Chemical Week

Corey Tyree, CEO of Trillium Renewable Chemicals, joins Chemical Week's Vincent Valk for a discussion of on Trillium's partnership with INEOS, the production methods behind Trillium's new bioacrylonitrile, and how start-ups can scale successfully towards commercialization. The Chemical Week podcast is the industry's premier platform for wide-ranging discussion of issues impacting the global chemic...

Dorothee Arns, director general of European Association of Chemical Distributors (FECC), joins S&P Global Commodity Insights' senior commodities pricing specialist Abdulaziz Ehtaiba ahead of FECC's annual congress for a discussion of the stat of European distribution. Topics include how disruptive geopolitical events exacerbated the industry's weak demand and poor production margins, how distribut...

Vincent Valk, senior editor at Chemical Week, joins the magazine's Rob Westervelt for a discussion surrounding Chemical Week's Billion Dollar Club 2023 rankings. Topics include a challenging year marked by double digit percentage drops in operating income and revenues, China's continued position as the industry's center of gravity, and how M&A and sustainability will play a role in rankings to com...

Chemical Week's Rob Westervelt and S&P Global Commodity Insights' Neirin Gray Desai and Mujidah Yahaya join the podcast to discuss key takeaways from second-quarter earnings season and read the tea leaves for the rest of the year. Key topics include the diminishing prospects for recovery in stalled demand, the coming of capacity rationalization in Europe, and the possible impact of a sluggish oper...

Louis Besland, partner and head of chemicals practice at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, joins Chemical Week's Rob Westervelt for a discussion of CEO succession and talent management in the industry. Topics include building a diverse talent pipeline, the evolution of skill sets needed for effective leaders, and the need for future-oriented thinking around CEO succession.

S&P Global Commodity Insights reporters Mark Astley and James Burgess join Chemical Week's Mark Thomas and Jameson Croteau for a discussion of the clean ammonia market. Key themes include difficulties in getting projects off the ground, the role of regulatory uncertainty and financing incentives in developing the market, and the ambiguities around whether blue ammonia is truly 'clean.'

Sophie Casenave, policy affairs manager at environmental trader and consultancy Strive by STX, joins the podcast to discuss the the latest alphabet-soup of climate regulations. These include the EU's new reporting directive, some new reporting rules in the US, and carbon border mechanisms in the EU. We discus what the different rules mean for industry, how reporting and regulatory requirements are...

Polyfluoroalklyl substances (PFAS) have been the subject of litigation and controversy due to mounting evidence of their long-term impact on human health. PFAS are, perhaps, most well-known for applications in films, packaging, and electronics - but they have also played a crucial role in the renewable energy sector.  In this episode cross-posted with S&P Global Commodity Insights' Energy Evolutio...

Christian Krueger, head of global sustainability and advocacy for chemical recycling at BASF, joins S&P Global Commodity Insights editors Abdulaziz Ehtaiba and Iris Poon for a conversation about chemical recycling. Topics include the key differences between chemical and mechanical recycling, the investment environment for chemical recycling in the US and Europe, and the role of legislation and gov...

Thomas Watters, managing director/oil, gas and chemicals at S&P Global Ratings, joins the podcast to discuss the intersection of credit conditions and the industry's outlook. Topics include the impact of 'higher-for-longer' interest rates, what Europe's weak operating environment means for credit, and the impact of China's relentless capacity additions.

CW editor Jameson Croteau joins the podcast to discuss Chemical Week's net zero tracker and the industry's so-far-fitful progress towards reaching its climate goals. Topics include regional differences in goal-setting and the gap between the targets and implementation. You can check out Chemical Week's net-zero tracker here: https://chemweek.com/document/show/phoenix/5077186/Push-for-net-zero-plat...

Dow CEO Jim Fitterling and Evonik deputy chairman Harald Schwager chat with Chemical Week editor-in-chief Rob Westervelt about their views on chemical markets for 2024, energy transition, European competitiveness, and Dow's net-zero cracker in Alberta. The interviews were recorded live at the 2024 World Petrochemical Conference in March.

