LONDON (ICIS)–Evonik is spinning out its infrastructure activities in Marl and Wesseling chemicals parks to become new companies, the German firm said on Thursday in a statement. The newly minted SYNEQT will begin operations on 1 January 2026, initially as a wholly owned subsidiary of Evonik, but could become open to investors “taking different stakes to provide further funds to grow the business”, the company said. SYNEQT will comprise 3,500 employees (3,000 in Marl, 500 in Wesseling) and will have an estimated revenue of €1.8bn, based on 2024 annual results. “So far, we at Evonik have largely combined everything under one roof,” said Thomas Wessel, chief human resources officer and labor director at Evonik, responsible for the company’s infrastructure units. “In a world in which more and more specialist knowledge is needed to assert oneself at the top in the respective field, a different setup is needed.” The move will combine two of Evonik’s infrastructure sites at the Rhine and Ruhr rivers to become one of the largest service providers for the process industry in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. The medium-sized firm will build on experience in all services related to chemical plants and other process industries, with expertise including: Energy supply Pipeline construction and operation Safe facility and plant management Technical services Waste disposal Port operations Plant logistics and fire brigades Plant security and canteen operations “At SYNEQT, we have combined all the qualifications and fundamentals to be able to develop the sites in the long term into climate-neutral, digitally networked and highly flexible industrial ecosystems with modular, tailor-made assets, closed material cycles and smart services,” said SYNEQT management spokesman Thomas Basten. Wessel cautioned that the move would take time, and while terms of employment for those affected would not generally change, SYNEQT employees would not be exempt from Evonik’s long-term efficiency measures. Evonik was both the operator and largest customer of the Marl and Wesseling chemical parks, but is now shifting its focus to its core chemicals production business, and the decision to siphon off its services activities was set in motion about two years ago. SYNEQT’s business assets provide customized services to around two dozen companies – with nearly 20 based in Marl, and a further five located in Wesseling – currently as part of Evonik. Both Marl and Wesseling already operate an industrial hydrogen network and are connected to raw material and energy pipelines, which SYNEQT intends to leverage towards climate-neutral, economically sustainable operations. Headquartered in Marl, the management of SYNEQT is made up of Thomas Basten (spokesman), Daniel Brünink and Andreas Orwat. The name stands for SYNergies, paired with Energy, Quality and Technical Expertise. Around 10,000 staff work at the Marl Chemical Park across approximately 900 buildings and 100 production facilities. A further 1,500 employees from 10 plants operate from the Wesseling Chemical Park, where Evonik produces silica and precursors for animal feed additives. Thumbnail image shows Evonik headquarters in Essen. Credit: Shutterstock

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US railroads BNSF and CSX are offering several new intermodal services designed to offer seamless, efficient connections from coast to coast, an alliance that is supported by the head of the chemical distributors association. “It’s kind of like an alliance that you see in shipping,” Eric Byer, president and CEO of the Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD) told ICIS. “I think it is a brilliant idea that all the railroads should look at.” One new service will connect southern California, home to the major container import ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, to Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida. Another will connect Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia, designed to shift over-the-road (OTR) volumes from truck to rail. A new service will also connect the Port of New York and New Jersey to Norfolk, Virginia, and Kansas City, Missouri. Between Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona, two new 10,000-foot sidings will further support this growing market by enabling more efficient meet/pass operations on the route connecting to BNSF’s Southern Transcon. “This collaboration between BNSF and CSX demonstrates the power of partnership, delivering greater flexibility, efficiency and value for our customers,” BNSF Group Vice President of Consumer Products Jon Gabriel said. The agreement comes after two other Class 1 railroads – Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) – agreed to merge in a deal that they said enhances competition and creates a more reliable and efficient transcontinental service option. Byer said the alliance shows him that the merger was not necessary and that something like this is likely better for ACD membership. “I think it will be a better value for our members because the alliance is using the existing system to keep customers happy,” Byer said. “You don’t have to do a merger where it is going to cost a ton of money.” Byer said he hopes the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the agency charged with approving the UP-NS merger, will look at this alliance as a clear alternative. “I think it is a much better route,” Byer said. In the US, chemical rail car loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. Chemicals are generally shipped in tank cars (liquids and liquefied gases), hopper cars (dry commodities); and some boxcars (dry bulk or packaged chemical products). In Canada, producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail. Thumbnail image shows a railroad track. Photo by Shutterstock

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Evonik has opened a 100,000 tonne/year alkoxides plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island, the largest of its kind in southeast Asia, the German specialty chemicals producer said on Wednesday. First announced in 2023, the “mid double-digit million euro investment” facility will meet demand for alkoxides in Asia, Evonik said in a statement. Demand for biodiesels is growing, particularly in southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, said Evonik Asia Pacific president Claus Rettig. “By producing closer to our customers, we enhance supply security and agility, while also contributing to Singapore’s vision for a sustainable chemical industry,” said Lauren Kjeldsen, chief operating officer Custom Solutions at Evonik. “We are glad that partners like Evonik have given us your vote of confidence by investing in Jurong Island to scale production of specialty chemicals that will serve growing regional and global demand,” Singapore’s minister for sustainability and the environment, Grace Fu, said at the plant’s launch on Wednesday. Besides the new Singapore plant, Evonik also has alkoxide plants in Germany, Argentina and the US. Alkoxides, or sodium methylates, are primarily used for biodiesel production and can also be used in chemical recycling.

