Business Roundup

GCP Applied Technologies has appointed two new directors to its board as part of an agreement with the activist investor Starboard Value, which owns about 4.4% of GCP’s stock. The construction materials maker says Starboard will now vote in favor of all its directors.

Hitachi Ltd. says “no formal decision has been made” regarding the sale of its 51% stake in Hitachi Chemical. Published reports about the possible sale weren’t based on “Hitachi’s disclosed information,” the company says.

Lygos, a biobased chemical firm, has been awarded three US Small Business Innovation Research grants. The grants will help it develop biological production of glyceric acid, improve glycolic acid cost and purity, and capture CO₂ from the fermentation production of biobased chemicals.

Arkema and Hexcel are opening a joint R&D lab in Les Avenières, France, to develop thermoplastic composites for aircraft production. Hexcel, a carbon fiber composite supplier, and Arkema, a polyether ether ketone resin producer, formed a joint venture last year to make the composites as an alternative to thermoset composites.

DSM has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from production and purchased energy by 30% by 2030. The Dutch firm also plans to reduce emissions along the value chain of its products by 28%.

Servier, the French drug company, is teaming up with Oncodesign to develop inhibitors of a kinase called LRRK2 to treat Parkinson’s disease. Oncodesign will earn an up-front payment of about $4 million and be eligible for about $360 million in potential future payments.

Sanyo Chemical has invested an undisclosed sum in fellow Japanese firm TBM, which is developing alternatives to paper and plastics made from a limestone-based material it calls Limex. Sanyo says it will offer dispersion technology to TBM.

Minafin, a Belgian fine chemical maker, is launching a new business called Minagro to offer safer ingredients to the agriculture industry. Among the business’s products will be solvents, preservatives, and active botanical extracts.