Cet entrepôt de 400m² sous douane est situé au sein de l'aéroport Beijing Capital International Airport.
Ouvert 24 heures sur 24 et facile d'accès, il permet de répondre aux besoins des compagnies aériennes en pièces de rechange et location rapidement et efficacement - notamment en cas d'avion bloqué au sol (processus aircraft-on-ground).
Cette plateforme logistique complète le dispositif déjà mis en place par Aircelle, spécialiste des nacelles pour moteurs d'avion, en Chine, au service des compagnies aériennes avec son bureau de Pékin et un réseau de responsables de clientèle (Customer Support Managers) et de représentants techniques (Field Service Representatives) en majorité chinois.
SDV, filiale du groupe Bolloré et acteur du transport et de la logistique, est le partenaire d'Aircelle pour la création et la gestion de ce magasin en Chine. SDV intervient aux cotés d'Aircelle depuis 2005 pour le développement du réseau de stockage et de distribution de pièces Aircelle aux compagnies aériennes 24 heures sur 24 dans le monde entier.
Le groupe Bolloré annoncera jeudi 21 février la mise en vente aux particuliers de sa petite voiture électrique Bluecar, bien connue des Franciliens qui peuvent l'utiliser dans l'agglomération parisienne depuis décembre 2011 en libre-service via Autolib'.
Le PDG du groupe, Vincent Bolloré, a prévu de présenter les modalités de cette mise en vente, à commencer par le prix du véhicule, lors d'une conférence de presse à Paris.
Après les véhicules électriques en libre service lancés en Ile-de-France, le groupe Bolloré a décidé de proposer également sa Bluecar en location longue durée, de trois à vingt mois.
L'offre lancée cet automne s'adresse avant tout aux Franciliens et prend la forme d'une formule tout compris à 500 euros par mois, incluant la location de la voiture, la recharge sur les bornes Autolib', l'assurance ainsi que la mise à disposition d'une borne à domicile et l'assistance en Ile-de-France.
http://www.bfmtv.com/economie/autolib-bollore-va-vendre-aux-particuliers-bluecar -452918.html
South Korea’s Tongsuh Petrochemical started up its new 245,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant in Ulsan on Friday, a company source said.
The new plant is expected to run at around 80% capacity, he said.
The company has a separate ACN line with a capacity of 320,000 tonnes/year at the same site.
Tongsuh Petrochemical is a fully-owned subsidiary of Japan’s Asahi Kasei, a major ACN producer.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
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S Korea’s Tongsuh Petrochemical starts up new ACN unit in Ulsan
Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) Monday said it and Chiasma Inc., a privately held biopharma company, have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Chiasma's proprietary product Octreolin, initially for acromegaly and subsequently for neuroendocrine tumors.
Octreolin is an investigational oral form of the peptide octreotide, a somatostatin analog that is commercially available only by injection, and is currently in a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial for acromegaly.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roche received a worldwide exclusive license to Octreolin, and will assume responsibility for the commercialization of Octreolin.
Genentech will market the product in the United States after US FDA approval.
Chiasma will continue development through completion of the pivotal phase 3 clinical trial for acromegaly.
The arrangement includes an upfront payment to Chiasma of $65 million, future considerations of up to $530 million in development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered, double-digit royalties on Octreolin net sales.
Hal Barron, Roche's Global Head of Product Development and Chief Medical Officer said: "If approved, Octreolin would be an important alternative for patients with acromegaly, a disorder that develops when a person's pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone.
SOURCE Factiva News - For internal use only
RELEASED ON 16/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Victorian farmers have heralded today’s official sod-turning ceremony marking the commencement of construction on the Bayer CropScience Wheat and Oilseeds Breeding Centre at Longerenong College near Horsham as “extraordinarily important’’ for Australian agriculture.
Their comments coincide with initiatives outlined in the Blueprint for Australian Agriculture to be handed down in Canberra today identifying a vision for a profitable, sustainable and respected agricultural industry.
The Blueprint report was developed in consultation with almost 4,000 members of the agricultural community in a bid to provide a framework to achieve safe, competitively priced, high quality agricultural products to consumers globally. It identified innovation through science and research as one of seven key areas of focus.
Bayer’s state-of-the-art Breeding Centre will be the first of its kind in Australia and work there will focus on developing new wheat and oilseed varieties with higher yields and productivity improvements.
The company is investing $14 million in the new centre and the Coalition Government is providing $1.2 million to Horsham Rural City Council to upgrade roads to the facility and improve access to the Centre’s trial sites and breeding station.
Wimmera farmer, Andrew Weidemann said, “Without scientific research centres like Bayer’s, we would not be farmers.’’
“There are so many risks for us and we need to use all the tools available to manage those to ensure we can produce more from Mother Nature.
“We would struggle without research like Bayer is funding here in Horsham - it is extraordinarily important for the future advancement of crop production in this country,’’ he added.