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Ocean carriers have announced rate increases for shipping containers on the Asia-US trade lane, but industry analysts expect rates to continue facing downward pressure amid soft demand and the lack of a peak season. Lars Jensen, president of consultant Vespucci Maritime, said the rate hike announcements have been a monthly occurrence without much success. “Carriers have announced rate increases of $1,000-3,000/FEU (40-foot equivalent unit) from 1 September on the Pacific, but they have also done so basically every fortnight for the past couple of months without any success, leading to rates which are now becoming unsustainably low,” Jensen said. Jensen noted that the announcement on Friday by US President Donald Trump of a major investigation on furniture entering the country could prop up demand. “Furniture coming from other Countries into the United States will be Tariffed at a Rate yet to be determined,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. Jensen said the two HS codes 9403 and 9401, covering furniture and parts as well as seats and furniture, accounted for 800,000 TEU of imports equal to some 6.9% of total US imports in the second quarter of this year. “A sharp ramp-up in tariffs could therefore have a material impact on container demand,” Jensen said. “It should be noted that there was a strong year-on-year increase in furniture imports early in 2025 and hence importers appear to have frontloaded cargo prior to such tariffs.” NO PEAK SEASON IN 2025 Even as carriers announce general rate increases (GRIs) for September, shippers need not worry about peak season surcharges, according to an analyst at ocean and freight rate analytics firm Xeneta. Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, said the continuing trend for increasing capacity on fronthaul trades and subdued ocean container shipping demand will contribute to spot rates falling further in the coming weeks. “Shippers should not fear peak season surcharges because, quite simply, there is no traditional peak season in 2025,” Sand said. Sand said average spot rates to the US East Coast are now at the lowest level since the end of 2023. “The rate of decline may have slowed from the dramatic drops in July, but this gradual erosion will continue because there is still room for spot rates to fall further,” Sand said. The low spot rates will also impact negotiations for long-term contracts going forward, Sand said. “Shippers looking to sign new long-term contracts have much to consider because they must balance where rates are right now, where they are likely to be in 2026, and how much of an impact the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea conflict should have on the rates they are paying on each trade,” Sand said. Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers. They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks. Visit the US tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and energy topic page Visit the Logistics: Impact on chemicals and energy topic page

BARCELONA (ICIS)–Chemical companies may see drastic AI-driven changes in sales, marketing, supply chain and product development but it will always augment, not replace humans. Companies need to work out their pain points and ambition Quantifying AI’s business value is a key challenge Companies often run siloed projects without a unified strategy Clean, trusted data is essential for AI success AI should augment, not replace, human decision-making Governance and ethical frameworks are critical safeguards AI can reshape supply chains and customer engagement Cultural change and workforce education are vital AI raises questions about intellectual property AI adoption in chemicals is still at an early stage In this ICIS Think Tank podcast, Will Beacham interviews AI entrepreneur and consultant Eleanor Manley, Sebastian Rau, director of advanced analytics for ICIS and Carlos Soares, senior vice president for data, analytics & AI at Brenntag. Editor’s note: This podcast is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the presenter and interviewees, and do not necessarily represent those of ICIS. ICIS is organising regular updates to help the industry understand current market trends. Register here . Read the latest issue of ICIS Chemical Business. Read Paul Hodges and John Richardson’s ICIS blogs.

