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Recycled Polypropylene09-Jul-2025
LONDON (ICIS)–The Environment and Internal
Market Committees of the EU Parliament have
adopted their proposals on the End of Life
Vehicle Regulation (ELVR) which will now go to
European Parliament plenary vote in September.
The legislation has the potential for a similar
impact on automotive and recycled plastic
markets as that
seen from the Single Use Plastics Directive
(SUPD) and Packaging and Packaging Waste
Regulation (PPWR).
Nevertheless, the EU Council and the proposed
position for the European Parliament are far
apart from each other in crucial aspects of the
legislation – most significantly points on
mandatory recycled content targets, including:-
What those overall targets should be
The timeframe to meet those targets
The type of plastic waste that can be used
The role of chemical recycling and
bio-based plastics
The role of imports
If the adopted proposals pass the European
Parliament plenary vote. this will become the
Parliament’s adopted position heading into
trilogue negotiations with the EU Council. The
EU Council adopted its position on 11 June.
Both the EU Council adopted position and the
European Parliament committees’ adopted
proposals on minimum recycled plastic content
in cars are more moderate than what was
originally proposed in the European
Commission’s draft. The Commission originally
proposed that a mandatory 25% of plastic in new
vehicles would need to be recycled plastic by
six years after the regulation enters in to
force, and with 25% of that target to have come
from end-of-life vehicles.
The EU Council’s position is for a graduated
target with new vehicles needing to contain 15%
recycled plastic six years after the regulation
comes into force, 20% recycled plastic content
after 8 years, and 25% after 10 years. For each
target 25% of the recycled plastic would need
to have originated from end-of-life vehicles.
The European Parliament committees’ proposal is
for a 20% recycled plastic target six years
after the regulation comes into force, with 15%
of that needing to come from end-of-life
vehicles. The Parliament committees’ proposal
would allow 50% of those targets to be met
using pre-consumer material. The proposal
defines pre-consumer waste as “‘material
diverted from the waste stream during a
manufacturing process, excluding reutilisation
of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap
generated in a process and capable of being
reclaimed within the same process that
generated it.”
The EU Council would only allow post-consumer
material to count towards the targets.
The Parliament committees propose that the
target is increased to 25% for new vehicle type
approved after 10 years “unless the lack of
availability or excessive prices of specific
recycled plastics makes compliance with that
target excessively difficult.”
Both the EU Council’s position and that
proposed by the committees of the European
Parliament would afford the European Commission
wider powers for temporary derogations from all
recycled plastic content targets due to “lack
of availability or excessive prices of recycled
plastics.” Neither gives guidance on what would
constitute either situation.
The version from the committees of the European
Parliament goes further, however, requiring the
EU Commission to evaluate whether manufacturers
are on track to comply with recycled plastic
targets by five years after the regulation
enters into force. This would include
evaluating:
The availability of suitable plastic
recycling technologies and the availability of
recycled plastic
The quality of that plastic compared with
safety requirements
Technical and economical difficulties to
reach the target
Based on the EU Commission’s evaluation it
would be given the remit to amend the timing,
scope and minimum percentages of the recycled
plastic content targets.
Both would confer powers on the Commission to
establish the methodology to calculate and
verify the share of recovered plastic in
end-of-life vehicles.
Nevertheless, the European Parliament
Committees’ proposal specifically calls out
chemical recycling, stating that the Commission
should take into account “the best available
recycling technology, including mechanical and
chemical recycling.” The EU Council adopted
position does not mention Chemical Recycling.
In addition, the EU Council’s proposals would
require separate treatment of post-consumer
waste from end-of-life vehicles and no
co-mingling with other materials throughout the
recycling process. The proposals from the
committees of the European Parliament would
allow co-mingling as long as it met certain
requirements – particularly that it did no harm
to the overall recyclability of the material.
The EU Council is proposing that by seven years
and 11 months after the entry into force of the
bill, the Commission should review the
environmental performance and technological
development of bio-based plastic in vehicles
and propose legislation for bio-based plastic
targets, sustainably requirements and whether
bio-based plastic might count towards or be
separate from recycled content targets.
In
February the European Parliament committee
on the environment, climate and food safety and
the committee on the Internal Market and
consumer protection recommended allowing
bio-based material to count towards recycled
content targets from day one, but all mention
of bio-based materials has been removed from
the current proposals.
