Strong alliances! Clariant, Covestro, TotalEnergies, Saudi Aramco… partnering with Chinese chemical enterprises—what sectors are they targeting?

Recently, Clariant plans to expand its cooperation with Wanhua Chemical! On July 12, Clariant China’s official WeMedia account announced that Clariant CEO Conny H. K. and his leadership team held talks with strategic client Wanhua Chemical Group during a visit, focusing on expanding their business relationship. Clariant and Wanhua signed a strategic cooperation agreement in May 2022. ▲ Source: Clariant China Both parties look forward to deepening collaboration, one key direction being digital transformation via Clariant’s Catalyst Services CLARITY™. Clariant has provided industry-leading Catofin® catalyst technical support for Wanhua’s world-class propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Penglai. Catofin® offers exceptional reliability and productivity, enabling superior yields and thereby enhancing overall plant profitability. Discussions also covered carbon dioxide-to-methanol technology and its industrial prospects. In fact, Clariant has already participated in multiple global projects applying CO₂-to-methanol technology; its innovative MegaMax® catalyst simplifies the conversion of CO₂ into methanol, facilitating production of clean, versatile fuels and chemicals. ▲ Photo taken at CHINAPLAS 2024 International Rubber & Plastics Exhibition Such partnerships—please bring us more! Which other chemical enterprises are actively forging collaborations? What sectors are they targeting? What progress has been made? Let’s take a look! Mistral Chemical and Covestro, together with the Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF Jointly developing bio-based polyurethane additives On July 10, Jiangsu Mistral Chemical Co., Ltd.—a leading Chinese supplier of polyurethane additives—signed a cooperation agreement with Covestro and the Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry. The three parties will launch open, industry-university-research collaboration to jointly advance the circular economy, promote sustainable development, and achieve China’s dual-carbon goals. ▲ Source: Mistral Chemical Under the agreement, Mistral will collaborate with both partners to accelerate the development and application of novel bio-based polyurethane additives; hold regular seminars and lectures on bio-based PU additives and related applications; and jointly explore and implement effective solutions to challenges in this field. Henkel (Folex Group) and Wanhua Chemical Signing a Strategic Cooperation Agreement On July 5, Rob Hubbard, Global Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer of Henkel (Folex Group); Tim Roska, Chief Strategic Procurement Manager; and Jianghui Tang, Senior Strategic Procurement Manager, visited Wanhua Chemical’s Magnet Hill headquarters to sign a strategic cooperation agreement. ▲ Source: Wanhua Micro-World This partnership will not only strengthen both parties’ comprehensive capabilities in innovation R&D and market expansion but also create new development opportunities for the adhesive industry. TotalEnergies and Sinopec Signing an agreement! On May 7, TotalEnergies and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a strategic cooperation agreement to deepen bilateral collaboration—especially in low-carbon energy fields. The agreement aims to further strengthen the partnership by leveraging each party’s expertise to seize emerging opportunities, particularly in biofuels, green hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and decarbonization. ▲ Source: Total Lubricants For years, TotalEnergies and Sinopec have collaborated across oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum product trading, engineering, and upstream projects—including operations in Angola and Brazil.

Current status and future outlook analysis of the plastics industry?

Regarding the importance of the Chinese market to Clariant, Mr. An Yueheng stated that Clariant is intensifying its investment in manufacturing bases within China. Following an additional investment in 2022, Clariant has cumulatively invested 100 million Swiss francs in its Exolit® OP halogen-free flame retardant plant located in Dayawan, China—constructing two production lines scheduled to come online in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This facility will produce Clariant’s globally patented organic phosphonate flame retardants, meeting increasingly stringent safety regulations and technical performance requirements in electric vehicles, 5G communications, transportation, and other sectors. It will provide local production and technical expert support to Chinese customers—and also benefit Clariant’s global customer base. Meanwhile, Clariant’s high-tech CATOFIN catalyst production base is under construction in Jiaxing and is expected to commence operations in 2023. This will be Clariant’s most digitally advanced catalyst production facility, strengthening its existing catalyst operations network and meeting surging domestic demand for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) catalysts. In today’s rapidly evolving market, which application areas hold promise? Mr. An shared several insights: Electric Vehicle Safety: Clariant’s Exolit® OP phosphinate flame retardant series is especially suited for engineering plastics used in new-energy vehicles. Its outstanding performance reduces flammability, achieving UL94-V0 flame retardancy at thicknesses as low as 0.4 mm and delivering high Comparative Tracking Index (CTI) values (e.g., 600 V). Circular Economy: As sustainability rises in priority for enterprises and society alike, developing a circular economy to tackle plastic pollution will become a critical industry direction going forward. Internally, Clariant launched the EcoCircle initiative to actively promote circular plastic packaging and agricultural mulch film markets, advancing circular economy development across the plastics industry. Advanced Manufacturing: Clariant is driving Industry 4.0 implementation in the catalyst sector, launching a Catalyst Service Platform that enables users to monitor and evaluate catalyst performance digitally and in real time—helping customers improve plant operational efficiency and supporting chemical producers in achieving more sustainable manufacturing. Moreover, Clariant leverages advanced algorithms and machine-learning models to deliver factory monitoring and optimization engine services to chemical producers. New Energy & Energy Storage: Clariant has long pursued R&D and cross-sector collaboration in this field, developing numerous catalysts for innovative hydrogen applications. Additionally, Clariant co-developed the EARTH technology with Technip Energies; it won the 2022 ICIS Award for Best Process Innovation and Best Refining & Petrochemical Technology. Currently deployed at a European world-class hydrogen production facility, EARTH is projected to increase capacity by 20% while reducing CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption. INCOE: Hot Runner Systems Boosting Efficient Development of the New-Energy Vehicle Industry Challenges arise every year—and 2022 was no exception. Shortly after the Spring Festival that year, Shanghai faced a two-month lockdown. Coupled with ongoing macroeconomic instability, INCOE—a global manufacturing enterprise headquartered in Shanghai—experienced significant business impact. ‘While complying fully with local epidemic prevention policies, our Shanghai company proactively and effectively organized resumption of work and production, successfully fulfilling the targets set at the beginning of 2022 in a tense yet orderly manner.’

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Clariant's AI-powered digital catalyst monitoring platform, CLARITY, has won the 2026 ICIS Best Digital Innovation Award. Serving over 100 enterprises across 42 countries, it transforms catalyst lifecycle management for the chemical industry.

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