A remark from a Latin American chemical consultant has stuck with me over the years. It was during the 2008 financial crisis when it wasn’t clear what the full effects would be. I asked him about his experiences during periods of hyperinflation in Argentina. “After a while, you just kind of get used to it,” he remarked.
This reminds me of the fallout due to the Iran war today. Exports of oil, liquefied natural gas, and chemicals through the Strait of Hormuz are still constrained. Prices of gasoline, jet fuel, and petrochemicals are still elevated. Peace talks are stalemated. And it seems that the sense of urgency is a little less than it was a month ago. Maybe we’re kind of getting used to it.
We shouldn’t. If the war lasts a lot longer, those high prices will strain people’s pocketbooks. They won’t have as much to spend, and that could impact growth. Some CEOs are already raising the specter of recession.
Send any questions, comments, or tips to me, senior correspondent Alex Tullo, at [email protected].
Top stories from C&EN
Cargo ships and an Iranian tugboat in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 4. The war in Iran has nearly halted the flow of goods through the strait. Credit:
Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP
Business in brief
Massive petrochemical complex planned for the United Arab Emirates
Ta’ziz, a chemical affiliate of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), has signed an agreement with Alpha Dhabi Holding to build a $10 billion chemical complex in Al Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The companies will conduct a feasibility study for the complex. It would have about 2.2 million metric tons (t) of annual capacity and make 14 chemicals, including styrene, polystyrene, acrylic acid, polyols, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, epoxy resins, and linear α-olefins. Separately, Ta’ziz and partner Proman have obtained $2 billion in financing for a methanol joint venture, also in Al Ruwais. The plant will have 1.8 million t of annual capacity and is targeted for start-up in 2028.
—Alex Tullo
Bayer and BP partner to make fuels from camelina plants
The oil in camelina plants can be used to make fuels. Credit:
Bayer
Bayer and the oil company BP have formed a partnership to jointly advance the production and processing of camelina, a hardy plant with high oil content that can be used to make renewable diesel or aviation fuel. The companies plan to begin scaling camelina growing and processing in the US. Bayer says it will contribute its expertise in seed technology and contacts with farmers to the partnership, while BP will bring its expertise in fuels and refining. Bayer acquired camelina germplasm and associated intellectual property from Canada-based Smart Earth Camelina in January 2025. Bayer has already introduced its Newgold brand camelina seeds in parts of the US and Canada.
—Alex Scott
Celanese is cutting nylon capacity to trim costs
In a streamlining move, Celanese plans to close its nylon 6,6 polymerization plant in Sakra, Singapore, by the end of July 2026. In addition, the company says that optimizing its plants in Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, West Virginia, will reduce overall nylon 6,6 production from those facilities. The company says the actions will deliver annual cost savings of $30 million. At the same time, Celanese says it is expanding in other areas. It is seeking to establish liquid crystal polymer production in China, upgrading engineering polymer compounding in Europe, introducing new processes for medical-grade compounding in Asia, and making improvements to and localizing production in India.
—Alex Tullo
Trillium raises funds and finishes demo acrylonitrile plant
A demonstration plant in Port Lavaca, Texas, will test Trillium’s biobased acrylonitrile technology. Credit:
Trillium
The biobased acrylonitrile firm Trillium Renewable Chemicals has raised $13 million in a series B funding round led by Hyosung Advanced Materials to bring its total fundraising to $26 million. The round comes at the same time as Trillium, one of C&EN’s 10 Start-Ups to Watch in 2023, completed a demonstration plant for its process to convert glycerine into acrylonitrile. Trillium’s Project Falcon is located at the chemical firm Ineos’s nitriles production facility in Port Lavaca, Texas. “Our pilot program validated the chemistry. Falcon validates scale and manufacturability,” Trillium CEO Corey Tyree says in a press release. The firm says it will start production in the next few months and begin shipping product before year-end. As the main feedstock for carbon fiber and a component of the polymer acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, acrylonitrile is an important decarbonization target.
—Craig Bettenhausen
Orbia plans graphite recycling plant in the UK
Orbia Advance has secured a $1.6 million grant from the UK government to build the UK’s first plant dedicated to recycling graphite for use in batteries and other applications. It is part of a package of investments by the government designed to accelerate zero emission technology and to reduce the country’s reliance on supply from China. According to the US Geological Survey, China accounts for about 78% of global graphite production. Orbia plans to begin producing kilogram-scale batches of recycled graphite later this year but has not yet disclosed where it will build its commercial plant.
—Alex Scott
Spanish firms to build 2 plants converting plastics to pyrolysis oil
The Spanish plastic recycling firm Greenertis is set to open a plant in Tarragona, Spain, later this year that will convert plastic waste to pyrolysis oil that can be used to make new plastic. The plant will deploy pyrolysis technology developed by the Austrian firm BDI-BioEnergy International. It will have a capacity to make 36,000 metric tons (t) per year of oil from 50,000 t of plastic waste. Greenertis estimates that at full capacity, the plant will save up to 30,000 t per year of CO2 emissions compared with the production of virgin plastic from fossil fuel. Separately, the Spanish chemical recycling technology developer 2G Chemical Plastic Recycling plans to build a pyrolysis plant that will convert plastic waste to pyrolysis oil in Flix, Spain. Spanish online news outlet APD reports that the combined projects will cost more than $94 million and generate almost 100 jobs.
