Business Roundup

LyondellBasell Industries is building a pilot plant in Ferrara, Italy, to test a pyrolysis-based recycling technology that breaks down mixed plastic waste into a feedstock that can be processed into new plastics. The technology uses a catalyst that makes it more efficient than other pyrolysis processes, Lyondell says.

Kraton, a Houston-based polymer and pine chemical company, has warned investors that third-quarter income will not meet expectations. The firm cites worsening demand in Asia, Europe, and the US, as well as trade tensions and tariffs.

IFP Energies nouvelles, Axens, and Michelin are building a prototype plant at Michelin’s site in Bassens, France, to make butadiene from ethanol. Global consumption of butadiene made from oil and gas is about 12 million metric tons per year, and about 40% of that is used in tires.

Shell and AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group are forming a joint venture to recycle catalysts used in oil refining. Notably, the partners say, they will recover vanadium, reducing the need for vanadium mining.

Ineos Styrolution and Austrian recycler Bage Plastics are launching grades of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene that are up to 70% postconsumer electrical and electronics waste. Ineos aims to use 325,000 metric tons of recycled material annually.

Insilico Medicine, a specialist in artificial intelligence (AI) for drug discovery, has signed a deal with Jiangsu Chia Tai Fenghai Pharmaceutical valued at up to $200 million. The partners intend to develop AI targeted at therapies for triple-negative breast cancer.

Citrine Informatics, the developer of an artificial intelligence platform for materials discovery, has raised $20 million in a series B financing round led by Prelude Ventures and Innovation Endeavors. The firm raised $8 million last year.

ImmunoMolecular Therapeutics has secured $10 million from JDRF T1D Fund and Morningside Ventures in its first formal funding round. The biotech firm is developing personalized therapies for type 1 diabetes and autoimmune disorders.