Business Roundup

Idemitsu Kosan and BASF are closing their jointly owned 1,4-butanediol plant at Idemitsu’s complex in Chiba, Japan. They will dissolve their joint venture, and BASF will supply Japanese butanediol customers from its plants elsewhere in the world.

BASF will double capacity for Uvinul A Plus, an ingredient that provides UVA protection in skin-care formulations, by building a plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The additional capacity, which will complement BASF’s current production line in Ludwigshafen, Germany, is set to open in mid-2022.

Elkem has picked Norway’s Herøya Industrial Park as the site for a possible large-scale battery graphite plant. The company expects demand for graphite for battery anodes to increase more than 10 times by 2030.

Nanosys has raised $20 million in funding from undisclosed investors to expand capacity for quantum dots. The firm is pursuing use of quantum dots in agricultural films in addition to their use in displays.

Arevo, a developer of 3-D printable carbon fiber composites, has raised $25 million in a financing round led by Defy Partners and GGV Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures and others. Arevo has raised $60 million in total funding.

Novo Nordisk has struck a research partnership with Evotec focused on drug discovery for chronic kidney disease. Evotec will receive an undisclosed payment, research funding, and potentially more than $180 million per project.

Vive Crop Protection will join with biopesticide maker Marrone Bio Innovations on a fungicide combining plant-based and chemical active ingredients with a polymer-based delivery system. In July, Vive raised $5.4 million from Midland Capital and the Business ­Development Bank of Canada.

Impossible Foods, maker of plant-based meats that look and “bleed” like the real thing, has raised $200 million from the hedge fund Coatue Management and others. It will use the funds to expand manufacturing and develop new products like faux pork, steak, and milk.