Industry Trends

March 2023

See what has been happening in Asia’s petrochemicals, agrochemicals, automotive, bio energy, and mining industries over the last weeks. What are experts and industry magazines talking about?

What has been happening?

Scientists use crab shells to develop battery anodes, “Climate-Friendly” Fuel Comes With an Astronomical Cancer Risk, Electric vehicle batteries could get big boost with new polymer coating, and more. See what journals and industry experts have been discussing in the last four weeks.

Latest Industry Articles

Scientists use crab shells to develop battery anodes

MINING.com

Researchers at the Kyushu Institute of Technology and Shandong First Medical University are “upcycling” crab shells to create anode materials for sodium-ion batteries — an up-and-coming competitor to lithium-ion chemistries. In a paper published in the journal ACS Omega, the scientists explain that although chemically similar to lithium, sodium ions are larger, and thus incompatible with a lithium-ion battery’s anode, which is typically made of graphite.

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This “Climate-Friendly” Fuel Comes With an Astronomical Cancer Risk

Advanced BioFuels USA

by Sharon Lerner (Pro Publica) The Environmental Protection Agency recently gave a Chevron refinery the green light to create fuel from discarded plastics as part of a “climate-friendly” initiative to boost alternatives to petroleum. But, according to agency records obtained by ProPublica and The Guardian, the production of one of the fuels could emit air pollution that is so toxic, 1 out of 4 people exposed to it over a lifetime could get cancer.

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Electric vehicle batteries could get big boost with new polymer coating

Batteries News

Scientists have developed a polymer coating that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The advance opens up a new approach to developing EV batteries that are more affordable and easy to manufacture.

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Iran’s lithium discovery and potential implications to the global battery and electric mobility ecosystem

MINING.com

While the mining sector has started to pick up in the Arab Gulf states (also referred to as the Gulf cooperation council [GCC]), Iran has introduced measures to expand its mining and metals sector in recent years as part of plans to diversify its economy away from oil revenues.

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China, air travel rebound set to supercharge oil demand

Channel NewsAsia Front Page News

Global oil demand is edging up slowly but is set for a huge boost from resumed air travel and China’s economic reopening after COVID-19 curbs, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.

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New design for lithium-air battery could offer much longer driving range compared with the lithium-ion battery

Batteries News

Scientists have built and tested for a thousand cycles a lithium-air battery design that could one day be powering cars, domestic airplanes, long-haul trucks and more. Its energy storage capacity greatly surpasses that possible with lithium-ion batteries.

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3D internal structure of rechargeable batteries revealed

ScienceDaily

Researchers have pioneered a technique to observe the 3D internal structure of rechargeable batteries. This opens up a wide range of areas for the new technique from energy storage and chemical engineering to biomedical applications.

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China to step up deep sea mining efforts

MINING.com

China Daily reports that the country will make renewed efforts to join the race to mine the deep sea for critical minerals. The English language government-run paper says China lags behind the West in terms of research, technology and hardware for seabed mining which it calls “a new frontier for international competition.

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Napocor teams with APTI Renewable Energy Corp. to develop palm oil-based power

Biofuels Digest

In the Philippines, the Business World newspaper reports the National Power Power Corp. (Napocor) has teamed with APTI Renewable Energy Corp. to develop projects using biofuel and biomass hybrid power, particularly its small power utilities group (SPUG) areas with particular focus on palm oil as feedstock.

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MOU on Joint Study of Sustainable Palm Oil Industry Development in Malaysia

Advanced BioFuels USA

JGC Holdings Corporation and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian natural gas sales, marketing, and distribution company Gas Malaysia Bhd (GMB) for joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilization of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country. Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia.

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Harita Nickel courts investors as Indonesian nickel expands

Mining Technology

Indonesia’s Harita Nickel has started its investor roadshow ahead of a $600m public listing later this month. This comes as the first act in a political effort to keep nickel processing within Indonesia. The country has seen a record year for public listings, with nickel companies driving the charge. The Financial Times reports that Harita Nickel, a subsidiary of the Harita Group, hopes to raise at least $600m in March.

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Malaysia, Singapore in talks again over $28bn high-speed railway

Global Construction Review

Malaysia’s transport minister has said his government is looking to resurrect a plan to build a high-speed rail link with Singapore, the New Straits Times reports. The project was agreed in 2016 but halted by Malaysia in 2018 over cost concerns. Anthony Loke Siew Fook said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, had asked him to discuss the matter, and added that his ministry was open to proposals from the private sector.

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IINO conducted marine B24 trial in December

Biofuels Digest

In Singapore, IINO Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd. (IINO) conducted a trial on one of its vessels using a marine biofuel blend delivered in Singapore on December 18. The chemical tanker “Chemroad Echo” was supplied with B24 marine biofuel, consisting of 24% fatty acid methyl easter (FAME), blended with very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).

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Report reveals “extraordinary” growth of coal-power approvals in China

Global Construction Review

China approved 106GW of coal-fired power stations last year, the biggest increase since 2015, a report finds. The report’s authors, Finland’s Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and San Francisco-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM), say the number equates to two new coal power plants approved every week in 2022.

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Used China Cooking Oil Starting to Clean Up Dirty USA Diesel

Rigzone.com

China’s used cooking oil is starting to help US trucks run cleaner — and that’s even after it has traveled halfway around the world.

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Philippine miners not keen on Indonesia nickel alliance plan

BusinessWorld

A plan by top nickel miner Indonesia to create an OPEC-like group to coordinate supply would not benefit the Philippines, the No. 2 producer, according to an industry group. The Philippines mined a 10th of the in-demand metal that’s used in electric vehicle batteries last year, according to the US Geological Survey, and mainly exports nickel ore to China. That’s well behind Indonesia, which accounted for almost half of global output, and floated the idea of a producer alliance late last year.

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Malaysia palm oil, rubber farmers file EU petition contesting deforestation law

Channel NewsAsia

Malaysian palm oil and rubber smallholders on Wednesday filed a petition to the European Union to protest against a new law preventing imports into the bloc of commodities linked to deforestation risks.

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High construction material prices put pressure on Vietnam

The Star Online

The cost of construction materials remains stubbornly high in Vietnam, making it difficult for businesses to accept contracts for construction projects that require large amounts of steel.

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China to increase control over global cobalt supply

MINING.com

China is poised to increase its control over the global cobalt supply, according to a report by Darton Commodities, a UK-based cobalt trader. Over the next two years, China’s share of cobalt production is expected to reach half of global output, up from 44% at present, Darton said. Chinese refining activity reached 140,000 tonnes in 2022, giving the country a 77% global share of refining capacity. The price of the metal hit a 32-month low this month amid a surge in production.

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China and Myanmar in talks to resume work on 1,000km railway

Global Construction Review

According to the government of Myanmar, talks are under way on restarting a 1,215km railway across the country, between China’s Yunnan province and the Bay of Bengal, Voice of America reports. The project, one of the most important in the Belt and Road Initiative, will establish the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which will include a pipeline, highways, border trade zones, and a deepwater port and special economic zone.

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