chemXplore Weekly 26 August 2026: OlinHuntsman merger approved | Asahi Kasei's Charlotte separator line | Sunfire builds SOEC test facility at BASF

Industry trends

Circular materials projects spanned plastics, organics and mining residues. In Türkiye, Nextchem’s NX Replast™ technology will be assessed for a 40,000 t/y mechanical upcycling plant. In France, EnviTec Biogas is converting the Biowatt site in Brittany to biomethane and building Valoverte to inject ~25 GWh/year. Upstream, LKAB is constructing a new sorting plant to handle apatite‑rich tailings, while ReNaTe received funding approval from the European Regional Development Fund to valorise PET side streams. Shared infrastructure and side‑stream utilization can improve circularity economics and compliance.

Decarbonization efforts focused on capture, hydrogen, heat and site power. JOGMEC’s Ship‑Based Advanced CCS initiative commissioned design work for a shared value chain at Mizushima, targeting about 3.43 Mt/y of shipped CO2. Sunfire and partners started a green hydrogen SOEC test facility at BASF’s Schwarzheide site to validate high‑efficiency electrolysis. On the demand side, WarmtelinQ completed a 1,562‑metre horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operation to move residual heat to cities, and Rompetrol Rafinare will add a photovoltaic power plant with an energy storage system at the Vega Ploieşti refinery for self‑consumption. Such cluster‑oriented builds may cut abatement costs and lower Scope 2 footprints.

Capital continued to back transitional supply and firm power pricing. Equinor and Uniper signed a 15‑year agreement for more than 30 TWh/year of Norwegian gas to Germany from 2027. In power, Statkraft and Hydro Energi executed a long‑term power purchase agreement securing an annual supply of 876 GWh for 2031–2040, while Statkraft applied to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) for a licence to replace the existing Høyanger K5A and K5B plants with a new Høyanger K5 hydropower plant and a Breidal hydropower plant. Production from Troll Phase 3 stage 2 began, accelerating roughly 55 bcm to Troll A/Kollsnes ahead of plan. These commitments underpin European energy security and industrial competitiveness amid volatile markets.

Specialties and process technologies edged closer to scale. Asahi Kasei introduced a lithium pre‑doping technology for high‑voltage lithium‑ion batteries with silicon‑based anodes and opened a new Hipore wet‑process lithium‑ion battery separator coating line in Charlotte, North Carolina. In refining catalysts, Axens and Raízen started up a Prime‑G+® FCC gasoline desulfurization unit at Raízen’s refinery in Argentina using modular execution. Meanwhile, dsm‑firmenich filed patent infringement litigation in China over a patent for the production of sclareol, underscoring the role of IP in biobased ingredient routes. Commercial traction will depend on proven unit economics and protected know‑how.

Geopolitics continued to shape sourcing and project pipelines. Equinor will sell Johan Sverdrup crude to ORLEN under an agreement running three years, bolstering Central European refinery supply. On the Norwegian shelf, Equinor, Aker BP and Vår Energi established a strategic exploration collaboration to pursue larger prospects on the NCS. In the UK, INEOS Inovyn moved to acquire the remaining 50% shareholding in Runcorn MCP Limited together with the assets and employees associated with ethylene dichloride (EDC) production at Runcorn, while in the UAE Technip Energies won a detailed engineering services contract for a major ADNOC Offshore project. Such region‑specific plays reflect efforts to secure feedstocks, preserve industrial capabilities and access advantaged project backlogs.

Digitalization initiatives targeted operational gains and faster piloting. SOCAR launched the WIN (What is Next) Open Innovation Program spanning AI, data analytics and low‑carbon technologies with funded field trials. Sinopec reported deploying a digital industrial agent 'Fenghuo' within wider technology programs. At project delivery level, the Engineering Construction Company accelerates digital and technology empowerment to move from labour‑intensive to smart delivery, signalling a push for productivity under tight margins. Selective adoption of these tools may compress schedules and improve HSE outcomes in a low‑margin environment.