French start-up Lactips signed a contract with US packaging group SmartSolve to produce 210 tonnes of its casein-derived water-soluble polymer, a substitute for petroleum-based PVOH, following two years of joint development.

Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management contract by PVC maker Kem One to build a membrane chlor-alkali electrolysis plant at Fos-sur-Mer, France. The order volume is $64 million, with Asahi Kasei as technology partner.