Cover story

The world’s chemical

industry has recovered
from the COVID-19
pandemic and is
now riding the wave
of higher prices

ALEX TULLO, C&EN STAFF

36 C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | JULY 25, 2022

 T
he world’s chemical industry didn’t just grow in 2021, it
positively swelled.
According to C&EN’s latest Global Top 50 survey,
the world’s 50 largest chemical companies, in aggregate,
posted sales of $1.1 trillion in 2021, the fiscal year that
forms the basis of the ranking. That’s a 38% increase over
the combined total for the same 50 firms in 2020.
Profits more than kept up. Chemical oper- integrated nylon 6 business. Both companies join
ating income for the 41 firms that break out similar Chinese firms, like Hengli Petrochemical
such numbers jumped 148% in 2021, hitting and Rongsheng Petrochemical. All these compa-
$127 billion. nies have been building massive complexes for
There are two big reasons for the spike in aromatics and derivatives, in many cases swamp-
chemical sales and earnings in 2021. First, the ing entire segments of the chemical industry—
world’s economy sagged in 2020 on account of such as purified terephthalic acid—with new
the COVID-19 pandemic. This downturn hit the capacity that is well beyond the scale of players
chemical industry, albeit not as severely as it did outside China.
industries like aerospace and automotive. The
50 firms that appeared a year ago in C&EN’s sur-
vey posted a 7% decline in sales. And they posted 1 BASF
earnings declines for the second year in a row. 2021 chemical sales: $93.0 billion
With the world economy recovering in 2021, it For the third consecutive year, BASF heads
stands to reason that chemical sales recovered as the Global Top 50. Because it has a home base
well. in Germany, the company was strongly im-
Also related to the spike is inflation, the likes pacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BASF
of which some countries around the world ha- pledged in April to wind down operations in
ven’t seen in decades. According to the Energy Russia and Belarus, which represent about 1%
Information Administration, the US benchmark of its sales. The company says it will continue
oil price rose from $47.07 per barrel in Decem- supplying agrochemicals to these countries to
ber 2020 to $71.69 a year later. avoid disrupting the world’s delicate food sup-
The chemical industry, most of which relies ply chain. BASF has also been affected by the
on oil as a raw material, responded by raising severe increase in European natural gas prices
prices in kind. According to LyondellBasell that the war has exacerbated. In March, BASF
Industries, US and European ethylene prices chairman Martin Brudermüller told a Houston
increased by 35% and 60%, respectively, in 2021, audience at the IHS Markit World Petrochemical
while polyethylene prices rose about 45%. Prices Conference that “European industry really has
for ammonia more than doubled. to rethink” its strategy, given its dependence on
Thus, the healthiest sales increases seen in natural gas from Russia. The war has also affect-
the Global Top 50 came from petrochemical ed the company’s Wintershall Dea energy joint
companies. Sabic, Formosa Plastics, PetroChi-
na, LyondellBasell Industries, and ExxonMobil
Chemical all clocked in with sales increases of
40% or more. Also riding the crest of the com-
modity price wave are fertilizer makers such
as Yara, Nutrien, and Mosaic, which posted as-
tounding increases in sales.
A few companies in the 2021 ranking fell off
in 2022 because they didn’t have enough sales to
make the cut. These are the US petrochemical
C R E D I T: WI LL LUDW IG/C &E N /S H UT T E RSTO C K

maker Westlake, the US agricultural chemical

producer Corteva Agriscience, and the Japanese
chemical makers Tosoh and DIC.
Joining the ranking for the first time is Eu-
roChem Group, one of the fertilizer makers
that got a lift from higher commodity prices.
It debuts at number 44. Thailand’s PTT Global
Chemical returns at 46 after a 1-year hiatus.
Two Chinese newcomers make the ranking:
C R E D I T: BAS F

TongKun Group at 48 and Hengyi Petrochemical

at 50. Both are polyester producers that make Mixed metal oxide cathode materials being
their own raw materials. Hengyi also has a large, prepared at BASF

