on-site/CO2/cylinder plants, helium, decarbonization, R&D/digitalization. 2026 growth expected.
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  31 March 2026

  Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to End Polycarbonate Production at Kashima Plant

  Discontinuing Kashima polycarbonate plant in March 2028 (120k t/yr) due to weak margins and oversupply. Domestic supply to shift to overseas sites; employees prioritized; financial impact under review.
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  31 March 2026

  Mitsubishi Chemical transfers KMC MMA monomer stake in Taiwan to CPDC

  Dissolve co-ownership of Taiwan MMA unit amid stronger Asian competition and Chinese capacity growth; consolidate production to competitive sites and pursue high-growth markets. Completion Aug 3, 2026.
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  30 March 2026

  PETRONAS Monitors Malaysia’s Fuel Supply

  Fuel supply strained by West Asia crisis—~40% of crude via Strait of Hormuz; crude prices +40%, shipping and insurance up. Domestic demand exceeds supply; govt subsidises RON95/diesel; avoid hoarding.
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  30 March 2026

  Dow’s Carbon Footprint Ledger wins 2026 CIO 100 Award

  Recognized for enabling verifiable PCF certificates, optimizing low‑GHG production pathways, and integrating supply‑chain, sustainability and finance data to scale trusted low‑carbon product offerings.
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  30 March 2026

  Velocys and SuMo commission Fischer–Tropsch unit at Wednesbury for UK waste-to-SAF

  FT unit at Wednesbury is online and stable, validating integration of gasification and FT for waste-to-SAF and supporting ClearSkies demonstration toward modular, scalable SAF production.
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  30 March 2026

  Iberdrola awards €3.5bn contracts for Eastern Green Link 4 HVDC subsea interconnector

  Contracts awarded for a 640 km HVDC subsea link (2,000 MW) between Scotland and England, supplying 1.5M+ homes; construction starts 2028, commissioning 2033; part of wider UK grid investment.
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  30 March 2026

  Itabus fleet adopts Enilive HVO

  Entire 100-vehicle fleet runs on HVO made from waste, cutting CO2eq by 79.5%. In 2025 it logged 20M km, used over 3M L HVO (53% avg, 75% peak in Dec).
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  30 March 2026

  UPM opens Adhesive Materials terminal near New Delhi

  New slitting and distribution terminal near New Delhi to boost service in Northern and Eastern India with tailored inventory and short lead times; complements Mumbai terminal; operations start Q3 2026.
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  27 March 2026

  Sasol — Middle East developments and business impact

  Middle East conflict disrupted gas supply - ORYX GTL shut; ~60 staff safe. Fuel and chemicals impacted; Secunda/Natref secure inventories and alternative crude; contingencies active.
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  27 March 2026

  aicep Global Parques strengthens park competitiveness with digital connectivity

  High-quality digital infrastructure - submarine-cable access, upgraded networks and metro proximity - boosts parks' competitiveness, attracting data centres, tech clusters and global value chains.
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  27 March 2026

  Rompetrol Rafinare completes Petromidia and Vega turnarounds

  Mechanical works finished; refineries return to staged full capacity after 700+ maintenance jobs, 6 catalyst swaps, ~900 equipment checks and ~1,200 pipeline tests; authorizations recertified.
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  27 March 2026

  LKAB cuts Kiruna production

  Changing rock conditions force temporary shutdown of pellet plant KK3 Apr–Nov, cutting ~2 Mt deliveries in 2026. No layoffs; plant gets maintenance; other mine areas assessed; restart aimed 2027.
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  26 March 2026

  Toray Industries imposes emergency surcharges after crude and naphtha price surge

  Temporary surcharges on petrochemical products after crude/naphtha price spike from Middle East tensions and Hormuz blockade; reviewed regularly to secure supply.
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  26 March 2026

  thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel extends Isbergues production cuts amid import crisis

  Below-cost imports forced full Isbergues shutdown Jun–Sep; orders slashed, ~1,200 jobs at risk; company seeks urgent trade protection; customer supply remains guaranteed.
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  26 March 2026

  Equinor completes investigation into Mongstad benzene exposure

  Probe: prolonged benzene exposure during filling—task overran; no re-assessment; respirators insufficient. Naphtha→glycol; more PPE, detector training and a safety engineer; authorities notified.
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  26 March 2026

  BASF opens world-scale Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China

  World-scale integrated chemical site with 2,000 staff; basic, intermediate and specialty chemicals; 100% renewable power; 1 Mt/yr ethylene cracker with e-drive compressors; up to 50% lower CO2; €8.7bn
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  26 March 2026

  Asahi Kasei stops Crystal IS UVC LED production, shifts to AlN substrates

  Discontinues UVC LED device production; redirects resources to develop 100 mm single-crystal AlN substrates for RF and power semiconductors. Financial impact immaterial.
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  26 March 2026

  Siemens launches Drivetrain Analyzer Onsite — on‑prem AI analytics for industrial drives

  On-prem module offers local AI condition monitoring of drivetrain vibration and analog signals (PTP‑synced), local preprocessing on IPC, web dashboards, MQTT/gRPC/OPC UA