The European chemical industry's 'shutdown wave': exactly how many chemical plants have been shut down—list them all for you

In April 2024, when ExxonMobil announced the permanent shutdown of its 425,000-ton-per-year ethylene plant in Gravenchon, France, the industry viewed it merely as a routine 'cost optimization'. No one anticipated that this would mark the beginning of the most concentrated shutdown wave in European chemical industry history. Within just 15 months—from the North Sea coast to Mediterranean ports—smokestacks at chemical facilities successively went silent: a total of 21 multinational corporations, over 40 large-scale units, and more than 15 million tons per year of production capacity were placed on the 'death list'. If all plans proceed as scheduled, by the end of 2027 Europe will permanently lose 4.6 million tons of ethylene, 2.28 million tons of propylene, and 430,000 tons of butadiene—equivalent in scale to two world-class petrochemical bases in China. ExxonMobil: In April 2024, announced the permanent shutdown of its ethylene steam cracker and associated facilities in Gravenchon, France, with an ethylene capacity of 425,000 tons/year. LyondellBasell: Implemented a series of exit measures between March 2024 and June 2025. — Jointly decided with Covestro to permanently shut down the propylene oxide (PO)/styrene monomer unit at its Maasvlakte plant in the Netherlands, with PO capacity of 315,000 tons/year and styrene capacity of 640,000 tons/year. — Plans to sell its four European olefins and polyolefins assets and related businesses to AEQUITA; the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026. SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation): Announced its shutdown plan spanning April 2024 to June 2025. — Shutting down its 575,000-ton/year cracker at its Geleen plant in the Netherlands. — Permanently closing its Olefins VI steam cracker at Wilton, Teesside, UK, with ethylene capacity of 865,000 tons/year—idle since its October 2020 maintenance shutdown. Dow: In July 2024, announced the closure of three chemical plants in Europe. — Shutting down its ethylene cracker in Böhlen, Germany, and its chlor-alkali/vinyl assets in Schkopau, with cessation scheduled for Q4 2027. — Closing its base silicones plant in Barry, UK (capacity: 145,000 tons/year), scheduled for mid-2026. — Shutting down its Schkopau chlor-alkali plant, which has capacities of 250,000 tons/year chlorine, 275,000 tons/year caustic soda, 250,000 tons/year EDC, and 390,000 tons/year VCM—scheduled for Q4 2027. AkzoNobel: Progressively shut down certain capacities between 2024 and May 2025. — Plans to close its production sites in Wapenveld, the Netherlands, and Machelen, Belgium, consolidating production into other regional facilities. — Closing three production sites across Europe and Africa: Groote-Ammers (the Netherlands), Cork (Ireland), and Lusaka (Zambia). Huntsman: Implemented multiple shutdown measures between February and May 2025. — May potentially close its European polyurethane plants. — Following evaluation on May 28, decided to shut down its maleic anhydride plant in Moers, Germany, by the end of Q2.

Overview of companies producing fluorinated liquids for liquid cooling

Solvay Group is a multinational chemical group headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 1863 by Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay. Solvay’s products are widely used across numerous industries, and 90% of its sales products rank among the top three globally. Solvay holds prominent positions in rare earths, silica, engineering plastics, polyamides and intermediates, flavors and functional chemicals, basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, specialty polymers, and emerging biochemistry. Solvay’s primary fluorinated liquid offering is Fomblin YLVAC 25/6—a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) that is non-flammable, thermally stable at high temperatures, lubricious, flashpoint-free, highly dielectric, and low-surface-tension—primarily intended for data center liquid cooling. 03 AGC Inc. (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) AGC, formerly Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., is a Japanese glass manufacturing company and the world’s second-largest glass producer, established in 1907—over a century old—with Mitsubishi Group as its parent company. AGC aims to become a globally outstanding enterprise delivering high profitability and growth, leveraging core technologies in glass and fluorine chemistry to become a global materials supplier. AGC’s main fluorinated liquids include the ASAHIKLIN AC and AE series: ASAHIKLIN AC-6000 is an HFC (hydrofluorocarbon), while the ASAHIKLIN AE-3000 series comprises hydrofluoroethers (HFEs), primarily used for immersion liquid cooling, cleaning agents, and electronic equipment cooling. 04 Chemours Company Chemours is a multinational chemical company leading global markets in Titanium Technologies, Thermal Management & Specialties, and Performance Materials. Responding to growing global demand for fluorinated liquids with lower environmental impact, Chemours developed Opteon™ (Opteon™) SF10—a specialized fluorinated liquid. It is a transparent, colorless, non-flammable, thermally stable hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) fluid. Additionally, Chemours recently announced significant progress in the development and production of Opteon™ 2P50—a new heat-transfer fluid designed for two-phase immersion cooling (2-PIC). This proprietary fluid is currently undergoing final manufacturing tests and is expected to achieve initial commercialization in 2025, pending regulatory approvals. 05 Zhejiang Juhua Co., Ltd. Juhua Group’s Technology Center has officially launched its high-performance 'JuXin' dedicated cooling fluid, filling a critical domestic gap in high-performance cooling fluids for big-data centers. This cooling fluid was successfully developed by Juhua Group’s Technology Center R&D team, drawing upon over a decade of accumulated expertise in cooling fluid research and development. In August 2021, Zhejiang Chuangfu High-Tech—a subsidiary of Juhua—broke ground on its '5,000-ton-per-year JuXin Cooling Fluid Project', with a total investment of RMB 510 million. The industrialization project employs advanced preparation process technologies, delivering significant energy-saving, emission-reduction, and carbon-cutting benefits. Upon completion, the facility will become the world’s single largest immersion cooling fluid production line—leading globally in both technology and production capacity—and effectively meet domestic enterprises’ demand for immersion cooling fluids.

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