While allowing for imports, the EU Council’s
adopted position places a number of
requirements on those imports including that
any country plastic waste is sourced from has:
equivalent environmental and worker safety
standards as the EU
A comprehensive waste management framework
covering its entire territory which takes into
account:
operating on a ‘polluter pays’
principle (such as the establishment of an
extended producer responsibility system or
equivalent)
It has measures implemented and planted
to increase the proportion of post-consumer
plastic recycled plastic from vehicles, and
the proportion of post-consumer recycled
plastic used in vehicles placed on the
national market, and indicators for those
measurements
The proposals from the European Parliament
committees would also allow imports, with the
only restrictions relating to pre-consumer
waste needing to meet “equivalent conditions
with regard to emissions and separate
collection and sustainability criteria for
recycling technologies.” It does not detail
what these equivalent conditions would be.
Whichever approach wins out in the final
version of the legislation will dramatically
alter both its overall impact and which
individual markets bear the weight of that
impact.
Taken together, the EU Council’s position
appears considerably more stringent than the
proposals from the committees of the European
Parliament. The committees of the Parliament
proposals’ allowance of pre-consumer waste,
less stringent requirements for imports, and
the specific mention of chemical recycling
technologies would likely make these targets
significantly easier to hit. Recycled plastic
content targets would also stay limited to 20%
for longer. Coupled with this, the
Parliament committees’ version seemingly
includes greater scope for the European
Commission to walk back on targets.
Changes proposed by the parliamentary
committees have been welcomed by the European
Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
“ACEA particularly welcomes the inclusion of
pre-consumer plastics in the calculation of
recycled content targets, this ensures that
targets remain achievable and aligned with
manufacturing realities. Nevertheless, a
phased-in approach is essential due to the
current lack of high-quality, safe, and
automotive-grade recycled plastics on the
market,” the ACEA said in a
press release on 7 July, although it
remains concerned over what it considers a
disproportionate impact on truck and bus
manufacturers.
14.8m vehicles are manufactured in the EU per
year,
according to ACEA estimates from September
2024
Because of its separate collection and
processing requirements, because it only allows
post-consumer material, and because of its
seeming lack of support for chemical recycling,
the EU Council version of the bill would likely
concentrate demand on the mechanically recycled
polypropylene (R-PP) market. Polypropylene is
widely used in vehicles, including in parts of
the car such as cabin interiors where technical
requirements such as heat resistance are lower
compared with, for example, engine parts –
making it potentially easier to incorporate
recycled material. There is also already well
established routes for recycling of end-of-life
vehicle parts in the R-PP market.
The European Parliament committees’ version
could potentially result in higher demand for
chemical recycled material depending on the
European Commission’s calculation and
verification requirements. The Parliament
committees’ version specifically requires the
Commission to take account of chemical
recycling, and the Parliament would allow
removed parts to count as waste from
end-of-life vehicles under recycling targets –
which could strengthen demand for tyre-derived
chemical recycling in particular.
“As the EU looks towards resource and material
circularity as a tool for increased security
and independence, ambitious goals for minimum
recycled content in the mobility sector are a
crucial piece of the puzzle. The automotive
industry has a long-standing history of
innovation, so despite the goals seeming
ambitious to some, both manufacturers and the
plastic recycling industry are ready to
leverage the decades of technical knowledge to
help car makers scale up the use of
recyclate,” Alexandra Tawton-Tomczyk,
ICIS senior analyst, plastic sustainability and
recycling EMEA said.
Insight article by Mark
Victory
ICIS is currently researching bio-naphtha
pricing in Europe. If you’re interested in
learning more, and to share your views on the
market, please contact mark.victory@icis.com
ICIS assesses more than 100 grades
throughout the recycled plastic value chain
globally – from waste bales through to pellets.
This includes recycled polyethylene (R-PE),
recycled PET (R-PET), R-PP, mixed plastic waste
and pyrolysis oil.
Crude Oil08-Jul-2025
HOUSTON (ICIS)–US-listed shares of chemical
companies rose on Tuesday after the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew
proposed rules under the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA).
Chemours shares were up by more than 10%
mid-afternoon on Tuesday, while the S&P 500
hovered around unchanged.
Almost all of the chemical companies followed
by ICIS showed significant increases in share
value, as shown in the following table.