Denmark sees full biomethane reliance this summer Scaled-up biomethane output bolstered security of supply during crisis Energinet working with Germany to reach agreement on technical specifications BUCHAREST (ICIS)–Denmark is planning to scale up its biomethane production amid a greater push to phase out fossil gas domestically and ramp up exports to Europe. In an interview with ICIS, three experts at the Danish gas and electricity grid operator Energinet, confirmed the country had reached several days of full reliance on biomethane this and last summer. The trend is likely to increase as Denmark intends to expand annual production – currently hovering above 8TWh – by another 25% in the next two years and fully replace fossil gas with renewable gas by the beginning of the next decade. ‘If you have a vision for 35 billion cubic meters (bcm)/year for biomethane in the EU, then you also need some scale,’ said  Jeppe Bjerg, lead development manager. ‘You need to produce where resources are abundant and it’s a cost-effective solution. You cannot rely just on a 10 to 20-year time horizon; you need a market that is stable,’ he explained. SECURITY OF SUPPLY Denmark is a leader in biomethane output, holding top spot along with the UK, France and Germany among the largest producers in the EU. The push towards full fossil phaseout and replacement with renewable gases mirrors the EU’s commitments, but Bjerg said that the expansion of biomethane production has also brought security of supply dividends. “When we had the energy crisis in 2022, we started to see that biomethane production was making a real contribution to security of supply. It helped us. It’s not normally how we look at security of supply but when you produce 20% of your physical demand [of biomethane] you begin to see it,” Bjerg said. “We were laughing when its share was 0.5% initially but it has reached sufficient levels to shield us from the crisis,” he added. Bjerg believes that the key to Denmark’s biomethane production growth lies in a combination of running a well-developed agricultural sector and logistical chain, transparency, an outward looking attitude and, critically, generous subsidies similar to those forked out to the heating sector. Thanks to all these factors, Denmark has seen significant growth. Since 2013, when the sector was established, Denmark saw the establishment of 60 plants which are currently working at full capacity. Some of them have attracted large investor interest, such as Shell’s, which spent close to €2bn  in 2022 to snap up plants and associated infrastructure. Bjerg admitted that demand has been decreasing amid the expansion of electrification but said that export requirements will keep the sector viable in the longer term. GUARANTEES OF ORIGIN The success of exports depends on two factors, Energinet experts said. Firstly, Denmark is one of the EU’s front runners in trading guarantees of origin and linking up with the bloc’s Union Database for Fuels, a system tracking the production of liquid and gaseous fuels to ensure compliance with renewable energy targets. UDB is expected to be operational from next year and allow countries in the EU and immediate neighbourhood, such as Ukraine, to engage in cross-border trading. Data by the Danish Biogas Association show that more than 60% of local guarantees of origin for Danish-produced biogas were traded in Sweden and Germany. The remaining 20% were distributed in other EU countries and only 13% of Danish GOs were traded locally. The cost of GOs’ is becoming increasingly affordable, hovering at an average €15.00/MWh, a major decrease from €50-€60/MWh at the start of the industry, Bjerg said. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Secondly, Rasmus Neergaard Jacobsen, Energinet’s chief commercial manager and senior economist Lasse Ellebaek Krogh said the EU’s expansion of biomethane production will depend on harmonising technical specifications. Neergaard Jacobsen said Energinet and local distribution system operators had a very ‘embracing’ attitude from the start, trying to tackle operational challenges. “We do not establish compressor stations all over the place only where we can’t deal with challenges,” he added. Jacobsen said that one of the reasons Energinet was able to connect so many plants to the grid in Denmark was because the operator decided to increase the oxygen specification to 0.5% which was technically possible at a large scale at the time. “A lot of the new plants are able to work at lower level at 0.1 or 0.2% and today the gas we can export to Poland is at 0.2%,” he added. Ellebaek Krogh said exports to Germany are difficult because the locally accepted oxygen specification is 0.001%. He said Energinet was in talks with the distribution system operator in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, to establish a biomethane zone. “We can export the amount that they consume in that particular area and ensure that high oxygen levels do not impact them,” he said. The alternative would be to find a solution on the Danish side of the border that would still facilitate the exports to Germany. ICIS has expanded its coverage of the emerging biomethane market via the development of the topic page “European biomethane: data, news and analysis”. Click here to access

