Business Roundup

BASF and Sinopec will add a plant for tert-butyl acrylate at their joint venture facility in Nanjing, China. The partners will also expand the output of propionic acid, ethyleneamines, ethanolamines, and other products.

Johnson Matthey and Kebotix, a developer of artificial intelligence–based discovery techniques for new materials, will collaborate on a digital R&D engine for catalytic converter coatings. The project targets efficiency improvements via a reduction in experiments.

Nissan Chemical will close its melamine plant in Toyama, Japan, next year. The company has been making melamine there since 1964 but says that there is overcapacity for the plastic and that the plant has become difficult to maintain.

Knowde, the developer of a digital marketplace for chemicals and polymers, has raised $72 million in series B financing led by Coatue. Knowde says it will invest in new features on its platform and expand international coverage.

Sicona has raised close to $3 million to advance its technology for silicon-graphite battery anodes. Sicona was founded in June 2019 and is based on technology from the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials.

Linde will build a green hydrogen plant in Villach, Austria, to supply the semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies. The plant, to open in 2022, will use proton-exchange membrane electrolysis technology from ITM Power to produce H₂ from water.

Almac Sciences has signed an agreement to produce XEN-D0501 for the Swedish biotech company Pila Pharma at its site in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. Pila is developing the small molecule, previously owned by Bayer Healthcare, for pain and inflammatory disease.