Symbol
$ Current Price
$ Change
% Change
AdvanSix
24.92
0.48
1.96%
Avient
33.72
0.57
1.72%
Axalta Coating Systems
30.62
0.42
1.39%
Braskem
3.39
0.00
0.00%
Chemours
13.61
1.19
9.58%
Celanese
60.22
2.12
3.65%
DuPont
74.46
1.48
2.03%
Dow
29.04
1.56
5.68%
Eastman
80.38
2.12
2.71%
HB Fuller
62.84
2.08
3.42%
Huntsman
11.245
0.595
5.59%
Kronos Worldwide
6.505
0.175
2.76%
LyondellBasell
63.75
3.02
4.97%
Methanez
34.62
0.72
2.12%
NewMarket
734.12
-3.31
-0.45%
Olin
22.205
1.135
5.39%
PPG
117.4
1.94
1.68%
RPM International
112.51
1.48
1.33%
Stepan
59.24
1.67
2.90%
Sherwin-Williams
345.93
-0.36
-0.10%
Tronox
5.655
0.425
8.13%
Trinseo
2.96
0.06
2.07%
Westlake
83.15
4.43
5.63%
The withdrawn proposed rule, a significant new
use rule (SNUR) under the TSCA, would have
required businesses that intended to
manufacture or import any of 18 specific
chemical substances derived from plastic waste
to notify the EPA at least 90 days prior to
beginning any activity.
New uses under the SNUR included manufacturing,
processing, use, distribution in commerce, or
disposal that do not conform to restrictions
imposed from other TSCA requirements.
Also, another proposed SNUR targeted
manufacturing or processing of chemical
substances using feedstocks containing any
amount of heavy metals (chromium, cadmium,
chromium VI, lead, or mercury), dioxins,
phthalates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs),
and benzophenone, bisphenol A, ethyl glycol and
methyl glycol.
During its recent annual meeting in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, the America Chemistry
Council (ACC), a trade group that represents
chemical companies, said it was optimistic that EPA
regulatory shifts could emerge under the Trump
Administration.
The ACC also submitted to the EPA
a list of more than 30 regulations it felt the
agency could examine.
TRUMP COULD ASSESS 50% COPPER
TARIFFS
Trump, speaking to assembled media at the White
House during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, said
that he was planning on announcing a 50% tariff
on copper imports later in the day.
“Today we are doing copper,” Trump said. “I
believe we are going to make it 50%.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing Commerce
Secretary Howard Lutnick, said the copper
tariffs will take effect on 1 August.
US copper futures prices for September delivery
jumped by 12% after the announcement and were
up about 10% when markets closed.
Thumbnail photo by Shutterstock
Crude Oil08-Jul-2025
LONDON (ICIS)–The European Commission has
unveiled a plan to save the region’s ailing
chemicals industry, while simplifying
regulations to save €363 million a year, the
institution announced on Tuesday.
The Action Plan for the Chemicals Industry will
tackle “high energy costs, unfair global
competition and weak demand, while promoting
investment in innovation and sustainability,”
according to the statement.
The Commission will form a Critical Chemical
Alliance with member states and stakeholders
“to address the risks of capacity closures in
the sector.” Europe has already seen swathes of
shutdowns this year against a backdrop of tough
conditions.
The Alliance will highlight critical production
sites that need support, and will also address
trade issues including supply-chain
dependencies and distortions.
In line with this, the Commission will apply
defensive measures to ensure fair competition
and expand chemical import monitoring through
its existing Import Surveillance Task Force.
The Alliance will align investment priorities,
coordinate EU and national projects – including
Important Projects of Common European Interest
(IPCEIs) – and support innovation and growth at
critical production sites.
The Commission also said it will implement the
Affordable Energy Action Plan “at full speed”
to help reduce energy and feedstock costs for
the chemicals industry.
The plan introduces rules for low-carbon
hydrogen and will update state aid to lower
electricity costs for more chemical producers
by the end of the year. The use of clean carbon
sources – like carbon capture, biomass, and
waste – are also encouraged in the plan, as
well as support for renewables.
There will be fiscal incentives and tax
measures to help spur demand for clean
chemicals, and the Industry Decarbonisation
Accelerator Act will be introduced to support
growth and investment in greener technologies.
The upcoming Bioeconomy Strategy and Circular
Economy Act will boost EU resource efficiency,
chemicals recycling and “strengthen the market
for bio-based and recycled alternatives to
fossil-based inputs.”
A public consultation has been launched on
rules for calculating, verifying and reporting
recycled content in single-use plastic (SUP)
beverage bottles, which will be open until 19
August.
Funding from Horizon Europe between 2025-2027
will be mobilized through the EU Innovation and
Substitution Hubs to accelerate safer, more
sustainable chemical substitutes.
The Action Plan will reaffirm the Commission’s
stance to minimize per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) emissions while be
restricted. Continued use in critical
applications where no alternatives are
available “will be proposed swiftly after
ECHA’s opinion,” the statement continued.
“The Commission will also invest in innovation,
promote remediation based on the polluter pays
principle, and prioritise the development of
safer alternatives.”
The Commission is adopting its sixth
simplification omnibus to reduce compliance and
administrative costs for the chemicals
industry, while still protecting human health
and the environment.
