Business Roundup

Grupo Fertiberia, a Spanish fertilizer maker, plans to spend $1.2 billion by 2026 to establish green ammonia production in Sweden. The plant will include a 600 MW electrolyzer and make 1,500 metric tons of ammonia per day.

Solvay is investing in R&D for solid-state battery electrolytes in France. The firm opened a lab at its research center near Paris earlier this year and will open an R&D pilot line in La Rochelle by the second quarter of 2022.

Neste and Ravago are planning a plastic recycling facility in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, that will use Alterra Energy’s thermochemical liquefaction technology. The plant will have the capacity to process 55,000 metric tons of mixed plastics annually.

Evonik Industries has opened a specialty silica production line in Japan through its joint venture with the drugmaker Shionogi. The investment will boost output by 30% at the site, which serves customers including beer makers and agrochemical formulators.

Wacker Chemie will spend $140 million to buy 60% of Sico Performance Material, a Chinese specialty silane maker serving the adhesives, sealants, coatings, and composites markets. The move adds an Asian foothold to Wacker’s Europe-focused specialty silane business.

ADM, a maker of food ingredients, is acquiring a minority stake in the Slovenian biotechnology firm Acies Bio. ADM says the deal will help it develop synthetic biology and fermentation technologies for applications in food, agriculture, and industry.

BASF is partnering with the Chinese battery company SVOLT to develop cathode active materials, source raw materials, and recycle battery cells. The partnership will also include R&D on sustainable battery materials.

Johnson & Johnson has signed a deal with F-star Therapeutics to develop up to five bispecific antibodies for undisclosed targets picked by J&J. F-star may receive $17.5 million up front and up to $1.35 billion in future payments.