Page 160 - CW E-Magazine (25-6-2024)

News from Abroad

EXPANDING PORTFOLIO
Brazil’s Suzano to buy 15% stake in Lenzing for €230-mn

Brazil’s pulp producer, Suzano, is be the world’s largest market pulp pro- B&C, an ideal partner for Lenzing as it
set to purchase a 15% stake in Lenzing, ducer. Suzano, which is currently in its seeks to strengthen its competitive posi-
the Austria based producer of wood- centennial year, isn’t a direct competi- tion and global presence. For us, this
based textiles, non-wovens and pack- tor of Lenzing and has extensive expe- represents a continuation of our strategy
aging materials, for €230-mn. rience in pulp, a raw material, which it focused on investments that enlarge
believes will benefi t Lenzing. our addressable market in scalable
Suzano will acquire the stake from and competitive business models and
B&C, Lenzing’s current majority share- Mr. Walter Schalka, CEO of Suzano, move us closer to the end-consumer,”
holder. Suzano and B&C plan to form a said, “Lenzing is already a leading global he added.The partners have agreed on
“long-term syndicate” holding a majo- supplier of premium cellulosic fi bres a long-term commitment to the exist-
rity stake in the company, and under the for the textile and non-wovens industry ing Lenzing site which will ensure the
partnership Suzano has the option to and we recognise opportunities exist company’s headquarters, production
acquire a further 15% stake from B&C for further growth with its established facilities and key R&D activities
until 2028. technology, product range and techni- remain located in Austria. The partner-
cal knowledge. “Our deep-rooted un- ship also guarantees the continued list-
With an annual net revenue of more derstanding of pulp production and cost ing of Lenzing shares on the Vienna
than €7-bn in 2023, Suzano claims to excellence makes Suzano, alongside stock exchange.
Meijo Nano Carbon, SK Group arm announce battery

material alliance

Meijo Nano Carbon, a Japanese and cables, and with the investment one problem with silicon anode is
start-up company that manufactures from SK Inc. Materials, the two com- that its function cannot be maintained
high-crystallinity and high-purity sin- panies will collaborate particularly in due to severe deterioration caused by
gle-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) the LIB (lithium-ion battery) fi eld. charge-discharge (cycle characteristic).
has agreed to a capital and business However, by using SWCNTs as a con-
alliance with SK Inc. Materials, a mate- Graphite is mainly used as the ductive additive in the silicon anode, it
rials company of SK Group, a major anode material for conventional LIB, is possible to signifi cantly improve the
Korean conglomerate. but silicon is attracting attention as cycle characteristics. The partners plan
the next-generation anode material, to establish a mass production system
High-crystallinity and high-purity which is said to have a theoretical for high-crystallinity and high-purity
SWCNTs are expected to be used in storage capacity and cruising range 10 SWCNTs for LIB, mainly used in EV
devices in fi elds such as semiconductors times greater than graphite. However, batteries.

Borealis appoints Stefan Doboczky as new CEO

The Supervisory Board of Austrian look forward to exploring position on the OMV
petrochemicals major, Borealis, has an- new strategic advancements Supervisory Board since
nounced the appointment of Dr. Stefan with my new colleagues 2019, from which he
Doboczky as the new CEO of Borealis, at Borealis and delivering stepped down due to his
effective July 1, 2024. sustained growth while tap- new role at Borealis. He
ping into new market op- holds a Ph.D. in Chemi-
Commenting on his appointment, portunities internationally,” stry from the Technical
Dr. Doboczky said he would look to he said. University Vienna and
further advance Borealis’ development an MBA from IMD
in the evolving chemicals sector. “I Dr. Doboczky held a Lausanne.

160 Chemical Weekly June 25, 2024

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