MUMBAI (ICIS)–State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has begun land acquisition and pre-project activities for its 9 million tonne/year greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex near Ramayapatnam port in the southeastern Andhra Pradesh state, company chairman Sanjay Khanna said. “This strategic investment will further expand BPCL’s petrochemical portfolio, provide a natural hedge against petroleum products in the long run, and align with India’s vision of becoming a global refining and petrochemical hub,” Khanna said during the company’s annual general meeting on 25 August. BPCL expects to invest rupee (Rs) 61 billion ($695.3 million) to set up the refinery project. The project will have an ethylene production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes/year is expected to have a petrochemical intensity index (PI) of 35%. PII is a measure of the percentage of crude oil that will be converted into chemicals. Once operational, BPCL plans to market around 80% of the new refinery’s products domestically to downstream producers and automobile manufactures in southern India. The new refinery is part of BPCL’s plan to invest Rs1.7 trillion over the next five years to grow its refining and fuel marketing business, as well as expand its petrochemicals and green energy businesses. Project Location Details Andhra Pradesh refinery and petrochemical complex Nellore, Andhra Pradesh Land acquisition, feasibility studies ongoing Bina Refinery Expansion Project Bina, Madhya Pradesh Includes refinery expansion and petrochemical projects. Commissioning by May 2028 Kochi Polypropylene Project Kochi, Kerala Expected to become operational by December 2027 Mumbai Refinery Upgradation Project Mumbai, Maharashtra Replacement of CCU & FCCU with PRFCC. Completion by May 2029 Bargarh ethanol project Bargarh, Odisha Ethanol plant to begin operations in September 2025 The company’s planned petrochemical expansions include the petrochemical projects at its Bina refinery in the central Madhya Pradesh state, and the Kochi refinery in the southern Kerala state. The Bina refinery project is a brownfield expansion that will raise the refinery’s capacity by 41% to 11m tonnes/year, to cater to the requirements of upcoming petrochemical plants, which include a 1.2 million tonnes/year ethylene cracker and downstream units. The site is expected to produce 1.15 million tonne/year of polyethylene (PE) including high density PE (HDPE) and linear low density PE (LLDPE) and 550,000 tonne/year of polypropylene (PP) and other chemicals like benzene, toluene, xylene and others. The Bina refinery project is on track for completion by May 2028 while the 400,000 tonne/year PP project at Kochi is expected to begin operations by December 2027, as per the annual report. BPCL is also investing Rs142 billion to upgrade its Mumbai refinery by replacing the catalytic cracking unit (CCU) and fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) with a petro resid fluidized catalytic cracking unit (PRFCCU), company chairman Sanjay Khanna said. The company expects to complete the upgrade by May 2029. Separately, the company expects to begin operations at its 200 kilolitre/day ethanol plant at Bargarh in the eastern Odisha state by September 2025. The ethanol plant is currently in pre-commissioning stage and once operational, the integrated refinery is expected to produce both first generation (1G) as well as second generation (2G) ethanol using rice grain and paddy straw as feedstock.

Shifting China energy mix focuses on power demand Gas-power to rise in the next two decades LNG-powered trucks being replaced by electric truck SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s energy transition is redefining the roles of energy use cases despite a significant increase in renewables. For example, natural gas demand from sectors like heavy-duty trucks is declining, but gas-fired power generation is securing a new and vital role as a “flexible regulator” for the grid. As a result, gas-fired power is projected to continue its growth, serving a crucial function for grid stability and ensuring its place in China’s energy mix for the next two decades. The pace of new sources in China’s energy mix is changing forecasts for fossil fuel demand, including LNG as more supply comes online with growing electricity demand at the forefront for transport, industrial and consumer uses. In previous summers, the government would often limit industrial power to ensure stable residential supply during peak demand. This was a period when LNG power generation typically saw a significant increase. This year, the National Energy Administration (NEA) reported a record-high national electricity load in July, exceeding 1.5 billion kilowatts. The country generated 926.7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in July, up 3.1 % from industrial units above the designated size. From January to July, as a whole, power generation reached 5.47 trillion kWh, up 1.3 % compared with the same period of last year, according to a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) release on 15 August. In contrast, according to China Customs, natural gas imports (including pipeline gas and LNG) decreased by 6.9% year-on-year from January-July 2025. RENEWABLES GAINS HARDER TO COUNT By the end of June 2025, solar capacity, aided by supportive policies and affordable raw materials has been a cornerstone of China’s rapid renewable energy capacity expansion. Renewables now provide a total 1.67 billion kilowatts, based on NEA data. This far surpasses the government’s original goal of 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030. From January to July 2025, the renewable power generation increased by 10.6%, reaching approximately 30% of all electricity generated. When nuclear power is included, the total share of non-fossil fuel electricity reached 35%, still falling short of the government’s target of 39% non-fossil fuel electricity generation by the end of 2025. However, a renewables analyst said that actual wind and solar power generation in China is higher than official statistics. Lauri Myllyvirta, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), notes that the monthly data from NBS on wind and solar generation is now highly restricted. For instance, the data excludes “distributed” rooftop solar and smaller centralized solar plants, meaning it only accounts for roughly half of the actual solar power being generated. Over the last decade, the share of coal-fired power has dropped by about 10%, sitting at 65% in July 2025. Meanwhile, the share of gas-fired power has remained