JULY 25, 2022 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN 37

venture, which has extensive operations in 3 Dow started up near Corpus Christi, Texas. The
Russia. During the first quarter, BASF took 2021 chemical sales: $55.0 billion venture produces ethylene and the deriv-
a $1.2 billion write-off related to the can- In 2020, Dow revealed its aspiration to atives polyethylene and ethylene glycol.
cellation of Nord Stream 2, a natural gas reach carbon emission neutrality by 2050, The project is noteworthy because of how
pipeline between Germany and Russia that and at an investor event in October, it de- quickly it was erected: in just over 2 years.
Wintershall helped finance. BASF is also tailed its plans to get there. The company Some recent US petrochemical projects
anticipating the coming energy transition. aims to spend $1 billion per year, about a have experienced delays longer than that.
The company is carving out its emission third of its capital budget, to decarbonize
catalyst business, which it acquired with its its petrochemical sites around the world
2006 purchase of Engelhard. The move is one by one. Topping that list is Fort Sas- 5 Formosa Plastics
a response to the dim outlook for internal katchewan, Alberta, where in an industry 2021 chemical sales: $43.2 billion
combustion engine vehicles and could be a first, the company will build a carbon-neu- Formosa Plastics’ proposed $9.4 billion
prelude to a sale. BASF has simultaneously tral ethylene cracker. An autothermal re- petrochemical complex in St. James Parish,
been trying to grow as a producer of mate- former will process the cracker’s off-gases Louisiana, suffered a major setback last
rials for electric vehicle batteries and aims to generate hydrogen that will be burned year when the US Army Corps of Engineers
to spend $5 billion on production capacity in the cracker’s furnaces instead of natural ordered a full environmental review. That
outside Europe. gas. Dow will capture the resulting carbon process could take longer than 2 years, ac-
dioxide and inject it into Alberta’s CO2 cording to local activists. The massive proj-
pipeline for sequestration. Dow’s sustain- ect, which would include an ethylene crack-
2 Sinopec ability push extends beyond greenhouse er, polyethylene plants, and other facilities,
2021 chemical sales: $65.8 billion gases and into plastic waste. At the Octo- was originally unveiled in 2015. While the
Once again, the blue-chip Chinese firm ber event, for example, the company said complex would be an important diversifica-
Sinopec is the second-largest chemical it would collaborate with Fuenix Ecogy to tion move for the Taiwan-based company,
company in the world. Sinopec is working build a waste plastics pyrolysis plant in the S&P Global Ratings noted in a report in Oc-
on an enormous lineup of capital expan- Netherlands. tober that Formosa’s management could be
sions in China. Last year in Zhenhai, it reaching the end of its patience for delays
started up an ethylene cracker project and and local opposition. “We see diminishing
began work on a propane dehydrogenation 4 Sabic probability that the planned mega project
plant that it hopes to finish in 2024. The 2021 chemical sales: $43.2 billion in Louisiana will go ahead, given the chang-
firm is building a cracker and derivatives The Saudi giant Sabic has a large pres- ing political atmosphere in the U.S.,” the
project in Tianjin that it expects to com- ence in Europe owing to its acquisition of credit rating agency wrote.
plete next year and is bringing another one petrochemical businesses from DSM and
to completion in Hainan this year. Sinopec Huntsman more than a decade ago. And
is also constructing a massive purified while the company gained a North Ameri- 6 Ineos
terephthalic acid complex in Yizheng. Like can engineering polymer business in 2007 2021 chemical sales: $39.9 billion
many energy and chemical firms, Sinopec with the purchase of GE Plastics, a US Since its inception in the 1990s, Ineos
has gotten into the act of carbon abate- toehold in petrochemicals has been more has expanded by acquiring established divi-
ment. In Zibo earlier this year, it started up elusive. Sabic finally accomplished this sions of large chemical companies. Most re-
a carbon-capture-and-storage project that long-term objective in January when its cently, in early 2021, it bought BP’s aromat-
will handle 1 million metric tons of carbon $10 billion joint venture with ExxonMobil ics business, a major producer of purified
dioxide annually. Chemical, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, terephthalic acid, for $5 billion. Since then,
Ineos has been focusing on sustainability.
In September, it announced a $1.3 billion
plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
by 60% at its Grangemouth, Scotland, pet-
rochemical complex by 2030. It will do so
by capturing the greenhouse gas and send-
ing it to the proposed Acorn CO2 system,
which aims to inject it under the North Sea.
In October, Ineos said it plans to spend
$2.3 billion on green hydrogen projects.
It will construct a 20 MW electrolyzer,
powered by alternative energy, in Rafnes,
Norway. And in Cologne, Germany, Ineos
wants to build a 100 MW electrolyzer that
will make hydrogen for green ammonia.
Separately, Ineos is installing a unit in Co-
logne to extract acetonitrile made during
acrylonitrile production. Acetonitrile is a
solvent used in butadiene extraction and in
high-performance liquid chromatography.
C R E D I T: I NEOS

Ineos is expanding poly(α-olefin) Its use is acutely growing as a solvent in

capacity at this facility in La Porte, Texas. the production of oligonucleotides for RNA
vaccines.

