The British chemical giant Ineos is to invest some €2.7 billion in two new petrochemical plants in the port of Antwerp. The investment will be the biggest ever made by a European chemical company in the last twenty years, and the biggest ever by Ineos itself. The construction of the two factories, which will take some four to five years is set to create some 500 new jobs. The Financial Times reports that Ineos’ plans include the building of a 1m tonne ethan cracker that will turn ethane into ethylene, a major building block for plastics. Read the full story here.

On 7 March 2019, EuChemS will be holding a workshop in the European Parliament, focusing on Horizon Europe, education, employment, and more specifically, the existing gap between skills and jobs. The workshop will be chaired by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Van Nistelrooij. More details on the programme and registration will soon be communicated. Watch this space!

From January until June 2019, Romania will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU. During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, aiming to set goals, prepare a common agenda determining the major topics and issues to be addressed, as well as helping Member States come to final agreements and compromises. Romania’s presidency intersects with the finalisation of a number of important policy issues, significant political events (Brexit), as well as the upcoming European Parliament election in May. Indeed, over the next 5 months, the future multiannual financial framework (the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027) which includes Horizon Europe, will be a significant focus of debate. Romania has set out a number of priorities: promoting research and innovation, digitalisation, internal security, EU defence capabilities, and a push for greater common values in terms of democracy, equal opportunities, and human dignity. Romanian ministers have predicted that the finalisation of the EU budget agreement will be a difficult challenge but have also vowed to represent eastern, western, northern and southern Europe in order to achieve a final agreement before the May elections. Science Business analyses the situation.

Celebrating the IYPT2019 also means looking at what the chemical elements mean to us today. EuChemS recently developed and unveiled a unique Periodic Table which depicts the abundance (on a logarithmic scale) of chemical elements. The table shows the abundance of elements under serious threat in the next 100 years, those under increasing threat due to their increasing use, those with limited availability, as well as those coming from conflict zones. Finally, a smartphone symbol was added to the Periodic Table to show which chemical elements are used to make our phones – many of which are come from areas of conflict or under serious threat.

On 22 January, EuChemS will present and discuss this new Periodic Table at an event in the European Parliament, titled ‘The Periodic Table and us: its history, meaning and element scarcity’, chaired by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Catherine Stihler. The event will feature opening talks from MEP Catherine Stihler and EuChemS President Pilar Goya. David Cole-Hamilton, EuChemS Vice-President will unveil the Periodic Table and discuss element scarcity and our role in protecting endangered elements. Natalia Tarasova, IUPAC Past President will in turn discuss the IYPT2019; Brigitte Van Tiggelen, science historian and Chair of the EuChemS Working Party on the History of Chemistry, will look at the history surrounding the Periodic Table as we now know it; M. Pilar Gil, University of St Andrews, will present oldest known Periodic Table wallchart. The event will also include presentations from Peter Handley, Head of the Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Growth who will discuss critical raw materials in the circular economy and strategic value chains and Horizon 2020/Europe; as well as Andreea Strachinescu, Head of Unit of the European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs, who will discuss ocean resources.  MEP Clare Moody will make the closing remarks.

More information on the event available here: https://www.euchems.eu/periodic-table-and-us/

More information on elements in danger is available here