The aftermath of Hurricane Laura seems to have spared the majority of Gulf Coast refineries and chemical plants from serious issues. While some companies are still assessing the extent of the damages, many began restarting operations last Friday.

Who is getting back up and running?

The hurricane made landfall late last week and hit the Lake Charles and Port Arthur area the hardest. Despite not being in the direct path of the hurricane, ExxonMobil and Chevron's idled sites have begun restarting. Motiva, Valero, and Total have all begun restarting operations at their Port Arthur sites.

Who needs a bit longer?

Both Phillips 66 and CITGO are still assessing damages to their Lake Charles facilities from the storm. In a statement from Phillips 66, "Facility assessments are underway at all impacted locations and will likely take several days.". CITGO said, "The refinery sustained damage as a result of high winds. A detailed assessment, which will take a number of days to complete, is currently underway as are plans to repair the damage.". Some reports say CITGO may need 4 to 6 weeks to repair damages.

Read more here on S&P Global.

US-based heavy equipment designer and manufacturer, Cummins, has announced that it will be supplying the largest hydrogen electrolyzer in the US to a public utility in Washington (the state, not D.C.).

The details:

The 5 MW electrolyzer will produce hydrogen with excess hydropower from the Wells Dam Facility to produce renewable hydrogen when it starts up in 2021. By producing hydrogen with excess power, this solution addresses one of the biggest issues with the feasibility of widespread renewable power—how to store the energy produced when it's not in demand. For utilities, this allows them to use energy that would otherwise be sold for a financial loss and provides a new market opportunity for growth (aka investment).

Bigger picture for Cummins:

Cummins acquired Hydrogenics Corporation back in 2019, is invested in LOOP energy, and signed an MOU with Hyundai. Cummins isn't just trying to sell hydrogen electrolyzers, its also getting involved in hydrogen transport and storage.

Finland's pulp and paper manufacturer, Stora Enso, has announced the construction of a bio-based packaging foam pilot plant.

What are they making?

The bio-based foam, called Cellufoam, is made from cellulose fibers. Those fibers are obtained from wood pulp (Stora Enso's main business) and produce a product comparable to styrofoam. According to Stora Enso, the "initial target application for Cellufoam will be the protective packaging of fragile products, for example in consumer electronics.".

Zooming out:

The expanded polyethylene (EPE) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) markets are enormous. But many companies are looking to achieve environmental goals related to recycling and emissions. Stora Enso is just capitalizing on the fact that there are some smaller markets and applications where the demand for sustainable materials is rapidly increasing.

Read the press release here.