38 C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | JULY 25, 2022

Global Top 50
Chemical sales and profits swelled for nearly every company in 2021.

CHEMICAL CHEMICAL CHEMICAL IDENTIFIABLE OPERATING

RANK CHEMICAL CHANGE SALES AS % OPERATING CHANGE OPERATING CHEMICAL RETURN ON
b
SALES ($ FROM OF TOTAL PROFIT FROM PROFIT ASSETS CHEMICAL
2021 2020a COMPANY MILLIONS) 2020 SALES SECTOR ($ MILLIONS) 2020 MARGIN c HEADQUARTERS ($ MILLIONS) ASSETSd
1 1 BASF $92,982 32.9% 100.0% Diversified $9,179 80.5% 9.9% Germany $103,375 8.9%
2 2 Sinopec 65,848 31.9 15.9 Petrochemicals 1,761 9.5 2.7 China 34,539 5.1
3 3 Dow 54,968 42.6 100.0 Diversified 7,887 208.6 14.3 US 62,990 12.5
4 5 Sabic 43,230 50.1 92.7 Petrochemicals 8,779 445.8 20.3 Saudi Arabia 79,919 11.0
5 4 Formosa Plasticse 43,173 47.8 72.2 Petrochemicals n/a n/a n/a Taiwan n/a n/a
6 16 Ineos 39,937 121.2 100.0 Diversified 5,370 344.2 13.4 UK 37,226 14.4
7 6 PetroChina 39,693 41.7 9.8 Petrochemicals 1,862 9.5 4.7 China n/a n/a
8 11 LyondellBasell 38,995 66.6 84.5 Petrochemicals 8,009 172.6 20.5 US n/a n/a
Industries
9 7 LG Chem 37,257 41.8 100.0 Diversified 4,389 179.5 11.8 South Korea 44,664 9.8
10 12 ExxonMobil 36,858 59.6 13.3 Petrochemicals 9,960 272.3 27.0 US 39,722 25.1
11 8 Mitsubishi Chemical 30,719 24.8 84.8 Diversified 2,547 74.3 8.3 Japan 43,120 5.9
Group
12 13 Hengli Petrochemicalf 27,961 31.9 91.1 Petrochemicals n/a n/a n/a China n/a n/a
13 9 Linde 27,926 14.5 90.7 Industrial gases 6,703 25.0 24.0 UK n/a n/a
14 10 Air Liquide 27,148 13.4 98.3 Industrial gases 2,779 16.3 10.2 France 50,645 5.5
15 14 Syngenta Group 24,900 20.9 81.1 Agricultural n/a n/a n/a Switzerland n/a n/a
chemicals
16 20 Reliance Industriese 22,583 65.6 21.1 Petrochemicals n/a n/a n/a India n/a n/a
17 27 Wanhua Chemical 22,561 98.2 100.0 Diversified 4,978 142.1 22.1 China 29,502 16.9
18 29 Braskem 19,575 80.4 100.0 Petrochemicals 5,038 278.0 25.7 Brazil 17,155 29.4
19 17 Sumitomo Chemical 19,176 24.7 76.2 Diversified 1,581 118.3 8.2 Japan 23,747 6.7
20 21 Shin-Etsu Chemicalf 18,885 38.6 100.0 Diversified 6,157 72.4 32.6 Japan 36,901 16.7
21 22 Covestro 18,813 48.5 100.0 Diversified 2,655 206.6 14.1 Germany 18,421 14.4
22 18 Toray Industries 17,856 20.9 88.0 Diversified 1,227 40.3 6.9 Japan n/a n/a
23 19 Evonik Industries 17,692 22.6 100.0 Specialty chemicals 1,541 39.7 8.7 Germany 26,362 5.8
