Business Roundup

Dow CEO Jim Fitterling has been awarded the 2024 International Palladium Medal by the Société de Chimie Industrielle. He will receive the award at a dinner in his honor in New York City on May 8.

Chevron Phillips Chemical has appointed Steve Prusak, the firm’s head of corporate planning and technology, its new CEO. He succeeds Bruce Chinn, who is retiring after 40 years in the chemical industry.

Shell intends to buy pyrolysis oil from Corsair, which operates a plastics pyrolysis plant in Thailand. Shell will convert the oil into chemicals at its Singapore refining and chemicals complex.

Avantium, which is seeking to commercialize a technology for making the biobased plastic polyethylene furanoate, and its precursor furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), has raised $75 million in a share offering. The Dutch company will use the money to ensure its solvency until its first commercial FDCA plant is fully operational later this year.

Ineos Inovyn has launched a range of chlor-alkali products with a 70% lower greenhouse gas intensity than conventionally produced caustic soda, caustic potash, and chlorine. To make the electrolysis-based products, Inovyn uses hydroelectric power at its plant in Norway and wind turbine power at its plant in Antwerp, Belgium.

Inari has raised $103 million to continue developing corn, soybean, and wheat seeds that achieve high yields with less fertilizer and water. The company uses artificial intelligence to identify genetic changes that could improve crop performance.

Air Liquide has renewed its agreement to supply industrial gases to Dow’s large chemical plant in Stade, Germany. Under the renewed deal, Air Liquide will spend $43 million on efficiency upgrades to air separation and syngas units on-site.

Bristol Myers Squibb will pay VantAI up to $674 million in a pact to accelerate molecular glue drug discovery with artificial intelligence. VantAI was founded in 2019 to apply AI to the development of molecules that promote protein-protein interactions.