—Alex Scott
AdvanSix eyes urea plant for diesel exhaust fluid market
The nylon 6 producer AdvanSix says it is studying a potential project to build plants at its Hopewell, Virginia, site that would make urea and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), a urea solution used in newer diesel engines to control emissions. AdvanSix already produces ammonia and carbon dioxide, the raw materials for urea, at the site as part of its nylon production process. Most urea is used in the fertilizer industry. AdvanSix says its urea facility would be the first whose entire output is converted into DEF. Demand for DEF continues to grow while US supply remains constrained, AdvanSix says in a press release.
—Michael McCoy
Westlake enters talks to buy Vynova PVC plant in Germany
The US chemical maker Westlake has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, from Vynova, a European vinyl chemical producer. Vynova declared the German plant insolvent in December, along with a facility that produces the vinyl chloride raw material ethylene dichloride. Vynova is also closing a PVC plant in the Netherlands and has received protection from creditors for a plant in Belgium. Westlake would carry out the purchase through Vinnolit, a German PVC maker it acquired in 2014. Pluta, a restructuring firm appointed to assist Vynova, says in a press release that Westlake intends to keep the 350 or so employees at the Wilhelmshaven site.
—Michael McCoy
Nutrien to pare down fertilizer businesses
Continuing to simplify its focus, the fertilizer maker Nutrien says it plans to sell its phosphates business, a nitrogen fertilizer facility in Trinidad, and a Brazilian seed division. Nutrien’s phosphate sales are much lower than its nitrogen and potash sales, and the company says paring down will help its main businesses function more effectively. Nutrien announced in October that it was shutting down the facility in Trinidad after the country raised the fees to export products from its ports. Nutrien’s phosphate business has come under pressure because of the war in Iran. The conflict has caused the price of sulfur, a key phosphate fertilizer input, to rise. At the same time, the price of fertilizers is increasing, partially offsetting the impact of the war. On a May investor call, executives said the company has already received significant interest in the phosphate business. Separately, the fertilizer firm Mosaic told investors Monday that it’s scaling back phosphate production in the US and Brazil because of high sulfur costs.
—Matt Blois
Debut and Oterra are developing a biobased red colorant
Debut and Oterra are looking for alternatives to the colorant red no. 40 in applications such as yogurt. Credit:
Oterra
The biotech start-up Debut and the food colorant firm Oterra are collaborating on a fermentation-derived alternative to the synthetic food dye red no. 40. The companies say that Debut will handle the fermentation science and that Oterra will use its formulation expertise to develop a product that creates colors spanning orange to violet. The partners hope to commercialize it in about 3 years. The US Food and Drug Administration is pressuring companies to eliminate red no. 40 and other synthetic dyes from food and drinks by the end of next year but hasn’t yet required removal. Oterra has already been working with a number of companies to replace synthetic dyes with plant-derived alternatives.
—Matt Blois
Quote of the week
“Economic growth relies on the free movement of goods. This had already been constrained by rising protectionism. Now, the war in the Middle East is blocking entire trade routes, adding further risk.”
Lilly plans more investments in US manufacturing
Eli Lilly and Company continues its slew of investments in US-based manufacturing. The company, bolstered by strong sales of its popular weight-loss and antidiabetes medicines, has announced a new, $4.5 billion investment to produce drug ingredients at two sites in Lebanon, Indiana. Lilly says part of the funds will go toward “new process designs and technologies” at one of its planned sites to make active ingredients for its range of glucagon-like peptide 1 injectable drugs, as well as its newly approved oral weight-loss medicine and molecules under clinical trials. The rest of the funds will be pumped into Lilly’s advanced therapies site—its first genetic medicine manufacturing facility—which the company recently unveiled. The latest announcement brings Lilly’s commitment to expansion in Indiana since 2020 to more than $21 billion, the firm says in a press release.
—Aayushi Pratap
Angelini Pharma to buy Catalyst for $4.1 billion
The Italian pharmaceutical firm Angelini Pharma has agreed to acquire Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, a maker of drugs for rare neurological and muscular disorders, in a deal that values the Florida firm at $4.1 billion. Catalyst has three drugs approved in the US to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, and seizures. They brought in about $588.8 million in net product revenue last year, according to Catalyst’s most recent annual securities filing. For Angelini, the acquisition is a way to gain a foothold in the US: in a press release, CEO Sergio Marullo di Condojanni says he believes it “will establish Angelini Pharma as a relevant global player in neurological Rare Diseases.”
—Rowan Walrath
Roche signs deal to acquire PathAI
Roche has agreed to acquire PathAI, a Massachusetts-based company focused on artificial intelligence–based diagnostic solutions, for an up-front payment of $750 million and potential milestone payments of up to $300 million. PathAI, founded in 2016, has developed AI algorithms trained on millions of pathology data points. The company says its platform aids in faster analysis of patient tissue samples. The acquisition will boost Roche’s digital pathology portfolio, the Swiss pharma company says in a press release. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, Roche says.
—Aayushi Pratap
