International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), the owner of WeylChem and many other European chemical assets, has acquired the European Advanced Organics business of Valtris Specialty Chemicals. Terms were not disclosed. Valtris’s North American production of benzyl chloride at its Delaware River plant is not part of the deal.

OCSiAl has opened its first European graphene nanotubes facility in Serbia. It will produce 60 tonnes/year under the Tuball band and the company plans to double this by launching a second synthesis unit within the next year. The modular design means it is able to scale production rapidly.

At its latest Capital Markets Day, Merck KGaA said that it is “in a strong strategic position” to profit from medium-term growth opportunities in all three of its business sectors after a transitional year in 2023. “We committed to return to growth in 2024 and this is materialising already,” said Belén Garijo, CEO and chair (pictured).

Posco Future M has conducted the initial shipment of products from its 30,000 tonnes/year nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode material plant in Pohang, South Korea. This was built to supply Samsung SDI with materials for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, following a $2.9 billion supply agreement in January 2023.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has agreed to acquire Arcadium Lithium, the company created by the merger of Livent and Allkem in January, for $5.85/share, which represents a 90% premium to Arcadium’s share price before the deal was announced. The offer values the firm at about $6.7 billion. Both boards have recommended it to shareholders.

Chemours has opened Chemours Battery Innovation Centre (CBIC) at the Chemours Discovery Hub in Newark, Delaware. CBIC will support the testing and scaling of next-generation lithium-ion battery technologies to produce batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. The investment was said to be of multi-million dollars.

Arcadium Lithium, the company formed by the merger of Livent and Allkem at the start of the year, has acquired the lithium metal business of Li-Metal for $11 million. This includes a pilot production facility in Ontario. Li-Metal founder and CTO Maciej Jastrzebski has entered into a consulting agreement to facilitate the transfer of technology and integrate the team.