Chemical Engineering March 2023 - 11

Mergers & Acquisitions
Mitsui Chemicals and Asahi Kasei
combine nonwovens businesses
February 9, 2023 - Mitsui Chemicals,
Inc. (www.mitsuichemicals.com) intends
to carry out a joint incorporation-type
demerger with Asahi Kasei Corp. (both
Tokyo; www.asahi-kasei.com) for the
two companies' nonwovens businesses,
forming a new integrated company. The
business integration agreement aims
to carry on the operations that both
companies run in Japan and Thailand
for the production, development and
sale of nonwovens-related products.
AGC and Saint-Gobain
collaborating on decarbonization
February 8, 2023 - AGC Inc. (Tokyo;
www.agc.com) and Saint-Gobain Corp.
(Courbevoie, France; www.saint-gobain.
com) are collaborating on the design of
a pilot flat-glass production line that is
expected to significantly reduce direct
CO2 emissions. As part of this project,
AGC's patterned-glass production line
in Barevka, Czech Republic, will be
entirely refurbished to be 50% electrified
and 50% fired by a combination of
oxygen and gas. The new technology
is expected to be fully implemented
on the patterned-glass line by the
second half of 2024.
Eastman acquires performance
films company Ai-Red Technology
February 2, 2023 - Eastman Chemical
Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.
com) has acquired Ai-Red Technology
(Dalian) Co., a manufacturer and supplier
of paint-protection and window-film
technologies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Plug Power and Johnson Matthey
form green-hydrogen alliance
January 31, 2023 - Plug Power
Inc. (Latham, N.Y.; www.plugpower.
com) and Johnson Matthey plc (JM;
London; www.matthey.com) formed
a long-term strategic partnership to
accelerate the hydrogen economy.
JM will become a strategic supplier of
membrane components, providing a
substantial portion of Plug's demand
for catalysts, membranes and catalystcoated
membrane (CCM) technologies.
Plug Power and JM will co-invest in
what is expected to be the largest CCM
manufacturing facility in the world,
which will likely begin production in
2025 and will be located in the U.S.
Sumitomo Chemical acquires
U.S.-based biostimulants firm
January 31, 2023 - Sumitomo Chemical
Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.sumitomochem.co.jp)
is acquiring Tennesseebased
biostimulant manufacturing
firm FBSciences Holdings, Inc. FBS
develops, manufactures and markets
biostimulants and biopesticides made
from natural organic matter.
Kemira acquires processoptimization
startup SimAnalytics
January 26, 2023 - Kemira Oyj (Helsinki,
Finland; www.kemira.com) acquired
the entirety of process-optimization
specialist SimAnalytics. With the
acquisition, Kemira strengthens its
capability to provide data-driven
predictive services and machinelearning
solutions. The two companies
currently offer a commercialized digital
service that helps paper and board
mills run production more efficiently. ■
Mary Page Bailey
For details visit adlinks.chemengonline.com/84645-06
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
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MARCH 2023
11

http://www.mitsuichemicals.com http://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp http://www.asahi-kasei.com http://www.eastman.com http://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp http://www.plugpower.com http://www.kemira.com http://www.agc.com http://www.matthey.com http://www.saint-gobain.com http://adlinks.chemengonline.com/84645-05 http://adlinks.chemengonline.com/84645-06 http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM

Chemical Engineering March 2023

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