Annual savings of €363 million per year are
expected through the ECHA Basic Regulation by
simplifying hazardous chemical labelling,
clarifying EU cosmetics regulations, and easing
registration for EU fertilising products by
aligning information with standard Reach
requirements.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is now
responsible for classification and labelling,
biocidal products, import and export of
hazardous chemicals, waste management and
water.
European chemicals industry body Cefic welcomed
the plan saying it “marks an important and
timely first step towards boosting the
competitiveness and resilience of the EU
chemical industry.
“This crucial signal to global investors and
the announced measures go beyond signalling
support…[The plan] is a much-needed signal of
support, following Cefic’s calls for action to
protect Europe’s most strategic industries,”
the statement read.
“Now, we must act collectively and quickly to
restore competitiveness and resilience. There
is no strategic independence, no climate
neutrality, no energy transition, and no clean
tech transformation without the European
chemical industry.”

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Gas08-Jul-2025
High capacity-booking interest for gas exports
from Romania to Hungary for the next ten years
indicate regional companies may be preparing
for the start of Black Sea gas production from
2027.
In 2024, Romania became the EU’s largest gas
producer, a position that is likely to be
further consolidated when the Neptun Deep block
comes on stream.
The project has faced political and regulatory
headwinds over the years, and first volumes are
set to reach markets at a time of numerous
changes including surging global LNG
production.
In this podcast, Franck Neel, executive board
member of project operator OMV Petrom, tells
Aura Sabadus about latest developments at
Neptun Deep, the company’s regional expansion
plans and why Romanian Black Sea gas will have
a competitive edge.
Speciality Chemicals08-Jul-2025
LONDON (ICIS)–European politicians must decide
if they want to save the region’s chemical
industry as the wave of energy-intensive
closures continues.
Dow to close cracker at Bohlen, Germany,
plus two other sites with loss of 800 jobs
More than 5 million tonnes/year of ethylene
capacity now under threat in Europe
Industry still faces high energy costs,
regulatory burdens, unfair competition
China will continue to add capacity at
least to 2030
China chemical plants running at
higher-than-expected operating rates
Importing ethylene and propylene can be
expensive
Political support will be vital to save
Europe’s chemical industry
New US tariffs may see two-tier chemical
markets emerge in Asia
Uncertainty and chaos likely to persist
In this Think Tank podcast, Will
Beacham interviews John
Richardson from the ICIS market
development team.
Editor’s note: This podcast is an opinion
piece. The views expressed are those of the
presenter and interviewees, and do not
necessarily represent those of ICIS.
ICIS is organising regular updates to help
the industry understand current market trends.
Register here.
Read the latest issue of ICIS
Chemical Business.
Read Paul Hodges and John Richardson’s
ICIS
blogs.
Naphtha08-Jul-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–ChemOne Group has secured
$350 million in Islamic insurance cover, paving
the way for Islamic banks to finance the $5.3
billion Pengerang Energy Complex (PEC) in
Malaysia, the Singapore-based petrochemicals
firm said on Tuesday.
The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of
Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Islamic Development
Bank (IsDB), has approved an insurance cover of
$350 million for the PEC, ChemOne Group said.
The ICIEC cover is structured under a Murabaha
financing facility, providing 90% cover on both
principle and profit and aligning with
significantly de-risking the transaction for
participating Islamic banks, the firm added.
The Islamic banks include:
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK)
Qatar National Bank (QNB)
Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia
Al Rajhi Bank KSA
Additionally, the IsDB Group has committed $150
million in direct investment via Istisna
(manufacturing or construction contract) and
Ijara (leasing contract) structures.
Between direct investments and credit
enhancement, the IsDB has supported the PEC
with over $500 million, said ChemOne Group.
The groundbreaking of the
PEC project is expected to take place in Q4
2025 following financial close by the end of Q3
this year, a ChemOne spokesperson told ICIS on
Tuesday.
The Pengerang Energy Complex is slated to begin
operations by the first quarter of 2029, the
spokesperson said.
The project has been beset by delays since 2020
due to “complex financing issues”, according to
the project operator. Construction was
previously
set to begin in mid-2025 after $3.5 billion
in funding was found in Dec 2024.
Located within the Pengerang Integrated
Petroleum Complex (PIPC) in Johor, the 6.5
million tonne/year PEC is capable of processing
150,000 barrels/day of condensate plus side
feed of naphtha, that will in turn produce 2.6
million tonnes/year of aromatics, 3 million
tonnes/year of energy products and hydrogen
output of 50,000 tonnes/year.
