Basic Chemicals

Commodity chemicals, such as acids, alkalis, and salts, used as building blocks in various industries.

Projects in basic chemicals

chemXplore tracks 388 projects in basic chemicals, of which 130 are active.

32 Announced / Concept 26 FEED / Pre-FID 9 FID / Sanctioned 55 Under Construction 8 Commissioning & Start-up

86 new construction, 30 expansion, 11 revamp / retrofit, and 3 conversion / repurposing.

Expected to start operating
2026
2 projects
2027
23 projects
2028
19 projects
2029
13 projects
2030
15 projects
2031
1 project

34 of the active projects carry no start-up date yet.

What moved recently
  • 28 September 2026 Mesabi Metallics Iowa Steel Complex · Announced / Concept · United States
  • 22 September 2026 Arkema Jarrie SMR Hydrogen Unit · Operational / Completed · France
  • 17 September 2026 EnergyPathways Hycamite hydrogen and graphite plant at Port of Barrow · Announced / Concept · United Kingdom
  • 10 September 2026 ZPC 1.2 Mtpa PDH Unit, Zhejiang Province · Announced / Concept · China
  • 8 September 2026 POSCO No. 8 Continuous Galvanizing Line at Gwangyang Works · Under Construction

Owners and developers: BASF SE (5), Air Liquide SA (4), Covestro (3), INEOS (3), MOL Petrochemicals (3), POSCO (3)

Investors: European Investment Bank (3), Export-Import Bank of the United States (3), Trafigura (3), Air Liquide SA (2), Coogee (2), Eni S.p.A. (2)

Contractors, licensors, and offtakers are recorded on 92 of these 130 projects For subscribers

Targeting: Hydrogen (17), Ammonia (13), Carbon dioxide (10), Copper (9), Ethylene (7), Lithium Carbonate (6)

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Latest news in basic chemicals

29 September 2026
KBR Purifier® Selected for 3,500 MTPD Jubail Ammonia Plant (SABIC AN)

License and engineering package for single‑train 3,500 MTPD ammonia unit in Jubail; will produce 1.2 Mt ammonia/year and lift urea output to 7.4 Mt/year.

29 September 2026
Essar-backed Mesabi Metallics $18B mine-to-mill US steel investment

Investment will link a Minnesota iron-ore mine with a new Iowa steel complex using DRI and EAF technology to produce 100% US steel and create thousands of jobs.

29 September 2026
LKAB: extracting phosphorus and rare earths from iron ore

Luleå industrial park will recover phosphorus and rare earths from iron ore output to bolster European supply security; demo plant starts soon and ~500 jobs expected.

29 September 2026
thyssenkrupp nucera wins chlor‑alkali order from Hongniu Lanzhou

License, EPC, key equipment supply and commissioning support for a large e‑BiTAC v7 chlor‑alkali plant in Northwest China; low double‑digit million‑euro order.

29 September 2026
Technip Energies to deliver license, PDP and FEED for Petkim's Aliağa petrochemical complex

Includes license for a world‑scale mixed‑feed ethylene cracker and PDP/FEED for integrated units producing ethylene, propylene, HDPE/LLDPE and polypropylene.

28 September 2026
OCI Global H1 2026 results and strategic progress

Net profit USD 1m; sold ammonia distribution and monetized Methanex; OCI Nitrogen impaired and facing margin pressure; held‑for‑sale net cash USD 1.05bn; NNS offer and Orascom deal progressing.

28 September 2026
thyssenkrupp Steel reaffirms strategy and sets medium-term targets

Targets adjusted EBITDA ≥€1.2bn, an 11% margin and positive free cash flow; expects >€800m EBITDA uplift from self‑help measures and has implemented major restructuring steps.

28 September 2026
INEOS marks 10 years of US ethane supply to Grangemouth

Ten-year run of transatlantic ethane imports secured Grangemouth's feedstock for ethylene production; over 400 shipments, major infrastructure and fleet growth underpin resilience.

27 September 2026
MOL Group Chemicals doubles maleic anhydride capacity at Százhalombatta

New unit at Danube Refinery will double maleic anhydride output and is due online in H2 2027, aiming to strengthen European supply security and improve energy efficiency.

25 September 2026
MGC, Kokuka Sangyo & Hanshin Diesel complete Kokuryu Maru and undertake first methanol bunkering

New 498 GT chemical tanker to transport and bunker methanol; initial bunkering used biomethanol from Niigata plant; methanol fuel cuts CO2 by ~17.5% vs heavy fuel oil.

Where its projects are

By country, the most active first. active / all projects

The 8 with the most active projects, of 49 countries.