Business Roundup

Materia has won Army funding to develop fuel additives that keep small munitions or explosives from detonating large fuel tanks. Materia, an olefin metathesis specialist, will use technology from Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop polymer-based fuel-misting controls.

Bridgestone will spend $51 million to increase its capacity for ethylene vinyl acetate film used as an adhesive in the manufacturing of solar modules. Bridgestone expects to complete the expansion, in Iwata, Japan, by 2011.

WuXi PharmaTech and Covance have dropped previously announced plans to build a preclinical contract research facility in Suzhou, China. The companies say they will pursue independent projects in China.

Afton Chemical, the petroleum additives business of NewMarket Corp., has acquired General Electric's North American fuel additives business. Afton says the purchase will broaden its offerings to the diesel fuel market.

Bayer Schering Pharma will cooperate with the National University of Singapore on preclinical cancer research. Bayer says it will invest $14 million over the next five to eight years with Singapore-based institutions.

ADA-Environmental Solutions has formed a joint venture with private equity firm Energy Capital Partners to finance the $350 million cost of a 175 million-lb-per-year activated carbon plant in Louisiana. The carbon will be sold to coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions.

Solvay will spend more than $75 million to convert most of its mercury-based chlor-alkali plant in Tavaux, France, to membrane technology. Solvay says the conversion will reduce the plant's electricity consumption.

Arkema has spent roughly $14 million to consolidate its hydrazine hydrate and derivatives businesses in Lannemezan, France. As part of the project, Arkema boosted production of azoic initiators by increasing capacity of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and optimizing its manufacturing process.

DSM's venture capital unit has made an equity investment in the Compliers Group, a Dutch company developing pharmaceutical packaging with microchips to monitor patient compliance. DSM says the investment will help it build a position in specialty packaging.