Impairment taken on Sunliquid plant

Following a financial assessment of the plant as part of the annual impairment testing in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, Clariant is to take an impairment of about CHF 225 million to the current asset value of its recently opened Sunliquid plant in Podari, Romania.

The plant began production in Q2 but has not yet achieved its targeted yields and other operational parameters on an industrial scale. The impairment is based on the delayed ramp-up and the current financial performance and will be reflected in the full year 2022 results, to be announced in March 2023.

Clariant said that it will continue its commercialisation of Sunliquid technology, in which agricultural waste is converted into second-generation cellulosic ethanol for use in aviation fuels and biochemicals. It added that it “aims to address the operational challenges by continuously adjusting production processes with the target of achieving commercial viability of the new technology”.