Major Chemical Industry Events in October | BASF Delays Production Resumption, Invista Announces Restart, Bayer Faces 58,000 Claims
The major chemical industry events for October are here! Let’s take a look at the significant developments in the chemical sector this month. We’ll cover company updates, policy trends, market conditions, and new chemical projects to provide a comprehensive roundup of the industry's key monthly events.
Company updates
1. Invista Resumes Production
On October 23, Invista announced it would resume production of hexamethylene diamine (HMD) at its Orange, Texas, facility. Originally, this plant was scheduled to halt HMD production by mid-2024. Invista had also announced in July the restart of HMD production at its Maitland, Canada facility, closed since 2009, with operations expected to begin in Q1 2025.
Additionally, Invista completed an expansion of its nylon 6,6 polymer production facility in Shanghai in August, doubling capacity to 400,000 tons/year, along with a capacity of 470,000 tons/year for adiponitrile and 316,000 tons/year for HMD.
2. BASF Delays Production Restart
On October 17, BASF updated its Ludwigshafen facility incident, stating that Vitamin A production will resume in April 2025, and Vitamin E and carotenoid production in July 2025. Since the explosion at BASF's Ludwigshafen plant, domestic Vitamin A prices in China reached a peak of 320-340 RMB/kg, and Vitamin E prices rose to 155-170 RMB/kg. However, as prices increased, end-user demand in China declined, while trade participants showed more willingness to sell, leading to a continuous price drop. As of October 17, domestic Vitamin A prices had fallen to 145-165 RMB/kg, down 175 RMB/kg from the peak, and Vitamin E prices had dropped to 120-130 RMB/kg, a decrease of 35-40 RMB/kg from the high. With BASF's production resumption delayed, short-term prices may find some support.
3. Bayer Faces Large-Scale Lawsuits Related to Monsanto
Bayer has been ordered to pay up to $78 million in damages to a man in Pennsylvania who claims he developed a deadly cancer from using Bayer's Roundup herbicide. In previous cases involving Roundup, Bayer won 14 out of 20 lawsuits but has also faced several significant judgments, including a ruling in November last year requiring them to pay $1.56 billion, later reduced to $611 million, and another in January this year for $2.25 billion, which was later lowered to $400 million.
Bayer acquired the Roundup brand as part of its $63 billion purchase of agricultural chemical company Monsanto in 2018. In 2020, the German company resolved most outstanding lawsuits, paying $10.9 billion, but according to its latest financial report, Bayer still faces approximately 58,000 similar claims.
4. Huafeng Chemical Expands through Mergers and Acquisitions
Global polyurethane leader Huafeng Chemical is acquiring 100% of "Zhejiang Huafeng Thermoplastic" and "Zhejiang Huafeng Synthetic" from Huafeng Group. This integration strengthens Huafeng’s position in the polyurethane sector, where it is the world’s second-largest producer of spandex and China’s top producer of polyurethane raw materials and adipic acid.
In Q1-Q3 2024, Huafeng reported 20.37 billion RMB in revenue, up 3.51%, and net profits of 2.015 billion RMB, up 4.46%. The company is also enhancing its upstream capacity, including expanding BDO and PTMEG production to 250,000 and 240,000 tons annually, respectively.
5. Meirui New Material Starts HDI Production
The first-phase HDI monomer facility of Meirui New Materials’ polyurethane industrial park in Henan has successfully produced qualifying products, meeting the set performance standards. The project is now advancing to trial operations for subsequent processes. Construction for this phase began in Q4 2022, and upon completion, it will achieve an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of specialty isocyanates. This includes 100,000 tons of HDI (hexamethylene diisocyanate and its derivatives), 15,000 tons of CHDI (1,4-cyclohexane diisocyanate), and 5,000 tons of PPDI (p-phenylene diisocyanate).
Globally, with the commissioning of Meirui New Materials’ HDI facility, its capacity will match Wanhua’s, ranking second only to Covestro. Global HDI production capacities are distributed as follows: Covestro (190,000 tons/year), Vencorex (70,000 tons/year), Tosoh (22,000 tons/year), Asahi Kasei (22,000 tons/year), Wanhua (100,000 tons/year, with a 100,000-ton expansion completed in June), Meirui New Materials (first-phase, 100,000 tons/year, now operational), and NHU (100,000 tons/year, including planned capacity).