steady at around 3% from 2015 to 2024 and did not decrease with the decline in thermal power’s overall share. REDIFINING ENERGY SOURCE ROLES Based on official government statements, we can see how different energy types are being positioned within China’s energy mix. Renewables: President Xi Jinping has emphasized that national energy security will depend on new energy sources. This aligns with the rapid growth of wind and solar, as well as new projects like the Yarlung Tsangpo River hydropower station. A research shows that wind and solar generation shares can increase to 41% by 2030 and 49% by 2035. Coal: Coal is designated as the “ballast stone” for energy supply. Coal-fired power are filling the gap between total electricity demand and the generation from cleaner sources like wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear. As clean energy generation grows, coal’s role as a gap-filler is shrinking. Gas: Gas-fired power is transitioning from a supplement to coal to a flexible regulator. In coastal regions with numerous LNG terminals and high-tech manufacturing, it remains a critical insurance policy during peak demand seasons. This is why Guangdong, China’s largest electricity-consuming province, recently increased its capacity price for gas-fired generators.  GAS-FIRED POWER GENERATION TO RISE  Despite the significant growth in renewable energy generation, gas-fired power remains crucial for grid stability and is expected to continue growing until 2045. NEA is pushing for a “natural gas and electricity market synergy mechanism.” This will ensure reasonable returns for gas-fired power through capacity compensation and ancillary service markets. Furthermore, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and NEA are promoting “natural gas and renewable energy enterprise joint operations.” This includes “wind-solar-gas-storage integration” projects, which use the fast start-up capabilities of gas-fired units to compensate for the intermittent nature of wind and solar. In 2024, China installed 19.5 gigawatts of new gas-fired power capacity, more than any other country in the world, according to Global Energy Monitor (GEM). A report from Sinopec predicts that China’s gas-fired power generation is projected to continue growing, reaching 550 billion kWh in 2030, accounting for nearly 4% of the country’s total power generation. It will then peak around 2045, with the share down to below 3%. During this period, as variable renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower see rapid growth and energy storage infrastructure remains underdeveloped, gas-fired power generation is poised for a significant window of opportunity, leading to a rapid increase in installed capacity. CHALLENGES TO LNG DEMAND While gas-fired power is carving out a new, stable role, LNG demand in other sectors is facing headwinds. The domestic heavy-duty truck market is seeing a shifting landscape. From January to July 2025, sales of new energy heavy-duty trucks, electric to fuels like hydrogen, skyrocketed by 191% year-on-year, making up 13% of all sales, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data. Meanwhile, sales of natural gas fueled trucks declined by 14%. The decline is driven by both costs and policies . First, although international natural gas prices have fallen from their high last year, domestic end-user prices remain relatively high. This has narrowed the price advantage over diesel compared to previous years. Second, a shift in policy has redirected government support toward new energy vehicles as the primary solution for carbon reduction, phasing out subsidies for natural gas trucks. Hence, logistics companies are increasingly preferring new energy vehicle models, which offer lower long-term operating costs and are better suited for regions with strict emission standards, thus squeezing the market for natural gas trucks. A domestic transport company has calculated that the operating cost of an electric heavy-duty truck is only one-third that of a diesel vehicle. Even if LNG prices stabilize between yuan (CNY) 4,000 and 4,300/tonne, and the price difference between oil and gas narrows to within 2 yuan, LNG heavy-duty trucks are not as economically attractive compared to new energy trucks.

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 22 August. OUTLOOK: INSIGHT: US chems get regulatory relief amid rail setbacks The US government has slowed down the introduction of new regulations and provided the chemical industry with some significant policy wins, although fostering rail competition had some setbacks. INSIGHT: Global ammonia prices to keep rising on tight supply, improving India, US demand Global ammonia prices are forecast to keep rising through the rest of the year (please see Chart 1 below), primarily on tight supply caused by limited Russian exports and strengthening fertilizer demand in India and the US. CRUDE SUMMARY: Oil rebounds on higher US crude inventory drawdown Crude futures climbed on Wednesday after a larger-than-expected US crude inventory draw signaled stronger demand, while optimism over a rapid Russia-Ukraine peace breakthrough eased. TRUCKING: US July volumes rise from June, but forecasts remain weighted to downside Trucking activity in July rose slightly from the previous month, but forecasts from some analysts still have risks weighted more to the downside than the upside for the rest of the year. US to impose lower tariff on EU imports of chemical precursors The US will impose much lower tariffs on EU imports of chemical precursors, while it will maintain elevated rates on auto imports, according to details released on Thursday of their trade framework. US Fed signals rate cut despite tariff uncertainty, chemical stocks jump US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signaled an upcoming interest rate cut in his highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, sending economically sensitive stocks such as chemicals higher.