Industrial gas company, Linde, and Dutch-based oil major, Shell, have announced that they will jointly commercialize a new ethylene production technology.

Some context:

Virtually all ethylene produced globally is produced via the energy-intensive process known as steam cracking. The process takes a feedstock like naphtha, LPG, or ethane, dilutes it with steam, and heats it to temperatures near 850°C. This produces a gas stream of high-temperature alkenes (including ethylene) that are the base chemicals we transform "into a range of finished products that help society live, work and respond to climate change.".

So what's the new technology?

Ethane-oxidative dehydrogenation produces ethylene with acetic acid as a co-product with very few emissions. The process creates a pure CO2 stream that "is suitable for further downstream processes or storage". This new technology could be advantageous to customers who use ethylene and acetic acid "to produce vinyl acetate monomer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or polyvinyl alcohol".

Read the press release here.

German chemical and consumer goods company, Henkel, has announced its investment in an advanced materials start-up called Actnano.

What's the startup?

Boston-based Actnano has developed a conformal coating for electronics like printed circuit boards. Actnano's technology is "hydrophobic, electrically insulating and allows electrical connection through the coating". This is an attractive offering for electronics manufacturers looking to offer waterproof electronics.

Why does Henkel want in?

Henkel has an Adhesive Technologies business segment that includes functional coatings. As they look to expand that business in high growth sectors (like the electronics industry) technologies like Actnano's becomes more interesting. That's why Henkel set up a venture subsidiary that invests in many other innovative companies.

Read the press release here.

The world's largest oil producer, Saudi Aramco, and its chemical subsidiary, SABIC, are reportedly re-evaluating their $20 billion crude-to-chemicals (COTC) project.

A little history:

The two companies (who were separate at the time) signed a preliminary agreement three years ago to begin developing a COTC project. The goal of COTC is to produce less gasoline and more chemicals from crude oil. This would allow Saudi Aramco to continue heavy investment in its oil production business despite flattening gasoline demand. Now, as crude prices could potentially stay low for a long time, the companies are considering bringing the project to a halt.

So what now?

Just because they don't plan on spending $20 billion right now doesn't mean they no longer want to make less gasoline and more chemicals. Because it is less capital intensive, the companies will likely consider integrating current facilities instead of building from the ground up.

Read more here on Reuters.