The chemical business has long been one of the more multinational of the world’s industries. Belgian soda ash producer Solvay opened its first US plant near Syracuse, New York, back in 1881. And of course, the chemical industry was central to the post-World War II wave of internationalization. For example, BASF and Dow established Dow Badische Chemical in Freeport, Texas, in 1958. The town is home to integrated chemical complexes important for both companies to this day.
But some evidence suggests the sector is entering a period of deglobalization. The Iran War has companies questioning the wisdom of long supply chains. And the sharp downturn has firms pulling back from less competitive regions. LyondellBasell Industries and Sabic have both been selling off assets in Europe, for instance, and Shell divested its Singapore complex.
Looking at C&EN’s latest ranking of the Global Top 50 chemical firms, it appears that the chemical industry’s largest companies are increasingly regional players that have assets in few countries. The fast-growing Chinese chemical makers, such as Sinopec, PetroChina, Rongsheng Petrochemical, Hengli Petrochemical, and Hengyi Petrochemical, fit this mold. The polyurethane producer Wanhua Chemical, which has a European footprint, is an outlier. So too is Borouge International, a newly formed company that combines Austria’s Borealis, Canada’s Nova Chemicals, and Abu Dhabi’s Borouge.
We at C&EN will continue to track whether there is indeed an enduring trend of companies hunkering down in their home regions.
Questions? Comments? Tips? Send them to me, senior correspondent Alex Tullo, at [email protected].
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Eyeglass lenses have been made basically the same way for nearly 80 years. Credit:
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Business in brief
BASF boosts earnings outlook
BASF has raised its earnings outlook for 2026 after preliminary figures for the second quarter exceeded expectations. Price and demand increases boosted second-quarter operating earnings before taxes to $2.8 billion, beating analyst expectations of $2.4 billion. The company’s net income surged to $4.7 billion from $90 million a year earlier, driven by a $4.5 billion disposal gain from Carlyle’s June acquisition of a 60% stake in BASF’s coatings division. Looking ahead, BASF forecasts between $7.9 billion and $8.8 billion in pretax operating earnings for the year. But it says final figures will depend on the outcome of negotiations between the US and Iran, as access to the Strait of Hormuz continues to affect the transport of energy and petrochemical feedstocks from the Middle East. “A prolonged closure of this trade route would weigh significantly on economic activity,” the company says in a press release.
—Vanessa Zainzinger
Sabic to join Rongsheng project in China
The Saudi Arabian petrochemical maker Sabic and China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical have signed an agreement to collaborate on a project in Zhoushan, China. Sabic will take an up to 50% stake in Rongsheng New Materials (Zhoushan), which is building the Jintang New Materials Project. That project, already underway, is estimated to cost about $9.4 billion and will feature plants to make acetone, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, phenol, propylene oxide, polycarbonate, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, and other products. Sabic’s parent company, Saudi Aramco, bought a 10% stake in Rongsheng for $3.4 billion in 2023. Aramco has been negotiating similar agreements with other Chinese petrochemical producers such as Hengli Petrochemical, Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong, and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical but hasn’t announced any final deals.
—Alex Tullo
Syngenta sues BASF for agchem patent infringement
In a lawsuit filed this month, the agricultural chemical firm Syngenta accuses competitor BASF of infringing on the patent for one of its herbicides. Syngenta’s product combines the herbicide pyroxasulfone with benoxacor, a safener chemical that helps protect crops from the effects of herbicides. The US Environmental Protection Agency registered the product in 2023. In March, BASF announced plans to sell a product that combines the herbicides pyroxasulfone, diflufenzopyr, and dicamba with a safener, which Syngenta says is likely isoxadifen-ethyl. Syngenta claims its patent protects any product that combines pyroxasulfone and related herbicides with a list of safeners, including isoxadifen-ethyl. BASF has yet to respond to the accusation in court.
—Matt Blois
DePoly starts up Swiss facility to demonstrate polyester recycling
The polyester recycling start-up DePoly brought this demonstration plant on line in Monthey, Switzerland, in July. Credit:
DePoly
The recycling start-up DePoly has brought on line what it calls a “showcase” plant in Monthey, Switzerland. The plant will process around 500 metric tons (t) per year of waste polyethylene terephthalate and convert it into its raw materials, purified terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. The new unit will help DePoly prepare for an additional scale-up of its technology to a commercial plant with 50,000 t of annual capacity. The company plans to announce a location for that plant next year.
—Alex Tullo
LG Chem pushes into semiconductor chemical market
The South Korean chemical maker LG Chem has begun mass production of semiconductor photoresist strippers as part of an initiative to become a larger player in electronic materials. LG Chem says it is supplying its stripper to Amkor Technology, a provider of semiconductor assembly and testing services. Such strippers are used to remove photoresist residue from semiconductor substrates after circuit patterning has been completed. LG Chem says its stripper, created with know-how it developed in the display panel stripper business, reduces the time required to remove photoresist residue by about 50%. LG Chem announced its intention to more than double the size of its electronic materials business earlier this year. The company is also expanding supply of semiconductor packaging materials, including copper-clad laminates, die attach films, and photo imageable dielectric.
