Near Lyon, Forvia is betting on hemp and recycled materials as alternatives to plastic. Through its new subsidiary, Materi’Act, the automotive equipment manufacturer is investing in research and the production of more sustainable materials, leveraging chemistry, industrial engineering, and data.
Structural or junction parts made from recycled plastic or partially biosourced materials already exist inside cars. Nestled under the glove compartment or behind door panels, they remain invisible to the driver. Forvia, along with its competitors like Valeo, Plastic Omnium, and Plastivaloire, incorporates these components. However, consoles and dashboards, whose appearance must meet marketing criteria, along with specific functionalities such as heating, sound, or control commands, all while withstanding temperatures exceeding 100 °C behind a sun-exposed windshield without degradation, are less common. Recycled Marine-Waste
Materi’Act, Forvia’s subsidiary specializing in sustainable materials, is addressing this challenge. The automotive equipment manufacturer has decided to step up its efforts in this area and consolidate its resources within a new R&D center, inaugurated in mid-November in Villeurbanne (Rhône). “Here, we will characterize materials, establish their formulations, and produce small series through injection and extrusion to sample new products,” explains Christophe Bournay, Forvia’s Director of Sustainable Materials. The company, resulting from the merger between Faurecia and Hella, has already hired over 120 people, including about twenty with doctorates in chemistry, biochemistry, materials, and computer science. Recycled Marine-Waste
The industrial firm aims to have 400 employees by 2025.
Clariant to cut 170 jobs after closing Romania plant, downsize German operations
Clariant cut its full year earnings guidance after it said it would close its bioethanol plant in Romania and downsize its operations in Germany, said Reuters.
The Swiss company said 120 jobs would go with the closure of the Podari facility in southern Romania, while another 50 would be cut at its biofuels and derivatives operations at Straubing, Planegg and Munich in Germany. Podari was designed to convert 250,000 tons of straw into cellulosic ethanol, a product used to make laundry detergents, cleaning agents and products used in industry and personal and home care.
But the facility, opened by Clariant in 2021, ran up losses after technical problems such as bottlenecks meant its production never reached full capacity, Clariant CEO Konrad Keijzer told reporters. Recycled Marine-Waste
“We had a 50,000 ton capacity plant and couldn’t get it to run anywhere close to capacity,” he said. “The economics were not there.
“The demand for second generation biofuel is there, the commercial side of this business case is very attractive and remains very attractive,” he added. “There is a strong demand, but we had technical problems.”
Podari had run up losses of 77 million Swiss francs ($88.06 million) since the third quarter of 2022, Chief Financial Officer Bill Collins said. Recycled Marine-Waste
Clariant said it expected a negative impact on its 2023 operating profit of 170 to 200 million francs from the decision, including in a 60-90 million reduction in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). As a result, the company reduced its guidance for 2023 EBITDA to 570 to 600 million from 650 to 700 million previously.
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Trinseo Manufacturing Operations, Rho, Italy. Site of future demonstration PMMA depolymerization facility
Depolymerization is a chemical recycling technology which is complementary to more traditional mechanical recycling processes. While mechanical recycling is vital to a successful circular economy, depolymerization creates brand new opportunities by reducing the polymer back to its constituent monomers. This allows for the recycling of a wider variety of PMMA-based materials, supporting an increase in recycled content and overall recycling rates, and helping reduce the manufacturing demand for virgin materials.
“Innovation in recycling technologies is imperative to effectively recycle various types of materials. This new facility is yet another major achievement towards a scalable system with the goal of making PMMA a truly circular material of high quality,” said Trinseo’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Francesca Reverberi. Recycled Marine-Waste
“When combined with our own in-house sourcing and treatment of collected materials through our Heathland recycling operation, our PMMA depolymerization plant will offer a high-performance solution for a world increasingly looking for new ways to address sustainability in the plastics supply chain,” added Reverberi.
Trinseo’s depolymerization facility is being developed around a continuous recovery model to produce high quality recycled PMMA that matches the quality of its virgin counterpart, promoting a circular plastics value chain without compromising performance.
Using this advanced recycling technology, the introduction of recycled monomer into the supply chain helps support achieving targets for lowering carbon emissions, water consumption, and the conservation of natural resources, as indicated by the MMAtwo project’s environmental benefits calculator. Recycled Marine-Waste
A shift towards PMMA depolymerization can help deliver sustainability benefits for consumers, manufacturers, and industries alike. From car lamps to signage and more, this technology creates the opportunity to give a range of everyday products a second life and beyond.
