Kickstart: Freezing temperatures and force majeure

The new year has kicked off with force majeure declared by at least two resin makers due to unusually cold weather in Texas at the end of December.

Chemical Week reports that Ineos Olefins & Polymers and Pinnacle Polymers sent customers letters declaring force majeure on polypropylene made in Texas, while Ineos also added high density polyethylene made in the region, due to freezing temperatures Dec. 22-25.

While the extreme cold may seem like a reminder of widespread shutdowns leading to material shortages throughout 2021 due to winter storm Uri, the 2022 cold snap — part of what The Weather Channel named Winter Storm Elliott — resulted in only limited power outages throughout the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) had said in advance of the storm that it was monitoring conditions and expected improvements taken since February 2021 would help the power grid to withstand the cold.

Neither company has stated how long it expects recovery to take, but Plastics News will be following up with more information as it becomes available.

Backers of chemical recycling ended 2022 with mixed results.

The $1.7 trillion federal spending plan — passed by Congress Dec. 23 and signed by President Joe Biden Dec. 29 — includes language formally urging the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate pyrolysis and gasification technologies for chemical recycling as municipal waste combustion operations, rather than as manufacturing facilities.

PN's Steve Toloken writes the language for waste combustion had been sought by environmental groups. Plastics industry trade groups have lobbied in favor of the manufacturing designation.

But in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed chemical recycling legislation on Dec. 22 supporting the manufacturing regulation preferred by groups like the American Chemistry Council. It is the 21st state in the past five years to pass the measure, Steve writes.

CES has become the place to be each January, not just for the consumer electronics industry that gave the trade show its original name, but for companies throughout the supply chain for technology related to everything from John Deere tractors to computer chips.

The Las Vegas event, Jan. 5-8, will see product introductions for new phones, drones, cars and laptops. That is prompting companies such as materials maker Celanese Corp. to exhibit there as well.

"Premier customers are now attending or exhibiting at CES. As their partner, we recognize that they see value in the event and are looking for solutions to their latest challenges," Kara Grasso, global strategy lead, advanced mobility at Celanese, told PN's Frank Esposito. "We're a solution provider in all of the areas covered by CES, and we're committed to supporting these customers at the event."

CES also will see the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association — the Canadian automotive and auto suppliers' trade group — unveil Project Arrow, what it terms Canada's first zero emissions concept vehicle.

The supply chain for Project Arrow, including Toronto-based molder and mold maker ABC Technologies, is an all-Canadian effort to show what its industry can do.