Merck KGaA has joined the Semiconductor-X research project on the digitalisation of supply chains in the semiconductor industry. Its role, as a supplier of chemicals and materials in this field, will be “to contribute to the development of digital structures and solutions for value chains”.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs & Climate Action (BMWK) and led by Intel Germany and the Fraunhofer IFF, Semiconductor-X currently has 20 members. It will run until September 2026.

Following laboratory trials Integrals Power, a next-generation battery nanomaterials company, has started production of its proprietary advanced cathode active materials (CAMs) at its pilot plant in Milton Keynes. This is one of the first of its kind in the UK and has been developed with localising the supply chain. All of the materials are sourced form European and North American suppliers.

Wacker Chemie has symbolically broken ground for a new 23,000 m² silicones plant at its site at Karlovy Vary, Czechia. The investment volume “is in the low triple-digit million-euro range”, the company said. When fully operational, it will make around 20,000 tonnes/year. The facility will produce customised room-temperature-curing silicones for applications including electromobility, health and medical care, and electricity grid expansion when the first phase is complete at the end of 2025. High-consistency silicone will also be produced from 2028.

Solugen has secured a conditional commitment for a $213.6 million loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programmes Office. This will be used to support the construction of the company’s Bioforge Marshall facility in Marshall, Minnesota, on which it broke ground in April.

American start-up DMC Biotechnologies, which develops and produces chemicals and ingredients using precision fermentation, has agreed to create the ‘Biotech Open Platform’ in partnership with French industrial giants Danone and Michelin, and the investment bank Crédit Agricole. The first-phase investment is over €16 million.

Mitra Chem, a specialist in lithium-ion battery materials, has formed a joint project with inks and pigments giant Sun Chemical to develop the first iron phosphate mass production capability in North America. This will be co-located with Mitra Chem's lithium iron phosphate (LFP) production.

Trillium Renewable Chemicals has chosen Ineos Nitriles’ Green Lake facility in Port Lavaca, Texas, as the site for its Project Falcon demonstration plant to convert plant-based glycerol into acrylonitrile. This should begin operations in early 2025 and will help to validate commercial-scale economics and product carbon footprint at scale, the company said.