24 23 Shell 16,993 45.0 6.5 Petrochemicals 1,390 72.0 8.2 UK n/a n/a
25 15 DuPont 16,653 –18.4 100.0 Specialty chemicals 2,652 59.7 15.9 US 45,707 5.8
26 25 Yara 16,617 43.4 100.0 Fertilizers 1,068 –9.2 6.4 Norway 17,272 6.2
27 34 Rongsheng 16,001 59.6 58.3 Petrochemicals n/a n/a n/a China n/a n/a
Petrochemical
28 31 Lotte Chemical 15,827 48.2 100.0 Diversified 1,341 330.3 8.5 South Korea 19,976 6.7
29 28 Mitsui Chemicals 14,681 33.1 100.0 Diversified 1,269 70.3 8.6 Japan 17,615 7.2
30 32 Indorama Ventures 14,626 41.2 100.0 Petrochemicals 1,315 339.6 9.0 Thailand 16,929 7.8
31 42 Chevron Phillips 14,104 67.1 100.0 Petrochemicals n/a n/a n/a US 17,777 n/a
Chemical
32 33 Umicore 13,567 34.4 47.7 Specialty chemicals 542 104.3 4.0 Belgium 9,134 5.9
33 26 Solvay 13,527 17.7 100.0 Specialty chemicals 1,618 37.5 12.0 Belgium 23,718 6.8
34 24 Bayer 12,743 9.7 24.4 Agricultural n/a n/a n/a Germany n/a n/a
chemicals
35 40 Mosaic 12,357 42.3 100.0 Fertilizers 2,770 299.5 22.4 US 22,036 12.6
36 46 Nutrien 11,590 62.0 41.8 Fertilizers 4,825 242.9 41.6 Canada 25,940 18.6
37 36 Arkema 11,261 20.7 100.0 Specialty chemicals 1,320 98.6 11.7 France 14,552 9.1
38 37 Asahi Kasei 10,908 20.9 48.7 Specialty chemicals 1,004 65.9 9.2 Japan 16,214 6.2
39 35 DSM 10,888 13.5 100.0 Specialty chemicals 1,247 38.7 11.5 Netherlands 18,944 6.6
39 38 Hanwha Solutionsf 10,888 22.8 86.6 Specialty chemicals 541 12.3 5.0 South Korea 17,465 3.1
41 41 Eastman Chemical 10,476 23.6 100.0 Specialty chemicals 1,451 32.5 13.9 US 15,519 9.3
42 30 Johnson Matthey 10,412 –2.5 47.2 Specialty chemicals 387 –9.1 3.7 UK 3,204 12.1
43 39 Air Products 10,323 16.6 100.0 Industrial gases 2,215 3.6 21.5 US 26,859 8.2
44 — EuroChem Group 10,202 65.8 100.0 Fertilizers 3,400 170.9 33.3 Switzerland 14,269 23.8
45 44 Borealis 10,164 26.0 100.0 Petrochemicals 1,668 435.9 16.4 Austria 15,361 10.9
46 — PTT Global Chemical 9,084 52.1 62.0 Diversified 1,140 483.3 12.5 Thailand 16,521 6.9
47 43 Sasol 9,011 10.8 65.9 Diversified 1,337 n.m. 14.8 South Africa n/a n/a
48 — TongKun Groupf 8,996 28.4 100.0 Petrochemicals n/a n/a n/a China n/a n/a
49 45 Lanxess 8,940 23.8 100.0 Specialty chemicals 562 16.4 6.3 Germany 12,443 4.5
50 — Hengyi Petrochemical 8,858 66.8 44.3 Diversified n/a n/a n/a China n/a n/a

