International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has agreed to buy Clariant’s decommissioned bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania, for its biotech CDMO subsidiary Corden BioChem. No financial details were disclosed, but ICIG will rehire “a large proportion” of the laid-off employees and spend a double-digit million Euro sum, mainly in downstream operations, to make the site a flexible CMO.

Clariant has decided to close its Sunliquid bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania. This followed a review that concluded that the economics of the plant could not justify the additional capital expenditure needed to continue the ramp-up.

The company will also downsize the related activities of the Biofuels & Derivatives business line at three sits in Germany. The required capabilities to maintain the technology and to fulfil existing contractual obligations will be kept.

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.

Clariant has announced the official completion of its first commercial-scale Sunliquid plant in Podari, Romania. This will be operational during Q4 and will produce about 50,000 tonnes/year of “almost carbon-neutral” cellulosic ethanol from 250,000 tonnes/year of agricultural residues sourced in the vicinity.