Evonik has agreed to sell its site at Niederkassel-Lülsdorf, Germany, and the associated cyanuric chloride business at Wesseling to International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG). Terms were not disclosed and the deal is scheduled to close in mid-2023, subject to regulatory clearance and approval by the competent Evonik committees. The businesses being divested had sales of around €260 million in 2022.

Evonik is making a “mid-double-digit million euro investment” in a production facility for its Aeroxide brand of fumed aluminium oxide at its site in Yokkaichi, Japan (pictured). This will be its first alumina plant in Asia and will be geared to making ultra-thin separator coatings the next generation lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Construction will begin this summer for a scheduled opening in 2025.

Lanxess and Evonik have separately signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with energy companies Engie and EnBW respectively, under which they will increase the renewable share of their electricity needs in the coming years. The former’s PPA will see 1,400 GWh supplied to seven sites from 17 wind farms and four solar parks in Germany. Meanwhile the latter is taking an additional 50 MW from EnBW’s planned He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the North Sea over the next 15 years, in addition to 100 MW it signed to take last November.

Evonik has completed the previously announced sale of its TAA derivatives business from its Specialty Additives division to Italian firm Sabo. The company said that it in doing this it was “taking the next step in focusing its portfolio on speciality chemicals”, by divesting a business that did not fit in with this strategic focus. TAA derivatives are essential precursors to light stabilisers.

Evonik has sold its TAA derivatives business to Italian chemical company Sabo, which claims to be one of the world's leading manufacturers of light stabilisers. Terms are not being disclosed and the sale is expected to close in early 2023. The sale is part of Evonik’s continuing strategy of focusing its portfolio on speciality chemicals and divesting businesses that no longer fit.

A research team involving Evonik and the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in germany has claimed a breakthrough in hydroformylation, an important reaction in industrial organic chemistry where unsaturated compounds are converted into aldehydes and alcohols using synthesis gas. This has been published in Science.

Evonik has opened a $2.5 million ‘innovation hub’ at its site in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Described as part of its broader globalisation strategy for RD&I, this comprises several testing and processing labs, a pilot plant and a newly designed collaboration space “to support a hybrid and creative work environment”. In all, it will create 50 jobs for scientists, engineers and lab technicians, in addition to 300 already there.