Sources: Company documents, C&EN analysis. Note: Some figures converted at 2021 average exchange rates of US$1.00= 5.3958 Brazilian reais, 6.4508 Chinese yuan, 0.8453 euros,
73.9351 Indian rupees, 109.8429 Japanese yen, 1144.8911 South Korean won, 3.75 Saudi riyals, 14.7751 South African rand, 27.9366 New Taiwan dollars, and 32.0052 Thai baht. n/a
means not available, and n.m. means not meaningful. a Prior-year rankings have been revised from the July 26, 2021, issue of C&EN to reflect restated results and changes in exchange
rates. b Chemical sales less administrative expenses and cost of sales. c Chemical operating profit as a percentage of chemical sales. d Chemical operating profit as a percentage of identi-
fiable chemical assets. e C&EN estimates. f Chemical sales include a significant amount of nonchemical products.

JULY 25, 2022 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN 39

7 PetroChina commodity chemical business. It bought capture 10 million metric tons (t) per
2021 chemical sales: $39.7 billion 50% stakes in ethylene complexes in the year of carbon dioxide generated in the
PetroChina heaped on the growth in US and China. And according to newly hydrogen production process, reduc-
2021, expanding by 42% from 2020 as surfaced government documents, it is con- ing the site’s carbon footprint by 30%.
China’s economy recovered from the sidering building a high-density polyeth- The project would connect to a massive
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. New ylene plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. carbon-capture-and-storage hub in the re-
projects in China will only further the gion that ExxonMobil is spearheading. Also
company’s expansion. This year, it is due in Baytown, the company is building a facil-
to complete the $10 billion Guangdong 9 LG Chem ity that will use new chemical technology
Petrochemical project. The massive ef- 2021 chemical sales: $37.3 billion to recycle waste plastics. It hopes to pro-
fort includes a refinery, an aromatics LG Chem has been laying down big cess 500,000 t of plastics annually around
unit, and an ethylene cracker. PetroChina money on sustainable polymer and battery the world by 2026 and is also considering
has also finished work on an ethylene material projects. Last August, the company projects in Canada, the Netherlands, and
project in Tarim that will use domesti- announced plans to invest $2.3 billion Singapore.
cally produced ethane as its feedstock. through 2028 on sustainable material facil-
In Jieyang, an enormous $1 billion ities in Seosan, South Korea. One of these
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene plant with units will make the compostable polymer 11 Mitsubishi Chemical
600,000 metric tons per year of capacity poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate). Group
is in the works. With the agricultural giant ADM, LG aims 2021 chemical sales: $30.7 billion
Within a year of taking over the helm of
Japan’s largest chemical maker, CEO Jean-
A Linde carbon dioxide injection Marc Gilson, a veteran of Dow Corning
plant in Ketzin, Germany and Roquette, launched a major restruc-
turing initiative. Mitsubishi Chemical
Group plans to carve out its petrochemical
and coal-based chemical businesses as a
separate company and then exit them by
the end of its 2023 fiscal year. The units,
which make olefins, polyolefins, and other
bulk petrochemicals, generate about 20%
of the company’s sales. Mitsubishi Chem-
ical Group wants to focus on more spe-
cialized areas, such as electronic materials
and the life sciences.

12 Hengli Petrochemical
2021 chemical sales: $28.0 billion
The expansion program at this Chinese
firm is a good illustration of just how
massively and systematically the Chinese
petrochemical industry has been grow-
to establish lactic acid and polylactic acid ing in recent years. For example, Hengli
8 LyondellBasell Industries capacity in the US. And with the South Ko- Petrochemical plans to bring on line
rean oil company GS Caltex, LG is planning 5 million metric tons (t) per year of capac-
2021 chemical sales: $39.0 billion large-scale fermentation of the acrylic acid ity for the polyester raw material purified
Some chemical companies have been raw material 3-hydroxypropionic acid. In terephthalic acid (PTA) later this year in
ditching commodities to focus on special- battery materials, LG broke ground in Janu- Huizhou, China. The company is building
ties. LyondellBasell Industries is exiting ary on a $420 million plant in Gumi, South a 450,000 t plant to make poly(butylene
refining so it can better home in on com- Korea, that will make cathode materials for adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), which
modities. In April, the company said it electric vehicle batteries. It is also spending will consume some of the PTA as a raw
would shutter its 100-year-old Houston $375 million to form a battery separator material. Hengli is building a 300,000 t
refinery by the end of 2023. The refinery, joint venture in Hungary with Japan’s Toray adipic acid unit, also to help feed PBAT
part of LyondellBasell Industries since it Industries. production. And it is working on a big
spun off from Atlantic Richfield in 1989, polyester fiber expansion and recently
has long been an issue for the company. It opened a large ethylene cracker.
was a joint venture with the Venezuelan 10 ExxonMobil
state oil company PDVSA for more than 2021 chemical sales: $36.9 billion
a decade before Lyondell bought out its Over the past year, ExxonMobil has 13 Linde
partner for $2.1 billion in 2006. Company been advancing sustainability initia- 2021 chemical sales: $27.9 billion
officials say they may repurpose the prop- tives. In March, it unveiled plans to Like its industrial gas rivals Air
C R E D I T: LI N D E

erty for sustainability projects such as a build a blue hydrogen facility at its Liquide and Air Products, Linde is fo-
plastics pyrolysis plant. Meanwhile, Ly- refining and petrochemical complex cused on carbon reduction. In May,
ondellBasell has been steadily growing its in Baytown, Texas. The project would the German firm and BP announced

