Georg Winkler, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, and Alexander Kei, a partner at the firm, explore how sustainability can secure the competitiveness of Europe’s chemical industry*

In the 20 years to 2020, the European chemical industry delivered strong financial performance, providing total return to shareholders (TRS) similar to its North American peers and higher than Asian peers. However, since 2020, chemical companies in Europe have fallen behind their global competitors.

Global lithium chemicals companies Allkem and Livent have reached a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals valuing the combined company at $10.6 billion. The agreement is expected to close by the end of 2023. Allkem and Livent shareholders will hold about 56% and 44% respectively of the stock.

Fujifilm has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire KMG Corporation, the semiconductor high purity process chemicals (HPPC) business of Entegris for $700 million. This will bring it 12 new sites, including seven manufacturing sites in the US, Europe and Singapore, employing about 560.

The company said that it will now be able to offer a wider range of electronic chemicals, including KMG’s line of HPPCs for etching and cleaning silicon wafers. It will also add KMG’s Total Chemical Management (TCM) business, which includes logistical services in Southeast Asia and Europe.

Evonik has begun construction of a new production plant for alkoxides on Jurong Island in Singapore. Described as a “mid double-digit million-euro investment” this will complement sites in Germany, Argentina and the US, supplying the growing Asia-Pacific market when it comes onstream at the end of 2024. The aim is to achieve zero Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions.

CordenPharma is entering synthetic oligonucleotide manufacturing via an investment at its CordenPharma Colorado site. This will draw on its solid-phase peptide manufacturing experience and downstream processing capabilities to offer a fully integrated drug substance and drug product offer.

DSM and Firmenich have completed their merger and will henceforth operate under the name of DSM-Firmenich. The new company will have about 30,000 employees and will operate in four divisions:

Perfumery & Beauty

* Taste, Texture & Health

* Health, Nutrition & Care

* Animal Nutrition & Health

EuroAPI has begun an initial, multi-million-Euro, four-year manufacturing agreement with Novéal, part of the L’Oréal Group. Under this, its CDMO business will develop and industrialise the manufacturing of cosmetic ingredients, with a focus on developing eco-responsible processes.

The deal encompasses several projects, the first of which will take place at the Frankfurt site, which has a dedicated line of complex chemistry production. Chief CDMO officer Cécile Maupas described cosmetics as “a new and growing segment for the business”.