—Michael McCoy
Air Liquide to expand high-purity gases in Arizona
Air Liquide plans to invest $160 million to build a facility in Arizona that will supply high-purity gases to support an expansion “of a global leader in advanced semiconductor nodes,” it says in a press release. The company won’t name the customer, but the new facility will be located at an existing site. Air Liquide has a facility in Phoenix, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing already operates and is planning a massive expansion. Other semiconductor manufacturers, such as Intel, also have plants nearby. Among the gases the new facility will produce is ultrapure hydrogen, which is used to remove surface oxides in the chip-making process. The hydrogen will be low carbon, and the carbon dioxide captured in its production will be liquefied and purified for use by semiconductor manufacturers.
—Alex Tullo
IFF trims again with sale of botanical extracts unit
The specialty ingredients firm International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has trimmed its portfolio again as it continues to focus on taste, scent, health, and biosciences after its merger with DuPont’s nutrition and biosciences unit in 2019. The latest sale, to the nutraceutical ingredients maker SuanNutra, includes certain food ingredients, colors, and antioxidants, along with botanical extracts, vitamins and minerals, and some flavorings operations in Peru. SuanNutra will get five manufacturing sites in Europe and the Americas that together employ roughly 600 employees. The firms did not disclose financial details, but the businesses in the transaction had revenues of $170 million in 2025. IFF expects the deal to close by the end of this year.
—Craig Bettenhausen
Locus expands oil field biosurfactants lab in Texas
The biosurfactant maker Locus Fermentation Solutions has doubled the size of its laboratory in Woodlands, Texas. Credit:
Locus Fermentation Solutions
The biosurfactant maker Locus Fermentation Solutions has doubled the size of its research and applications laboratory in the Woodlands, Texas. The firm primarily makes sophorolipids and in recent years has shifted away from cleaning and personal care markets toward applications in mining, oil and gas extraction, and other heavy industries. The lab expansion brings the energy and mining technical teams under one roof, the firm says. In a recent oil field trial in west Texas, Locus says, its biosurfactant additives boosted oil and gas production by roughly 20% and reduced operating expenses by $1–$3 per barrel by increasing the ratio of oil to water coming out of the wells.
—Craig Bettenhausen
Quote of the week
Insilico Medicine partners with drug services company Bora
Insilico Medicine, an artificial intelligence drug discovery firm, is partnering with Bora Pharmaceuticals, a services company that manufactures finished-dose products for pharmaceutical and biotech clients. Though no money is changing hands, the collaboration may ultimately be valued at $2.5 billion, the companies announced in a press release. Insilico will leverage its AI platform, Pharma.AI, and combine it with Bora’s drug development and manufacturing capabilities to apply AI and automation-based methods to drug discovery and development.
—Aayushi Pratap
Dai Nippon Printing to acquire Kyowa Pharma Chemical
Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) has agreed to acquire Kyowa Pharma Chemical, which will help it inch toward its goal of leveraging organic synthesis skills rooted in the printing business to become a one-stop shop drug services firm. A DNP subsidiary has an existing active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business. DNP says Kyowa’s advanced organic synthesis technologies and manufacturing facilities are what made the company attractive. “Focused on API production centered on organic synthesis technologies, the company [Kyowa] also manufactures APIs for new pharmaceuticals such as tranexamic acid and prostaglandins,” DNP says in a press release. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Kyowa will be renamed DNP Pharma Chemical.
—Aayushi Pratap
Lyora launches to advance shelved gene therapies for vision loss
Lyora Therapeutics has launched with $2.5 million in seed funding to advance into the clinic gene therapies for vision loss. LYA-101, the firm’s leading gene therapy treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, was licensed from Massachusetts Eye and Ear after the therapy’s development stalled at Biogen. Lyora plans to submit an investigational new drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration for LYA-101 in the next 18 months. Lyora has also licensed two gene therapies from Editas Medicine for treatment of Usher syndrome and another rare eye disease. Lyora says its portfolio consists of biologically validated, one-and-done treatments.
—Max Barnhart
Kira licenses antibody to Mirador before merging with Jasper
Kira Pharmaceuticals, developer of several experimental biologics targeting the complement cascade, has merged with Jasper Therapeutics—but one of its drug candidates is not joining the newly combined firm. Mirador Therapeutics announced Thursday that it had licensed Kira’s KP-301, an antibody designed to stop inflammation related to the complement component C5a, for $12 million. The same day, Kira said it had merged with Jasper, which is also developing antibodies for inflammatory diseases. Jasper has spent the last year sailing through turbulent waters. Manufacturing issues derailed a midstage study of a drug candidate for hives, leading the company to lay off half its workforce and reevaluate its pipeline. Now that it’s combined with Kira, Jasper will focus on the latter firm’s drug candidates, including KP-104, for a rare blood disorder, and KP-701, for autoantibody-mediated disorders.
—Rowan Walrath