40 C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | JULY 25, 2022

that they would collaborate on a large Technologies. To help shore up helium operator Laurentis Energy Partners to
carbon-capture-and-storage project on the supply, Linde is adding an extraction unit buy helium-3, a light isotope of helium
Texas Gulf Coast. The firms aim to make at a natural gas liquefaction plant in Texas. formed via the β decay of the heavy
blue hydrogen, produced by reforming The project will increase the world’s sup- hydrogen isotope tritium. Air Liquide
natural gas and storing the by-product ply of helium by more than 3%. will market 5,000–10,000 L of the 3He
carbon dioxide. Linde will distribute this annually. The isotope is needed for quan-
hydrogen to customers via its regional tum computing, which must operate at
pipeline network. The firms aim to store 14 Air Liquide temperatures as close to absolute zero as
some 15 million metric tons of CO2 an- 2021 chemical sales: $27.1 billion possible. Conventional liquid 4He cooling
nually in underground formations. In Late last year, the French industrial can get down to 1–4 K, and getting below
Austria, Linde is building a plant to make gas giant Air Liquide got into a busi- that requires mixing in some 3He. Sepa-
green hydrogen—derived from water elec- ness that is as high tech as a chemical rately, Air Liquide is building what it calls
trolysis powered by renewable energy—for business can get. It signed an agree- the world’s largest biomethane plant, at a
sale to the semiconductor maker Infineon ment with the Canadian nuclear power Chicago-area landfill. The industrial gas
maker estimates that the collected meth-
Spending ane could generate 380 GW h of energy
Chemical capital spending and R&D budgets increased for most companies in 2021. annually. It is also building a methane
recovery plant in Wisconsin.
CHEMICAL CAPITAL SPENDING CHEMICAL R&D SPENDING

2021 CHANGE
% OF
CHEMICAL 2021 CHANGE
% OF
CHEMICAL 15 Syngenta Group
($ MILLIONS) FROM 2020 SALES ($ MILLIONS) FROM 2020 SALES
2021 chemical sales: $24.9 billion
Air Liquide $3,396 8.8% 12.5% $360 0.3% 1.3%
The Chinese conglomerate Chem-
Air Products 2,464 –1.8 23.9 94 11.4 0.9 China bought the Swiss agrochemical
Arkema 903 26.1 8.0 287 0.8 2.6 maker Syngenta in 2017 and later pursued
Asahi Kasei 1,099 20.2 10.1 308 2.7 2.8 a merger with another big Chinese in-
BASF 4,178 12.9 4.5 2,622 6.2 2.8 dustrial giant, Sinochem. Now Syngenta
Borealis 781 7.5 7.7 21 127.8 0.2 Group operates under the Sinochem um-
Braskem 634 24.0 3.2 55 18.4 0.3 brella. As it did when it was independent,
Covestro 904 8.5 4.8 403 30.2 2.1
Syngenta emphasizes technology. It is
collaborating with Enko Chem, a start-up
Dow 1,501 19.9 2.7 857 11.6 1.6
that applies drug discovery methods to
DSM 512 –5.5 4.7 382 –18.8 3.5
agricultural applications. For instance,
DuPont 891 –25.4 5.4 618 –28.1 3.7
the partners will screen molecular li-
Eastman Chemical 555 44.9 5.3 254 12.4 2.4 braries for compounds that act against
EuroChem Group 1,247 6.8 12.2 n/a n/a n/a specific enzymes in pests. They hope to
Evonik Industries 1,023 –9.5 5.8 549 7.2 3.1 halve the time to bring new molecules to
ExxonMobil 1,287 –29.0 3.5 n/a n/a n/a market—which can now take a decade.
Hanwha Solutions 609 29.8 5.6 47 –25.6 0.4 Syngenta also recently bought two biope-
Indorama Ventures 624 19.0 4.3 21 12.2 0.1 sticides from the Welsh firm Bionema. In
Ineos 1,845 –7.0 4.6 92 63.4 0.2 the deal, it acquired nematodes that kill
Johnson Matthey 383 19.8 3.7 277 3.6 2.7 leatherjackets and a pathogenic fungus
Lanxess 567 5.0 6.3 136 6.5 1.5 that kills vine weevils.
LG Chem 5,043 4.3 13.5 1,186 21.6 3.2
Linde 3,149 –8.9 11.3 n/a n/a n/a 16 Reliance Industries
Lotte Chemical 675 –3.6 4.3 81 15.5 0.5
2021 chemical sales: $22.6 billion
LyondellBasell Industries 1,856 5.3 4.8 124 9.7 0.3
The Indian conglomerate has aban-
Mitsubishi Chemical 1,863 –12.0 6.1 n/a n/a n/a doned plans to put its refining and chem-
Group
ical operations—which it calls Oil to
Mitsui Chemicals 975 42.9 6.6 347 12.7 2.4
Chemicals—into a stand-alone business. It
Mosaic 1,289 10.1 10.4 n/a n/a n/a
also walked away from negotiations with
Sabic 3,083 –12.0 7.1 n/a n/a n/a
Saudi Aramco to sell a 20% stake in the
Shell 3,573 35.3 21.0 106 –2.8 0.6
business for $15 billion. Instead, Reliance
Shin-Etsu Chemical 1,782 –17.1 9.4 568 21.9 3.0 Industries is undertaking what may turn
Sinopec 8,006 97.1 12.2 n/a n/a n/a out to be an even bigger change in direc-
Solvay 664 23.6 4.9 384 8.3 2.8 tion. Last year, it announced an ambitious
Sumitomo Chemical 778 19.7 4.1 n/a n/a n/a goal to achieve net-zero carbon emis-
Umicore 342 –8.5 2.5 243 4.1 1.8 sions by 2035. Reliance is setting aside
Wanhua Chemical n/a n/a n/a 491 55.1 2.2
2,000 hectares of land at its massive Jam-
nagar refinery and petrochemical complex
Yara 809 9.5 4.9 94 3.3 0.6
for factories that would make photovoltaic
Sources: Company documents, C&EN analysis. Note: Figures are for companies on the top 50 list reporting capital modules, batteries, electrolyzers, and fuel
and/or R&D expenditures. n/a means not available. cells. Along these lines, Reliance bought