Rob Westervelt, editor-in-chief of Chemical Week and Antionette Smith, senior editor/chemicals at S&P Global Commodity Insights, join podcast host Vincent Valk to discuss key takeaways from this year's World Petrochemical Conference and read some tea leaves on what to look out for in first- quarter earnings.

Katja Wodjereck, executive vice president/renewable products at Neste, is interviewed by S&P Global Commodity Insights editors Iris Poon and Dias Kazym on Neste's views on renewable fuels and chemicals. Topics include the company's strategy in renewables, the role of regulation, and whether renewable feedstocks are competitive in the market.

With the World Petrochemical Conference by S&P Global getting underway in Houston, join Chemical Week editors Clay Boswell, Mark Thomas and Vincent Valk for a special episode on key trends for the petrochemicals sector in 2024 and what to watch out for at WPC. Topics the outlook for demand and margins, the diverging fortunes of the European and American industry, and why Asia can attract investmen...

Irene Tasi, senior vice president/global industrials at PPG, joins the podcast for a discussion of the evolving role of women and state of gender equality in the chemicals industry. Topics include what the industry can to do attract and retain women, how the industry can be a home for people with diverse personal and professional backgrounds, and what work still needs to be done to advance equalit...

Jennifer Abril, president and CEO of Socma, the US trade association for specialty and custom chemical makers, joins the podcast to discuss how the year is looking for companies in the sector. Topics include a topsy-turvy 2023, the likely end of destocking, interest in AI, and Socma's advocacy agenda for 2024. This episode was recorded live at the Socma Show 2024 in Nashville, Tenn. on February 20...

S&P Global Commodity Insights vice president Mark Morgan and executive director Karine Boccara, lead authors of recent report on sustainable chemicals, join the podcast to to discuss advances in sustainble chemicals. Topics include the role of chemical recycling in sustainability and the challenges - and opportunities - in creating chemical building blocks from renewable or biobased feedstocks. To...

In the first episode of an occasional series on recycling and sustainability, S&P Global Commodity Insights global sustainable editor lead Heng Hui and European chemicals analyst Iris Poon join host Abdulaziz Ehtaiba to discuss the outlook for recycled polymer markets, with a particular focus on geographic differences, regulation, and price dynamics. If you enjoyed this episode, we think you'll ge...

S&P Global Commodity Insights chemicals journalists Kristen Hays and Abdulaziz Ehtaiba, along with CW editor-in-chief Rob Westervelt, sit down with host Vincent Valk for a discussion of the 2024 outlook. Topics include the threat of petchems oversupply, what to expect in Europe and China, the impact of high interest rates, and where the energy transition goes from here.

Karim Engelmark-Cassimjee, CEO and co-founder of green chemistry start-up EnginZyme, joins the podcast to discuss the promise and pitfalls of biomanufacturing processes, and the company's advances in biobased catalysts and vaccine ingredients.

Sameer Bharadwaj, CEO of Orbia, joind S&P Global Commodity Insights' polymers lead Kristen Hays to discuss Orbia's transition to a global player focused on sustainability, as well as the longer-term outlook for PVC markets.

With growing demand for recycled plastics and investment in recycling ramping up, what does the future hold for plastics circularity? Bertan Enhos, exeuctive director/chemical consulting at S&P Global Commodity Insights and lead author of a recent report on plastics circularity, joins the podcast to discuss the state of plastic recycling, the promise of chemical recycling technology, and hurdles t...

Chemical Week editor-in-chief Rob Westervelt and senior editor Vincent Valk discuss third quarter results and what they imply for the industry's outlook. Topics include whether destocking could be coming to an end, if demand is bottoming out, the operating environment in Europe and recovery in China.

Carmen Song, principal consultant at S&P Global Commodity Insights and lead author of a new report on the state of the chemicals sector in China, joins the podcast to discuss shifting currents in the Chinese industry. Topics include a capacity build-out amid oversupply, the impact of decoupling and trade restrictions, and China's energy transition. To learn more about S&P Global's Chemical Strateg...