Ineos (London) announced that Ineos Nitriles intends to invest in a world-scale acetonitrile production facility at their key operating site in Köln, Germany. The facility will have a production capacity of 15,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr).
Ineos Nitriles’ Köln site (Source: Ineos)
Acetonitrile is a critical chemical in the production of existing pharmaceuticals as well as the development of new drugs such as those used to fight COVID-19. Acetonitrile is also a key component in the important agrochemicals and bioscience sectors.
The substantial investment in the new facility in Europe aims to enhance Ineos’ supply position to its European customer base and support the growth of some of Europe’s most strategically important industry sectors. The new unit will be built with INEOS’ latest process technology and aims to substantially improve the sustainability of the supply to customers and also reduce the environmental impact.
“INEOS Nitriles is today the largest producer of Acetonitrile in the world and we will continue to invest in this important specialty product to support the growth of our customers in various applications”, said Hans Casier, CEO INEOS Nitriles. “I’m especially pleased as this investment will bring back production capacity to Europe for this key product and it demonstrates our commitment to underpin and reinforce our Nitriles production platform on the Köln site.”