JULY 25, 2022 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN 41

Faradion, a British sodium-ion battery Brazilian conglomerate formerly known finding areas with brighter futures to in-
start-up, for $135 million. It will spend an- as Odebrecht, is facing hefty fines because vest in. It is building semiconductor chem-
other $35 million to bring the new battery of a Brazilian corruption scandal. The US ical and liquid-crystal polymer plants in
chemistry to market. It also purchased the Department of Justice alone is demanding Ehime and adding photoresist capacity in
Norwegian solar cell maker REC Group for $2.6 billion from the company. As a conse- Japan and South Korea.
$771 million. quence, Novonor has been looking to sell
its 38% interest in Braskem, which includes
control of more than 50% of Braskem’s 20 Shin-Etsu Chemical
17 Wanhua Chemical common stock. Sale talks are nothing new 2021 chemical sales: $18.9 billion
2021 chemical sales: $22.6 billion for Braskem. The company discussed a sale Shin-Etsu Chemical is coming off of
The Chinese polyurethane and petro- to LyondellBasell Industries in 2018 and a prosperous year. The company saw its
chemical maker has been rocketing up 2019, but nothing came of the negotiations. revenues jump by 39% and its profits swell
the Global Top 50 because of its prodi- In 2020, Novonor and Braskem’s other ma- by 72%. A bright spot was its polyvinyl
gious growth in recent years. And 2021 jor shareholder, the Brazilian state oil com- chloride business, which saw profits triple.
was another enormous year for Wanhua pany Petrobras, planned to float Braskem Also, Shin-Etsu’s semiconductor material
Chemical—its revenues nearly doubled shares on public markets. That plan was business has been trying to ship as much
from 2020. Ambitious capital expansion shelved earlier this year because of financial product as it can to help address a world-
projects have helped fuel the growth. market volatility. And in April, the private wide chip shortage. In an expansion move,
In Yantai, China, it opened an ethylene equity firm Apollo Capital was rumored to Shin-Etsu will spend close to $700 million
cracker and derivatives plants and re- be bidding for Novonor’s stake. to raise output of silicone fluids, resins,
vamped methylene diphenyl diisocya- and rubber at three plants in Japan.
nate production. In April, the company
announced it would spend $3.6 billion 19 Sumitomo Chemical
to build a chemical complex in Penglai, 2021 chemical sales: $19.2 billion 21 Covestro
China. The project, to be completed in The Japanese chemical maker Sumito- 2021 chemical sales: $18.8 billion
2024, will feature a propane dehydroge- mo Chemical is undertaking a round of The polyurethane specialist Covestro
nation unit as well as downstream plants downsizing. It will close its caprolactam unveiled a plan late last year to cut up to
for polypropylene, propylene oxide, and plant in Ehime, Japan, by October, ending 1,700 jobs—about 10% of its workforce—
other chemicals. The company also start- production of the nylon 6 raw material by the end of 2023. Most of the cuts will
ed producing cathode materials and the after more than 50 years because of dif- be in Germany. At the same time, the
biodegradable polymer poly(butylene ficulties staying competitive against new company is resuscitating a plan to build a
adipate-co-terephthalate). production in China. Indeed, Chinese world-scale methylene diphenyl diisocy-
chemical makers have been growing prodi- anate plant by 2026. While the previous
giously in a number of aromatic chemicals, plan pinpointed Texas as the site of the
18 Braskem an alarming trend for incumbents in these complex, Covestro now says it may build
2021 chemical sales: $19.6 billion businesses. Sumitomo is also closing its it in either the US or China. The company
It is possible that Braskem could change dyestuff plant in Osaka, Japan, after more is also increasing capacity for another
hands in the near future. Novonor, the than 70 years in business. Sumitomo is polyurethane raw material, toluene di-
isocyanate, in Dormagen, Germany. And
with the biotechnology firm Genomatica,
Covestro plans to make biobased hexam-
ethylenediamine, used in the manufacture
of polyurethanes and nylon 6,6.

