Plant Watch
BASF commissions new fermentation plant in Ludwigshafen
May 11, 2026 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) announced that its Agricultural Solutions business commissioned a new fermentation plant for biological and biotechnology-based products at the Ludwigshafen site. The products made at the plant include biological fungicides and biological seed treatments.
Air Products to expand gas supply for Samsung Electronics
May 8, 2026 — Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) has been selected by Samsung Electronics to supply industrial gases for its new semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Under the agreement, Air Products will build, own and operate multiple production facilities and a bulk specialty-gas system to supply nitrogen, oxygen, argon and hydrogen. The new facilities are expected to come onstream in multiple phases from 2028 through 2030.
Lanxess inaugurates new plant for lubricant additives in India
April 29, 2026 — Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) inaugurated a new blending plant at its chemical manufacturing site in Jhagadia, Gujarat, India. As part of the first phase of development, the new facility will manufacture specialty lubricant additives.
Nippon Shokubai to expand LiFSI production capacity in China
April 28, 2026 — Nippon Shokubai Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; www.shokubai.co.jp) is expanding its production facilities with an additional 10,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of production capacity for lithium bis (fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSi), a lithium salt used as an electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), at Hunan Fluopont New Materials Co., its joint venture in China. Hunan Fluopont has previously expanded capacity through debottlenecking efforts, reaching 1,200 m.t./yr in 2022 and 2,400 m.t./yr at present. Through this most recent initiative, Nippon Shokubai aims to establish a supply capacity of 12,400 m.t./yr by 2027.
BASF Aroma Ingredients launches new plants in Germany and China
April 28, 2026 — BASF Aroma Ingredients launched three new world-scale plants — plants for producing menthol and linalool in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and a citral production plant in Zhanjiang, China. The citral plant in Zhanjiang will supply the local market, as well as BASF’s expanded downstream production, including menthol and linalool in Ludwigshafen.
Mergers & Acquisitions
DOMO Chemicals sells its Engineered Materials business
May 7, 2026 — DOMO Chemicals (Leuna, Germany; www.domochemicals.com) announced that an affiliate of Lone Star Fund XII, L.P. has agreed to acquire its Engineered Materials (EM) business, including manufacturing sites in Premnitz, Germany, Arco, Italy, Gorzów, Poland and certain Belgian, German, Spanish, Polish and Indian support functions, as well as international entities operating in China, India, South Korea and the U.S.
Air Liquide sells biogas businesses in the U.S., France, Norway and Sweden
May 7, 2026 — Air Liquide S.A. (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) completed the divestment of its biogas production activities in the U.S., France, Norway and Sweden to Mobius Renewables (Houston). The acquisition includes six operating landfill-gas-to-RNG sites in the U.S., five operating farm-waste sites in France and a 51% interest in Redo Biosolutions, which operates production and distribution assets across Norway and Sweden.
LyondellBasell completes sale of European olefins and polyolefins assets
May 4, 2026 — LyondellBasell Industries (Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.lyb.com) completed the sale of select European olefins and polyolefins assets and the associated business and corporate functions to Aequita. The assets sold in the transaction are located in Berre, France, Münchsmünster, Germany, Carrington, U.K. and Tarragona, Spain.
INEOS Enterprises to sell sulfur dioxide business to Ecovyst
May 1, 2026 — INEOS Enterprises (London; www.ineos) has agreed to sell its shares in INEOS Calabrian, its ultra-pure sulfur dioxide and derivatives business, to Ecovyst Inc. (Malvern, Pa.; www.ecovyst.com). INEOS Calabrian operates manufacturing sites in Port Neches, Tex. and Timmins, Ont., Canada. The transaction is valued at $190 million.
Thermo Fisher Scientific to sell its microbiology business as Astorg
April 29, 2026 — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.; www.thermofisher.com) signed a definitive agreement to sell its microbiology business to Astorg, a European private-equity firm, for approximately $1.075 billion. The microbiology business provides antimicrobial-susceptibility testing and culture-media solutions for clinical, pharmaceutical and food-safety testing. The business generated $645 million in revenue in 2025. ■
– Mary Page Bailey