NEWS
CHEMICALSNEWS
New developments in the chemicals industry
Rhodia and SIBUR joint venture in Russia and CIS
R
hodia and SIBUR have signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture in speciality surfactants. This strategic alliance will be focused on creating a leader in the CIS market where speciality surfactants are used particularly in home & personal care, and oil & gas industries, with the surfactants sector growing at more than 6 per cent per year. Rhodia, as a worldwide leader in speciality surfactants, will provide its expertise in surfactant technologies, its knowledge of formulations and market applications and its customer network, including global key accounts with a strong presence in this region. SIBUR, the leading petrochemical company in Russia, will contribute its raw materials, production and logistics capabilities. With its longstanding experience of the Russian petrochemicals market, SIBUR will also support the development of the surfactants business in oil & gas markets in Russia and the CIS. It is expected that the new 50:50 joint venture will site a local production in Russia at Dzerzhinsk, near SIBUR’s petrochemicals operations, 400km east of Moscow, and is expected to be operational in 2013. Visit: www.sibur.ru
Novel polyimide film for solar cells
D
uPont™ Kapton® colorless polyimide film, a new material currently in development for use as a flexible superstrate for cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, has enabled a new world record for energy conversion efficiency. A team at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has demonstrated a conversion efficiency of 13.8 per cent using the new colourless film, leapfrogging their previous record of 12.6 per cent and nearing that of glass. Because Kapton® film is over 100 times thin-
Kerling to acquire Tessenderlo’s European Chlor-Vinyls Business
K
erling Plc has agreed with Tessenderlo Group (Brussels) to acquire its chlorvinyls business and assets in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The transaction will strengthen Kerling’s position as a leading manufacturer of PVC and caustic soda in Europe.
Kerling will acquire all of Tessenderlo Group’s PVC activities as well as the VCM, caustic soda, caustic potash and parts of its OCD (Organic Chlorine Derivatives) businesses including: n the chlor-alkali, vinyls OCD assets at the site in Tessenderlo Belgium. n the site in Maastricht (the Netherlands) with a benzyl alcohol plant
ner and 200 times lighter than glass typically used for PV, there are inherent advantages in transitioning to flexible, film-based systems. “Rather than transporting heavy, fragile glass modules on large trucks and lifting them by crane onto rooftop PV installations, one could imagine lightweight, flexible film-based modules that could simply be rolled up for transport, and easily carried up stairs,” said Robert G. Schmidt, new business development manager, Photovoltaics – DuPont Circuit & Packaging Materials. Visit: www.empa.ch n the sites in Beek (The Netherlands) and Mazingarbe (France) with PVC plants. n approximately 850 employees Kerling CEO Chris Tane says: “We have previously announced our growth intentions to the market and our investors, and I am therefore delighted that we can now announce the next step in this strategy.” Visit: www.ineos.com
Industry Europe 11
