Three speciality chemicals companies signed agreements to source more renewable electricity for key sites in February. In Europe, Evonik concluded separate long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for solar and wind power, while Arkema signed multiple agreements covering four main sites in the US and Sasol and Air Liquide have concluded a third PPA in South Africa.

Protesters effectively prevented Sasol’s annual general meeting in Johannesburg from going ahead on 17 November. The meeting was expected to be tumultuous because of a shareholder’s plan to vote against a number of resolutions because of the company’s record on climate targets.

Holiferm has revealed that the Mayor of Wirral, Jeff Green, opened its first commercial biosurfactant plant at Ocean Park in Wallasey, UK, on 16 February. Present were representatives of the global biosurfactant community, including people from Japan, Thailand, South Africa, Germany, France, Belgium and Australia.

Hamburger Energiewerke, Hamburg’s municipal utility, is to build a biomass cogeneration facility at Sasol Chemicals’ Brunsbüttel site. When fully operational in 2025, this will supply at least 70,000 MW/year of ‘green steam’ to the site, enabling Sasol Chemicals to reduce CO₂ emissions by some 13,000 tonnes/year. The company is targeting a 30% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Oaktree Capital Management is to invest $150 million in Czech firm Draslovka, “providing preferred equity capital to support the company’s growth strategy”. This follows multiple recent acquisitions by Draslovksa, a family-owned specialist in CN-based chemicals, including next generation fumigants and biocides.

Draslovka, a specialist in cyanide chemistry based in the Czech Republic, has completed the previously announced acquisition of Chemours’s Mining Solutions business for $521 million. However, its proposed acquisition of Sasol’s sodium cyanide business has been blocked by the South African competition authorities.

Researchers from Sasol and the Catalysis Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT) have announced advances in the use of commercial iron catalyst in CO₂ hydrogenation at rates above 40%. This produces ethylene and light olefins, which can be used as chemical feedstocks and in jet fuel much more cheaply and efficiently than cobalt catalysts.