October 2026
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Europe’s Chemical Reset: Can Biomanufacturing Fill the Gap?
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Europe’s chemical industry is facing an industrial reckoning. High energy costs, global overcapacity, weakening competitiveness and growing import competition have accelerated the closure of chemical production assets across the region. According to the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), cumulative announced chemical plant closures reached 37 million tons of annual capacity between 2022 and early 2026,…
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RMC 2026: Europe Has the Innovation—Can It Build the Market?
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After several days of presentations and discussions at the Renewable Materials Conference (#2026RMC) held in Siegburg, Germany, the renewable materials industry does not appear to be short of technologies. What it remains short of is a reliable system for turning those technologies into competitive, financeable and scalable businesses. Across biopolymers, renewable chemicals, lignin, furanics, CO₂…