Page 143 - CW E-Magazine (10-6-2025)

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CONSOLIDATION BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

BASF to take over Domo Chemicals’ stake in Alsachimie Borealis and Borouge expand capacities for XLPE &

joint venture semiconductive compounds

BASF has inked a deal to buyout Borealis and Borouge are expand- Progress is already underway on
its sole partner, Domo Chemicals’ 49% ing their global capacity for cross- two major asset investment projects.
stake in the Alsachimie joint venture. linked polyethylene (XLPE) and semi- In Europe, a key milestone has been
Subject to consultations with relevant conductive (semicon) compounds to reached with the completion of a ma-
social bodies of Alsachimie, the deal is meet growing demand from power jor upgrade to semicon compounding
expected to close by mid-2025. cable applications. assets in Antwerp, Belgium – part of a
€200-mn investment programme – that
Alsachimie was founded by the two By the end of 2027, the two compa- also covers Borealis’ XLPE operations
companies in February 2020 and situated nies will have doubled their ability to in Stenungsund, Sweden. Alongside
on the French-German border, pro- serve the most demanding cable appli- increased capacity, Borealis is enhanc-
ducing key materials for polyamides, cations, including innovative solutions ing its quality assurance processes to
including KA-oil, adipic acid and hexa- for 220-kV subsea, extra-high volt- further eliminate risks and better serve
methylenediamine adipate (AH salt). age alternating current (EHVAC), and these sensitive applications.
tion into key raw materials in the PA 6,6 and textiles,” said Stephan Kothrade, high-voltage direct current (HVDC)
For BASF, the 100% ownership of value chain. member, Board of Executive Directors systems. Within fi ve years, they will In the Middle East, a 100-ktpa capa-
Alsachimie would be a strategic step to of BASF. “The intended transaction have increased XLPE and semicon city expansion at the XLPE 2 unit at
complement the company’s strong foot- “By taking over the shares of our aligns with our strategy to continue to production capacity at a rate twice as the Borouge 4 facility in Ruwais, Abu
print at the site in Chalampé, France, partner Domo Chemicals, we are fur- focus on delivering tailored polyam- fast as the projected growth in global over longer distances – especially as Dhabi, is on track for completion by the
its European hub for polyamide (PA) ther strengthening our leading posi- ide solutions in the core segments of demand for power cables. the increasing size of turbines pushes end of 2025. Originally announced
6,6 precursor production. As the sole tion and long-term commitment to the automotive, consumer goods, industri- developments farther offshore into in 2024 as a co-investment between
owner of Alsachimie, BASF would be polyamide 6,6 value chain and paving al and electrical & electronics indus- By 2040, solar and wind are ex- deeper waters. With global demand Borealis and ADNOC, the project
able to further strengthen its production the way for future growth with our custo- tries,” said Yves Bonte, CEO, Domo pected to account for more than half of for HVDC cables expected to exceed will produce XLPE compounds using
setup and maximise backward integra- mers in industries such as automotive Chemicals. global electrical capacity, with offshore 50,000-km by 2030, there is a need to Borealis’ proprietary Borlink techno-
wind playing a major role. This shift is scale up availability of high-perfor- logy to meet rising demand across Asia
Borealis boosts polymer foam solution capacity essential to decarbonising electricity mance cables. Borealis is helping to and the Middle East.

Austrian petrochemicals major, generation and achieving long-term sus- meet this need by providing customers
Borealis, is signifi cantly expanding pro- tainability in the global energy system. with the advanced polyolefi ns used Together, these investments build
duction capacity for an innovative poly- in the insulation and semiconductive on more than €1-bn invested in wire
mer foam solution called Daploy High HVDC technology will be essential layers of power cables that form the and cable assets over the past two
Melt Strength polypropylene (HMS PP). to transmitting this energy effi ciently backbone of these grids. decades.

The €`100-mn investment at the ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE PLASTICS
company’s facility in Burghausen, Premix opens new US manufacturing facility
Germany, comes in response to grow-
ing global demand for recyclable, Premix Group, a Finnish fi rm specia- Premix’s advanced PE and PP-based
high-performance foam solutions in the lising in electrically conductive compounds and concentrates designed
consumer products, automotive, and plastics, has opened a new manufac- for extrusion and injection moulding.
building and construction industries. turing facility in Apple Creek, North These materials enable accurate liquid
The new line, scheduled to start up Carolina, US. With a $79-mn investment level detection as well as safer han-
in the second half of 2026, will triple from the US Department of Health and dling, transport, and storage by protect-
Borealis’ supply capability for fully Human Services, the facility will seek ing against uncontrolled electrostatic
recyclable HMS PP. headquarters in Linz (Austria). The new support material effi ciency and help cut to secure the domestic supply chain discharges – a critical requirement in
product provides exceptional foama- both costs and CO emissions. It is suit- for critical diagnostics and other appli- diagnostics, chemical, electronics, in-
2
The development of Daploy HMS bility, lightweight properties, and me- able for use in mono-material solutions, cations. The facility will locally pro- dustrial packaging, and other high-per-
PP took place at Borealis’ innovation chanical strength – characteristics that which are easily recyclable at end of life. duce from US sourced raw materials formance applications.

142 Chemical Weekly June 10, 2025 Chemical Weekly June 10, 2025 143

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