In the first half of 2024, the domestic HDI average price was around 35,000 RMB/ton, with the raw material HMD (hexamethylene diamine) priced around 26,000 RMB/ton, causing the price spread between HDI and HMD to narrow.
Policy Developments
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have jointly issued the Guidelines for Building Pilot Platforms for New Materials (2024-2027). These guidelines focus on advancing critical common technologies to address gaps in essential materials and foster innovation in frontier materials. The goal is to support the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements and enhance industrialization capabilities.
The policy encourages local governments to establish and upgrade pilot platforms for new materials. By 2027, the aim is to establish approximately 300 regional pilot platforms for new materials and to select and cultivate around 20 high-level platforms. These platforms will prioritize specialized construction, market-oriented operations, and open services, forming a robust pilot platform ecosystem.
领英推荐
Market Trends
In October, China's key economic indices showed modest growth, indicating a steady recovery in manufacturing and service sectors:
The Production Index increased to 52%, up 0.8 points, indicating accelerated production growth among manufacturing firms. Similarly, the New Orders Index edged up to 50%, crossing the expansion threshold, driven partly by recent rises in certain commodity prices. This led to significant increases in the Raw Material Purchase Price Index (53.4%) and the Ex-factory Price Index (49.9%), up by 8.3 and 5.9 points respectively, reflecting improved market pricing conditions.
By enterprise size:
Lastly, the Production and Business Activity Expectations Index rose to 54%, the highest in four months, reflecting growing optimism among businesses as supportive economic factors continue to accumulate.
New Chemical Projects
1. China’s Largest Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC) Project Begins Production
The first phase of Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group’s DMC project, located in Yulin, has commenced operations with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year, producing premium-grade DMC. With a total investment of 4.765 billion RMB, this facility will become China’s largest production base for battery electrolyte solvents and marks the first high-purity (battery-grade) DMC project in Shaanxi. DMC is a critical material for polycarbonate production and lithium batteries, offering high market potential and added value.
2. Ascend Opens Nylon Production Base in China
On October 23, Ascend Performance Materials inaugurated its nylon and hexamethylene diamine (HMD) integrated production base in Xuwei New District, Lianyungang, China. This site, Ascend’s first manufacturing facility outside the U.S. and its largest investment to date (4.2 billion RMB), includes an HMD production line with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons. This expansion will increase Ascend's global HMD capacity by 50% and provide essential materials for high-performance polyamide 66 and specialty amines.
3. Shenghong Petrochemical’s 6 Billion RMB Chemical Project Starts Production
Shenghong Petrochemical’s new materials project, which includes POSM (propylene oxide/styrene monomer) and polyol production units, began production in October. With a total investment of 6.034 billion RMB, the project utilizes advanced, environmentally-friendly processing technologies that minimize pollutant emissions. Connected to Shenghong’s refinery, it can produce 200,000 tons of propylene oxide, 450,000 tons of styrene, 115,000 tons of polyether polyols, and 25,000 tons of polymer polyols annually.
4. Longhua New Materials Prepares for Production of 40,000-ton PA66 Project
Longhua New Materials announced that the first phase of its PA66 (nylon 66) project, with a 40,000-ton annual capacity, has completed construction and equipment testing, and is ready for trial production. In Q1-Q3 2024, Longhua reported revenue of 4.328 billion RMB (up 25.15% year-on-year) but a 22.18% decrease in net profit. The company’s polyether sales reached 470,000 tons, up 26.45% year-on-year.
5. Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) Project Begins in Qingdao
On October 15, Qingdao Chengzhi Huqing Chemical New Materials Company commenced construction on a project to produce 40,000 tons per year of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. Located in the Dongjiakou Economic Zone, this project, with a total investment of 5.4 billion RMB, is part of Shandong’s 2023 major projects. The first phase includes a 200,000-ton/year polyolefin elastomer (POE) production line and a 40,000-ton/year UHMWPE production line.
6. 300,000-ton EVA Project Approved in Jiangsu
On October 15, Jiangsu Sopo New Material Technology’s vinyl acetate and EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) integrated project received approval for the environmental impact assessment of its first-phase construction. The project, divided into two phases, will include a 330,000-ton/year vinyl acetate facility in the first phase and a 300,000-ton/year EVA facility in the second phase. Utilizing tubular production technology, it will produce photovoltaic-grade EVA resin with 28% VA content.