Karsten Smet, CEO of ACI Group, looks at how we can prepare for further geopolitical upheaval

Seqens is to make an investment of nearly RMB 300 million (€40 million) in three major new production capacity projects for the healthcare and cosmetics markets at Taixing and Wuxi, China. CEO Pierre Luzeau (pictured) announced this during a meeting President Macron had with between President Xi Jinping and Macron in Beijing on 6 April.

Vicky Xia and Joel Ranck of BioPlan share some first insights from the CPHI Annual Report

Having already benefitted from a COVID-based boom in the last two years, outsourcing of biologics globally is set to continue growing significantly in 2023. No production cliff is expected, even as COVID-related contracts reduce in scale, but the rapid growth of China’s biologics sector will slow.

Clariant and Italmatch Chemicals have both announced investments in phosphorus-based flame retardants in China in the past two weeks as demand continues to grow from growth in the use of engineering plastics in the e-mobility, 5G communications, transportation, and electrical and electronic segments.

Flamma USA, the North American arm of the Italian CDMO, has completed the re-commissioning of the HPAPI suite at its site at Malvern, Pennsylvania, following an “exhaustive qualification” over the past six months. This is meant to be a viable alternative for customers early stage HPAPIs when lead times are long for others.

BASF has agreed to partner with China’s SVOLT on the supply of cathode active materials (CAMs), R&D into sustainable battery materials and the ultimate recycling of battery cells. They will also assess joint upstream resourcing to strengthen the security of raw material supply. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Orion Engineered Carbons has begun construction of its second plant in China for speciality and high-performance carbon black at Huaibei in Anhui province. This complements an existing plant in Qingdao, which opened in 1994, and another in South Korea.

The new plant is expected to be completed late next year and to begin operating in 2023. It will have 65,000-70,000 tonnes/year of capacity. Orion will equip the plant to convert its waste heat to steam for sale to the local industrial park.