BASF today announced that as part of its portfolio management, it intends to divest its global pigments business.
Announcing the company’s financial results in Ludwigshafen, Martin Brudermüller, CEO, said that the company is initiating the sale of this business, which includes a broad portfolio of pigments and effect pigments as well as preparations. The operation generated sales of around €1 billion ($1.14 billion) in 2018, has approximately 2,600 employees, and serves more than 5,000 customers worldwide. BASF aims to conclude a transaction by the end of 2020 at the latest. Clariant is also in the process of selling its pigments operation.
Responding to CW’s question, Brudermüller said that the operation is no longer driven by innovation, is experiencing slow growth, and has many competitors in Asia. He further said that part of this business was acquired when BASF bought Ciba. BASF tells CW that the pigments business has manufacturing assets in Europe, United States, and Asia. In Europe, plants are located at Maastricht, Netherlands; Cologne, Ludwigshafen, and Besigheim, Germany; Huningue, France; and Monthey, Switzerland. In the United States, the company has facilities at Newport, Hartwell, North Charleston, and Peekskill. It also has a manufacturing facility at Ulsan, South Korea.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
