ICIS Blogs : investments

Poo Power rises

Green Chemicals — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:02:11 GMT

Don't underestimate the chemical power of waste and sh*t (I think I've just been bleeped!) In Manchester, UK, United Utilities and National Grid have teamed up in building a plant producing biomethane from wastewater sludge. The plant will soon...(read more)

Europe's future chem industry

Green Chemicals — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:55:14 GMT

The European Chemical Industry (Cefic) launched last week its latest sustainability vision project, the F3 Factory , under the EU Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry ( SusChem ). Cefic and its partner EuropaBio created the multi-stakeholder...(read more)

The challenge of biopesticides

Green Chemicals — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:13:07 GMT

Got the copy of my latest article about biopesticide , with pretty cool (and a little gross) graphic of a venus flytrap. As previously tweeted , I was intrigued by how the biopesticide industry have been struggling in the overall pesticide and crop protection...(read more)

Dow Corning green innovation

Green Chemicals — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:50:47 GMT

As mentioned in this week's news roundup, I attended Dow Corning's worldwide press conference (this one held in New York last week) where part of their agenda is to reinforce the company's goals toward sustainability. Dow Corning is a major...(read more)

Green news from Cargill

Green Chemicals — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:49:02 GMT

Natural-based glycerine production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are Cargill's recent top green news. Cargill said today that it has successfully registered and sold over 400,000 tonnes of Verified Emission Offsets through the Canadian Standards...(read more)

Battered by battery news

Green Chemicals — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:15:43 GMT

A lot of chemical investments going on for next generation alternative energy storage (specifically lithium ion), which could accelerate the use of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles in the near future. Just this week, BASF announced its plans to build...(read more)

Ford invests (again) in green products

Green Chemicals — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:21:00 GMT

Ford Motor Company is going back to its roots (soybeans specifically) and is now further investing in more eco-friendly materials and products for automobile parts - interior components front to back, seat cushions and fabrics, underbody and impact shields...(read more)

Chemicals gain in solar energy

Green Chemicals — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:39:11 GMT

It seems that whenever I get tons of wind energy news, the solar market is not far behind. According to this recent report from Linx-AEI Consulting , the global market for advanced chemicals and materials used in photovoltaic solar cells and modules might...(read more)

Windy news

Green Chemicals — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:44:32 GMT

Another catching up I need to do is about several wind energy announcements from the past few weeks. Late last month, the Department of Energy announced that it will provide $93 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support further...(read more)

Cosmetic suppliers say naturals still hot

Green Chemicals — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:19:49 GMT

As mentioned last week, the green blogger attended this year's annual New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Suppliers' Day in New Jersey, and based on interviews that I had with several chemical companies, one trend that continues to be...(read more)

Green plastic surges in Brazil

Green Chemicals — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:45:13 GMT

Several bioplastic news came out last week as reporters from ICIS (the company I work for) covered the recent BrasilPlast tradeshow. Officials from BASF and Corn Products International announced their plans to build a new plant in Sao Paulo for the production...(read more)

AOCS wrap-up Day 1

Green Chemicals — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:16:43 GMT

So here's a snapshot of my days at the American Oil Chemists Society's (AOCS) 100th year meeting in Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, Florida. The meeting was attended by around 1,520 delegates, down from last year's 1,700 mostly because...(read more)

Should solar manufacturers invest in the US?

Green Chemicals — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:30:34 GMT

If the US is expected to become one of the largest solar market, then shouldn't we be investing in solar manufacturing instead of having the solar materials imported? That is one of the ongoing debate being discussed at consulting and tax firm Deloitte...(read more)

Arizone gets into the sun market

Green Chemicals — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:36:52 GMT

It's about time that Arizona invests in solar technology given that they have plenty of raw materials to start with. Nonprofit group Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) is spending $4 million for five new solar investments and the establishment of their...(read more)

Solar energy still bright

Green Chemicals — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:22:16 GMT

Investments might be down a bit this year but it seems the outlook for the solar energy industry is still pretty darn bright, according to this study from SRI Consulting . SRI said the global solar energy market is projected to more than double to reach...(read more)