Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Electrochemical breakthrough turns nitrate waste into ammonia fuel
Ammonia (NH3) is essential for agriculture and plays an important role in next-generation carbon-free energy systems. Renewable NH3 synthesis is a supplementary or alternative to the traditional Haber-Bosch process. The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO3−RR) to NH3 offers a promising ro...
Biotech start-up scales green chemistry with new investment
Dutch biotech company Mevaldi B.V. announces an investment by ICOS Capital, alongside High-Tech Gründerfonds and ICIG Ventures. Mevaldi is a biotech company and pioneer in the field of building blocks for sustainable polymers and polyurethanes
Transform plant waste into next-generation safe batteries
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries promise safe, low-cost energy storage, but metallic zinc grows needle-like dendrites that short-circuit cells within a few hundred cycles. Now, a purely plant-derived hydrogel appears to solve the problem without resorting to
AI helps assess environmental risks from chemicals
The bioconcentration factor shows the concentration of chemical substances in fish as compared to the surrounding water. It is the standard measure for determining the bioaccumulation of chemicals in the environment. Until now it was
ICIG to take over Venator’s Duisburg site in Germany
LONDON (ICIS)--International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has agreed to take over Venator’s business activities at the Duisburg site in Germany, subject to approval by competition authorities,...
PODCAST: Race for Arctic region sparks heated debate
LONDON (ICIS)--Greenland has been holding the headlines in recent weeks as US President Donald Trump expressed an open interest in acquiring the world’s largest island amid claims of security risks...
US ammonia imports down by 3.49% in January-October 2025 year on year
LONDON (ICIS)--US ammonia imports dropped by 3.49% in January-October 2025 compared with the same period a year before, according to customs data. The main exporter was Canada, followed by Trinidad...
INVISTA plans to close facilities in UK and US
HOUSTON (ICIS)--INVISTA plans to discontinue production at its UK site in Gloucester and to close a precision machine shop at its US site in Martinsville, Virginia, affecting a total of about 150...
US small business optimism continues to rise, owners eye waning cost pressures
HOUSTON (ICIS)--US small business optimism rose for a second month in a row in December, according to the latest Small Business Optimism Index survey by the National Federation of Independent...
Export headwinds return China BDO market focus to domestic trade
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Two unfavorable export policies, recently in the spotlight, are expected to curb China's 1,4-butanediol (BDO) exports and thus lead to the shift of market focus from actively...
ICIS EXPLAINS: EU ETS rules and LNG shipping – what to know
EU emissions regulation steps up for LNG in 2026 Unlikely to curb US LNG flows, but may decide cargo, vessel choice at margin ICIS forecasts increase in carbon prices next two years LONDON...
AI tool dramatically reduces computing power needed to find protein-binding molecules
New protocol is up to 10 million times faster than current docking-based methods
Purer silicon lets robust quantum computing get started on a new medium
System is highly accurate and amenable to scaling without compromising quality
Europe PA spot prices for both grades steady on slow activity
LONDON (ICIS)--European phthalic anhydride (PA) spot prices for both liquid and flake grades were assessed stable following slow activity in the week ending 9 January, as players were returning after...
Italian Summer ’26 gas contract sustaining premiums over Winter ’26 amid fast-depleting storage
PSV Summer ’26 at premium to Winter ’26 since January 6 sessions amid storage drawdowns Italian seasonal premium to TTF widening amid increased exports year on year towards Austria Traders hope...
Latin America petrochemicals close 2025 under pressure as spreads compress
SAO PAULO (ICIS)--Latin America's major petrochemical producers ended 2025 facing persistent margin compression and oversupplied markets, with some prices weakening further and at the same time...
How did we do? Did ICIS’ recent gas, LNG market forecasts come true?
LONDON (ICIS)--At ICIS, content teams produce many stories, alerts, forecasts and analysis. We look beyond the immediate market noise which can sometimes distract from objective supply and demand...
INSIGHT: Turnaround investors start to eye European chemicals
LONDON (ICIS)--The long downturn and the brutal calculus that chemicals producers have had to apply to their asset bases has started to drive an increased presence for turnaround specialists in the...
Europe EO 2026 adder decreases, January contract down
LONDON (ICIS)--The European ethylene oxide (EO) contract adder for 2026 has decreased by €20/tonne. Contract adder fees for 2026 decrease on soft demand expectations Market sentiment bearish amid...
Mideast polyols Jan sentiment broadly stable on sparse offers, restocking needs
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Sentiment in the Middle East polyether polyols import market for January-loading cargo may stay broadly stable as sellers largely maintain offers while buyer participation in the...