In May this year, ChemOne Group’s Vice
President for Technology Mobin Rahman said the
complex would
utilize bionaphtha as a feedstock for
the PEC, creating a circular and sustainable
petrochemical chain.
(Recasts paragraph 8 to an updated timeline
for the start of commercial operations at the
complex)
Ammonia07-Jul-2025
HOUSTON (ICIS)–US corn and soybean acreage is
steadily maturing with 18% of the corn crop now
silking and 32% of soybeans blooming, according
to the latest crop progress report from the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The amount of corn at the silking stage
continues to rise but is behind the 22%
achieved during the 2024 season, yet it is
ahead of the five-year average of 15%.
In the first update on corn reaching the dough
stage, the USDA has 3% of the crop at this
development point, which equals the 3% from
2024 and is slightly above the five-year
average of 2%.
For corn conditions, there remains 1% listed as
very poor and 4% still poor, with the amount
rated as fair down to 21%. The crop ranked as
good has decreased to 57% with the level of
excellent up to 17%.
Soybean emergence has reached 96% and blooming
is at 32%, which matches the 32% from 2024 and
is above the five-year average of 31%.
The crop that is setting pods is at 8%, at pace
with the 8% rate from 2024 but a bit higher
than the five-year average of 6%.
For soybean conditions, there is still listed
2% very poor, 5% poor and 27% rated as fair.
The amount that is ranked as good has decreased
to 54% with excellent lifted to 12%.
Cotton plantings are concluded with sorghum
sowings at 96%.
Winter wheat harvest has reached a 53%
completion rate.
Ethylene07-Jul-2025
HOUSTON (ICIS)–The US has proposed on Monday
tariffs of 25% on imports from Japan as well as
from South Korea, which was the top source of
US imports of aromatics and base oils in 2024.
The tariffs will take effect on 1 August, US
President Donald Trump said on social media.
The tariffs would not apply to imports subject
to the sectoral tariffs that the US has adopted
on goods such as aluminium, steel and
automobiles.
The US will also start imposing an unspecified
higher tariff on transhipped goods from Japan
and South Korea. The US is already adopting
such a tariff on transhipped goods from
Vietnam, which it set at 40%.
S KOREA IS TOP US SOURCE OF IMPORTED
AROMATICSSouth Korea is the
largest source of US imports of benzene,
toluene and mixed xylenes (MX), according to
ICIS. In addition, it is the second largest
source of paraxylene (PX), trailing only
Mexico.
These are building block chemicals produced as
byproducts from refineries or from cracking
naphtha, an oil-based feedstock. Companies will
not purposely expand refineries or naphtha
crackers to produce these byproducts. As a
result, US importers will have to find
lower-cost sources, pay the tariffs or lower
production.
Benzene is used to make many intermediates such
as cumene and styrene.
Cumene is used to make phenol and acetone,
which, in turn, are feedstock for polycarbonate
(PC) and methyl methacrylate (MMA)
respectively.
Styrene is used to make polystyrene (PS),
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and
styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) among many
others.
Toluene and MX can be used as solvents or
octane boosters for gasoline. MX can be further
refined to produce orthoxylene (OX) and PX.
PX is one of the two main feedstocks used to
make polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a
polyester used to make fabric and beverage
bottles.
Thumbnail shows a cup made out of PS, a
derivative of benzene, a chemical for which
South Korea is the top source of US imports.
Image by ICIS.
Gas07-Jul-2025
By Tobey Barnett
European energy company MET Group said on
Monday 7 July it had acquired 100% of gas
storage operator KGE, based in Gronau, Germany.
KGE operates a H-gas storage facility in
Gronau-Epe capable of holding 179 million cubic
metres of natural gas, injecting 150,000
Nm3/h of gas and withdrawing 400,000
Nm3/h at maximum capacity.
This represents around 0.7% of Germany’s total
combined gas storage capacity.
The facility is connected to the German THE
hub.
According to MET CEO Benjamin Lakatos, the
acquisition will “strengthen our position in
the German market” while furthering natural gas
infrastructure in Germany.
According to ICIS price assessments on Friday 4
July, German gas for the coming winter season
was assessed at €36.725/MWh, a rough €3.00/MWh
premium to the Summer ’26.
While not a significant premium in historical
terms, the €3.00/MWh figure does show a
widening of the seasonal spread in Germany in
recent months. As recently as March for
example, the Summer ’25 was priced marginally
higher than the Winter ’26 largely due to
uncertainty over summer injection demand.
In Germany, MET Group has been active since
2020 operating two natural gas storage
facilities at the Etzel and Reckrod sites.
MET is present in 32 national gas markets and
in 44 international trading hubs, trading 140
billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2024.
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