Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Shedding light on how photoactive crystals respond in real time
Lauren Hatcher discusses her work developing techniques for time-resolved crystallography
Covestro CFO to leave, search for replacement begins
BARCELONA (ICIS)--Christian Baier, CFO of Germany’s Covestro, will leave his position at the company when his contract expires in September 2026. Baier, who helped steer the group though its...
Pharmaceuticals roundup 2025
Policy swings have made it a slippery year for pharma
Chemicals industry roundup 2025
Europe hit hard by China’s independence push, but India is growing
Thai central bank cuts interest rate; lowers 2026 GDP forecast
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Thailand’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25% on 17 December amid “apparent economic slowdown” and heightened risks. GDP growth projected at...
AI continues to make waves and structural editing impresses in 2025
The research that has amazed and amused us this year
ICIS TTF Early Day assessments: 18 December 2025
- Maintenance is not expected to bring capacity offline on 18 December. However, Åsgard gas asset continues to face field unavailability, impacting 7.1 mcm/day of production. It is expecting to...
Plant status: Thailand’s AGC Vinythai to restart No 1 VCM line after outage
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: AGC Vinythai Location: Map Ta Phut, Thailand Product: Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) Capacity (tonnes/year): 200,000 Event start: 11 December...
Plant status: Indonesia’s Asahimas plans end-Jan maintenance at No 2 VCM line
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Asahimas Chemical Location: Cilegon, Indonesia Product: Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) Capacity (tonnes/year): 300,000 Event start: End of January...
Plant status: China’s Shandong Yuhuang shuts MTBE plant for maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Location: Heze, Shandong, China Product: Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) Capacity (tonnes/year): 520,000 Event...
East China xylenes port inventories down on no cargo arrivals
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Xylenes inventories at east China ports decreased to 31,700 tonnes in the reporting period ended 18 December due to no arrivals, according to ICIS data. The inventories were down by...
East China toluene port inventories down amid no cargo arrivals
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Toluene inventories at east China ports decreased to 41,600 tonnes in the reporting period ended 18 December on no arrivals, according to ICIS data. The inventories were down by...
Plant status: Taiwan’s Chang Chun to run phenol/acetone unit at 50% in early ‘26
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Chang Chun Plastics Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Product: Phenol and acetone Capacity (tonnes/year): 300,000 for phenol; 185,000 for acetone...
New hybrid aggregate state discovered: material can be solid and liquid at the same time
Solid, liquid and gaseous - these are the known main forms of matter. Scientists at Ulm University and the University of Nottingham have now demonstrated a completely new state of matter in which matter has
Formic acid in focus
Formate, the salt of formic acid, is seen as an important future pivot for sustainable biotechnologies. A team at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology has developed an enzyme that efficiently converts formate to
Mix of methods makes nanomaterials safer
The safe use of nanomaterials and their optimal performance depends largely on their surfaces. However, these have been difficult to characterize reliably up to now. Two new studies by the Federal Institute for Materials Research
China November acetic acid output drops on plants shutdown
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s overall production of acetic acid in November declined sharply, mainly due to shutdowns at Anhui Huayi, Xinjiang Zhonghe Hezhong and Guangxi Huayi’s No 2 plant. Domestic...
Mideast polyol offers stable amid muted year-end sentiment
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Spot offers for Middle East polyol imports were stable in the week ending 18 December, with muted buying and minimal offers being discussed towards the end of the year....
S Korea’s LG Energy Solution shares slump after Ford scraps $6.5bn EV battery deal
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korean producer LG Energy Solution’s (LGES) shares listed in Seoul tumbled by 8.4% on Thursday morning after US automaker Ford Motor cancelled its won (W) 9.6 trillion ($6.5...
Mideast isocyanate offers firmer amid year-end supply concerns
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Spot prices for Middle East isocyanate imports were firmer in the week ending 18 December, with deals and offers trending higher, mainly due to year-end price increases by major...