22 Toray Industries
2021 chemical sales: $17.9 billion
The past year has seen a number of
sustainable business initiatives at Toray
Industries. The company has launched
nylon 5,10 fibers, made from castor
oil–derived sebacic acid and corn-based
pentamethylenediamine. It hopes to start
selling the biobased fibers into textile
markets next year. In a recycling push,
Toray and the engineering firm Axens
are studying a polyethylene terephthal-
ate (PET) depolymerization plant for
Covestro technician Mario France. The plant would break down
Lopes works at the pilot
C R E D I T: COV EST RO

80,000 metric tons per year of PET into

plant where the company the precursor bis(2-hydroxyethyl) tere-
is producing biobased phthalate. Toray also established a joint
hexamethylenediamine. venture for lithium-ion battery separator
films in Hungary with LG Chem.

42 C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | JULY 25, 2022

23 Evonik Industries 24 Shell 180,000 metric tons (t) of the alternative
feedstocks by 2023 and to ramp up use to
2021 chemical sales: $17.7 billion 2021 chemical sales: $17.0 billion 600,000 t in 3–5 years.
Evonik Industries is yet another ma- Later this year, Shell will open an
jor chemical maker planning a portfolio ethylene and polyethylene complex in
transformation. The German company Monaca, Pennsylvania. The facility was 25 DuPont
intends to divest its performance mate- the only one among a wave of new US 2021 chemical sales: $16.7 billion
rial businesses by the end of 2023. These ethylene crackers to be situated far from Edward D. Breen took over as
commodities, such as C4 chemicals, the Gulf Coast. The project took a long DuPont’s CEO in October 2015, and since
isononyl alcohol, and superabsorbent time. It was announced a decade ago, then the company has seen relentless
polymers, generate about 20% and construction began in portfolio restructuring. After only a few
of the firm’s sales. Evonik had
been considering a sale of
More 2017. It may be Shell’s last
conventional ethylene project
months on the job, Breen announced a
merger with Dow. The resulting company
superabsorbents—used in dia-
pers and similar applications—
online for a while. The company is
collaborating with Dow to
split into the three firms—DuPont,
Dow, and Corteva Agriscience—in 2019.
since late 2020. At the same For an electrify the steam cracking Breen wasn’t finished, though. Last
time, the firm plans to invest interactive graphic process. The partners recently year, DuPont merged its nutrition and
$3.2 billion in sustainable of the Global started an experimental biosciences business with International
businesses. Separately, in Top 50 data as unit in Amsterdam to test Flavors & Fragrances. In another big
June, Evonik announced it well as 25 more designs that could replace transaction, it agreed in February to
would build a $220 million company capsules, current natural gas–fired sell its engineering polymer business
plant in Lafayette, Indiana, for visit cenm.ag/ cracker furnaces. They want to Celanese for $11 billion. Meanwhile,
lipids used in messenger RNA globaltop50. to build a large pilot plant DuPont has been bulking up in electronic
applications like COVID-19 by 2025. And at a recent materials, a business that Breen had
vaccines. The company has conference, Shell officials previously been on the fence about. Late
been supplying this burgeoning said the company is running last year, DuPont agreed to purchase
market from facilities in Ger- feedstocks based on biomass Rogers, a firm that makes laminates for
many. Evonik is also building a and plastic pyrolysis oil circuit boards, for $5.2 billion. In July
plant to make rhamnolipids, a through its ethylene complex 2021, DuPont bought Laird Performance
class of biobased surfactants, in in Norco, Louisiana. The Materials, which makes heat and electric
Slovakia. company intends to process shielding. ◾

JULY 25, 2022 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN 43