The European chemical industry's 'shutdown wave': Exactly how many chemical plants have been shut down? Listed one by one 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 fell 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: From March 2024 to June 2025, implemented a series of exit measures. The company jointly decided with Covestro to permanently shut down the propylene oxide (PO)/styrene monomer unit at the Maasvlakte plant in the Netherlands, with PO capacity of 315,000 tons/year and styrene capacity of 640,000 tons/year. It plans to sell its four olefin and polyolefin assets and related businesses in Europe to AEQUITA, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2026. SABIC: Announced its shutdown plan spanning from April 2024 to June 2025. Shutting down its 575,000-ton-per-year cracker at the Green site 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. 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 silicone factory in Barry, UK (capacity: 145,000 tons/year), scheduled for mid-2026. Shutting down its Schkopau chlor-alkali plant—producing 250,000 tons/year chlorine, 275,000 tons/year caustic soda, 250,000 tons/year EDC, and 390,000 tons/year VCM—with closure scheduled for Q4 2027. AkzoNobel: Gradually closed certain capacities between 2024 and May 2025. Plans to close production sites in Wapenveld, the Netherlands, and Machelen, Belgium, consolidating production into other regional facilities. Closing three production bases across Europe and Africa: Groot-Ammers (Netherlands), Cork (Ireland), and Lusaka (Zambia). Huntsman: Implemented multiple shutdown measures between February and May 2025. May potentially close its polyurethane plants in Europe. Following an assessment on May 28, decided to shut down its maleic anhydride plant in Moers, Germany, by the end of Q2.

Chemical industry updates: Multiple chemical industry giants have again shut down operations!

Domestically, in 2024 the domestic polyether industry saw further concentration of capacity among leading enterprises, with the industry’s capacity concentration ratio rising to 48%. Total domestic output reached approximately 5.55 million tons, while domestic consumption stood at about 4.08 million tons—a modest year-on-year increase—and downstream demand continued its growth trend. China exported around 1.68 million tons of polyether and imported approximately 280,000 tons; export volumes continued to rise, while imports declined steadily. The polyether industry is mature, with extremely broad market applications. Downstream sectors include automotive, home furnishings, construction, daily chemicals, textile printing & dyeing, agriculture, industry, pharmaceuticals, packaging, and wind power. Product forms include high-resilience foam, slow-recovery foam, slabstock sponge, self-skinning foam, and semi-rigid energy-absorbing foam. In the polyether industry, profits for basic flexible and rigid foam polyethers are razor-thin; only value-added products offered by top-tier enterprises—such as high-molecular-weight polyethers, graft polyethers, and specialty polyethers—are experiencing rapid growth. Promising products include those involved in Wanhua Chemical’s September announcement of expanded EOD polyether capacity (Wanhua Chemical Penglai Company’s EOD Polyether Expansion Project), e.g., conventional flexible foam polyether, high-resilience polyether, differentiated polyether, low-solids POP blending lines, polycarboxylate superplasticizer polyether, differentiated EOD, and polyethylene glycol. Overall, domestic polyether facilities are accelerating expansion, imports continue declining, and exports keep increasing—reaching new record highs. Domestic polyether enterprises will continue expanding and moving further upstream into high-end products, including Wanhua Chemical, Longhua New Materials, CNOOC Shell, Changhua Chemical, Hongbaoli, Jiahua Chemical, Zhejiang Petrochemical, Sinochem Dongda, Wudi Dexin, Tianjiao Chemical, and Dexin Federal. According to incomplete third-party statistics, China’s newly added polyether polyol capacity from 2025 to 2029 will exceed 4 million tons/year. (2) INEOS: Closing Two More Plants—Involving Epoxy Resins and Chlorine On October 6, INEOS confirmed plans to close two manufacturing plants in Rheinberg, Germany, resulting in the loss of 175 jobs. The direct cause cited was soaring energy and carbon emission costs, coupled with lack of tariff protection. Both plants produce essential chemicals. The Allyl Chemicals division manufactures key components for epoxy resins—critical for defense, aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy infrastructure. The electrochemical plant produces chlorine—vital for clean water, pharmaceuticals, industrial processes, and sanitation facilities. The following day, October 7, INEOS announced further layoffs—cutting 20% of staff at its acetyl plant in Hull, UK—blaming the move on competition from cheap, high-carbon imported products. Additionally, in September 2025, INEOS announced plans to shut down its propylene oxide (PO) and propylene glycol (PG) production units in Cologne, Germany, and to withdraw from relevant working groups of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) in 2026. (3) Arlanxeo: Shutting Down 140,000-Ton Synthetic Rubber Plant On October 2, Arlanxeo France Elastomers—a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco and one of the world’s largest synthetic rubber suppliers—announced plans to cease operations at its synthetic rubber production base in Port-Jérôme, northern France.

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