Tag: EU

Green methanol has begun to be shipped to Austria's OMV from the Solar Park Kasso plant. The plant is operated by a joint venture between Mitsui & Co., Ltd, with a 49% share, and renewable energy company European Energy A/S (51%). The plant, located in Kassø, southern Denmark, was inaugurated on 13 May 2025 and is based on hydrogen derived from solar electricity from the adjacent 304 MW Kassø Solar Park, which is then combined with biogenic CO2 and distilled to 99.9% purity, suitable for combustion engines and plastics production. The plant makes 42,000 t/a of green methanol.

Germany's chemical industry association VCI has warned that continued low water on the Rhine and other inland waterways could force chemical companies to cut production, as Berlin publicly acknowledged the freight squeeze and put a relaxation of the Sunday lorry driving ban up for review.

EuroChem has reportedly suspended operations at its Lifosa phosphate fertilizer plant in Kėdainiai, Lithuania, on the back of high raw material sulphur costs, CRU reported on 10 August.

Cefic has sharpened its warning over the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), saying the European Commission’s July revision proposal could accelerate deindustrialisation despite including some of the changes industry had asked for.

The Council of the EU has adopted a regulation giving member states new tools to support farmers hit by sharply higher fertilizer and input costs linked to the recent crisis in the Middle East.

Belarusian potash fertilisers remain barred from transiting through Lithuania to Klaipėda port under EU sanctions, after the General Court dismissed a challenge from terminal operator Birių Krovinių Terminalas UAB (BKT).

The Ukraine war and associated tariffs and the EU’s carbon pricing system are keeping ammonium nitrate prices high.

Romanian state-controlled gas supplier Romgaz signed an agreement 29 May to acquire all production assets of fertilizer producer Azomures for a total consideration of approximately euro 69 million ($80.15 million), according to a report filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The transaction price comprises euro 46.46 million ($53.96 million) for the plant assets, plus up to $11 million for the book value of consumables and raw materials, and $15 million to cover operating costs during the period between signing and completion. The deal is financed entirely from Romgaz's own sources. The transaction completion remains subject to approval by Romgaz's Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, an unconditional clearance from Romania's Competition Council, and approval from Bucharest's Foreign Direct Investment Screening Commission (CEISD).

Environment Committee MEPs have backed changes to strengthen the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), voting to extend it to a long list of downstream steel and aluminium products, tighten anti circumvention rules and set up a Temporary Decarbonisation Fund (TDF) for industry.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), which represents large, medium and small chemical companies across Europe, has urged EU policymakers to slow changes to the Emissions Trading System (ETS).