ChemChina (Beijing), China’s fastest-growing chemical firm, today denied press reports that it is discussing a merger with Sinochem (Beijing). Such a deal would create a chemical giant with annual revenue of $100 billion. “There is no such thing,” ChemChina tells CW.
A Reuters report, citing people familiar with the matter, says the deal has been proposed by the Chinese government to reduce the country’s number of state-owned companies and create larger, more competitive global industry players. Sinochem is taking the lead in the potential merger, the report says.
ChemChina is finalizing its $43-billion acquisition of Syngenta, the world’s biggest producer of agricultural chemicals, in the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company.
Sinochem and ChemChina are each listed on the Fortune Global 500 corporations by revenue. The list puts Sinochem in the 139th place with 2015 revenue of $60.7 billion. ChemChina is number 234 with revenue of $41.4 billion. Sinochem’s businesses include energy, agchems, chemicals, real estate, and financial services.
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?
