Danish enzymes and ingredients firms Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have announced that their post-merger name will be Novonesis. This is derived from the Latin word for ‘new’ that is already in Novozymes’ name and the Green for ‘origin’ or ‘beginning’, to acknowledge the role Ancient Greek thinkers played in the development of science.

Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have agreed to merge in what will be the largest ever such move between two Danish firms. The combined entity would have sales of €3.5 billion/year. Revenue synergies upwards of over €200 million and 6-8%/year growth to 2025 are expected.

The Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), a collaboration between the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, the Climate Disclosure Project and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to drive corporate climate action, has validated the latest greenhouse gas reduction (GHG) targets of three chemical companies as both science-based and aligned with the UN Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5ºC this century.

Clariant, Solvay, Chemours and Novozymes have all announced plans to suspend business with Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. They have all also pledged support for employees in the affected countries and made donations to support relief operations.

Clariant suspended operations with immediate effect. CEO Conrad Keijzer said: “Continuing to do business under these circumstances is incompatible with our purpose and values”. The company has a sales office and a laboratory in Moscow, which contribute about 2% of its sales. It also employs 146 people in Ukraine.

Karan Chechi of ChemAnalyst looks at why demand is growing for a key alternative to agrochemicals

Agrochemicals such as pesticides, fertilisers and plant growth enhancers have played a crucial role over the last century. They allowed agricultural productivity to keep up with population growth and saved billions from starvation.

Industrial enzymes giant Novozymes, several cleaning companies, start-up firm Aks2tal and the Danish municipality of Gladsaxe have formed a local partnership to test the former’s probiotic cleaning product, Microvia Pro. This is taking place in office and canteen areas at multiple locations in Gladsaxe over six weeks from 3 May onwards.

Enzymes giant Novozymes has revealed that it is diversifying into biocontrol in agriculture. The company said that it sees this emerging sector as having huge growth potential, as pests continue to cause billions of dollars in damage to crops every year while pressure is continuing to restrict the use of chemical pesticides.