Solvay has agreed to source mixed rare earth oxides (rMREOs) recycled from permanent magnets at the Ontario site of Canadian cleantech start-up Cyclic Materials for use in automotive, renewable wind energy and electronics applications at its site in La Rochelle, France (pictured).

Non-profit organisation CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) has issued its rankings for 2022. These rate about 15,000 companies in multiple industries from about 18,700 who submitted data about their emissions on a scale from A to D- in three categories. In all, 283 received an A for Climate Change, 25 for Forests and 103 for Water Security.

Solvay is to expand its rare earths operations in La Rochelle, France, to enter the value chain for permanent magnets based on alloys of rare earths. These are mostly imported into Europe at present and many rare earths are in short supply. The company itself claims to be the technology leader in their separation, recycling, purification, finishing and formulation.

Solvay has announced plans to invest in an electronic-grade hydrogen peroxide (eH₂O₂) facility, its seventh, on a ten-hectare site in the Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Commerce Park (pictured). This will convert standard H₂O₂ into an ultra-high purity grade to clean silicon wafers for semiconductors, supporting growing manufacture in the US.

Solvay has launched a fourth growth platform, complementing existing ones in battery materials, green hydrogen and thermoplastic composites. This will focus on developing sustainable products for multiple markets using renewable feedstocks and biotechnology.

Solvay has launched a growth platform focused on renewable materials and biotechnology, complementing existing ones in battery materials, green hydrogen and thermoplastic composites. This will focus on developing sustainable products for multiple markets using renewable feedstocks and biotechnology.

“The new platform will bring together several Solvay businesses to help meet growing demand for sustainable solutions by increasing the share of renewable carbon in Solvay’s product offering and developing new business opportunities enabled by biotechnology,” the company stated. I

Following on from the examples of other major chemicals companies, such as Bayer and DuPont, Solvay is reviewing plans to separate into two independent publicly traded companies. The process is expected to be completed in 2H 2023.

The company said that the separation “would establish two strong industry leaders that would benefit from the strategic and financial flexibility to focus on their distinctive business models, market and stakeholder priorities”.