Weidemann is adamant Australian agriculture and the Government must encourage and engage with companies like Bayer to access a global $5 billion research pool for agricultural science.
Investment in research and development; access to state of the art technology and best practice uptake are significant factors to be addressed under the Blueprint for Australian Agriculture.
Dr Jacqueline Applegate, Managing Director Bayer CropScience, Australia says the breeding centre illustrates the company’s committed to innovation and a partnership with the rural community.
“At Bayer, we work together with famers and industry partners to develop new technologies so that farmers can become even more efficient and more sustainable, and thus contribute to securing a more vibrant and rewarding agricultural sector, essential for our population and for the planet,’’ she said.
“Our aim is to create healthier crops with better yields that are resistant to pests and diseases and which can thrive under Australia’s environmental stresses like drought.
“This investment confirms our commitment to agricultural education and the partnership between business and science which is essential for the future success of our farmers.
“Bayer is pursuing numerous promising projects in the areas of crop protection, biologics and seed. Recent projects include Bayer Hybrid Canola, IH50RR, Bayer’s first Roundup Ready® variety for Australia, the unique pre-emergent herbicide Sakura® 850 WG and EverGol® Prime 240 FS, a seed treatment for the suppression of rhizoctonia root rot and the control of smut diseases in wheat and barley,’’ she added.
The centre will also provide economic benefits for the rural community.
Cr David Grimble, Mayor of Horsham Rural City Council, said, “The new Breeding Centre is important for the further economic development of the Wimmera-Horsham region and will enhance opportunities for local industries and the community.”
Peter Hall, MLC, Minister for Higher Education and Skills, added, “This is great news for the Wimmera Horsham region. The Breeding Centre will stimulate economic growth, supporting 20 new life sciences jobs and further seasonal employment opportunities once fully operational later this year.”
The Blueprint for Australian Agriculture is an initiative of the National Farmers’ Federation. Bayer is key supporter of this initiative together with Woolworths, Westpac and Syngenta.
SOURCE Seedquest.com
When it comes to the volatile new lithium-ion battery technology, Boeing and Airbus are heading in different directions.
Faced with the potential of a lengthy investigation into what caused batteries on two Boeing 787 jets to ignite or emit smoke last month, Airbus said Friday that it had dropped plans to use the technology on its forthcoming wide-body jet, the A350-XWB, to avoid possible delays in producing the planes. But Boeing, which has much more at stake, said later in the day that it would stick with the batteries, and the company is working with regulators to reduce risks even if the cause of the hazards is not clearly found.
All 50 of the 787s delivered so far were grounded in mid-January. And even though the problems have embarrassed Boeing and could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said Friday, ''There's nothing we've learned in the investigations that would lead us to a different decision regarding lithium-ion batteries.''
To some extent, Boeing's bravado reflects a sense among battery experts that they have narrowed down the ways that the batteries, made by a Japanese company, GS Yuasa, could fail. That then increases the chances that a handful of changes may eventually provide enough assurance that the batteries would be safe to use.
Airbus was planning on a more limited use of the lithium-ion batteries than Boeing, and by switching to the more traditional nickel-cadmium batteries, the company can make the necessary changes as it is building the planes. Boeing, on the other hand, has a strong motivation to stick with the lithium-ion batteries in hopes that a solution will emerge.
Under flight safety regulations, industry and government officials said, Boeing might not have to go through as extensive -- and time-consuming -- an approval process if it redesigned the lithium-ion batteries as it would if it switched to the conventional batteries.
Even though the behavior of the more traditional batteries is better understood, they have not yet been certified for use in the 787s, and the batteries and related parts of the plane's electrical system would have to be created and tested from scratch. Under the safety directive grounding the planes, Boeing might have a more straightforward path to get them flying again if it could persuade the Federal Aviation Administration that redesigning the lithium-ion batteries would work.
Federal and industry officials said Boeing would probably have to spread the eight cells in the batteries farther apart -- or increase the insulation between them -- to keep a failure in one cell from cascading to the others in the ''thermal runaway'' that led to the smoke and fire. Battery experts are also looking into whether vibrations in flight could have added to the risks of unwanted contact between the cells. And Boeing would undoubtedly have to wall off the battery within a sturdier metal container and make it easier to vent any hazardous materials outside the plane.
Aviation experts said the examination of such changes reflected what could end up being a difficult calculation for safety regulators: Will there be a way to ensure the safety of the batteries if they cannot tell for certain what set off the problems on the two planes?
Until now, most of the public statements by regulators have focused on the need to pin down the cause of the battery problems. But investigators, now weeks into their work, have been able to find only limited clues in the charred remains of the two batteries.
As a result, government and outside experts, working closely with Boeing engineers, have been studying the research on lithium-ion batteries carried out since Boeing won approval for its batteries in 2007 and, in essence, trying to come up with a safer design.
Government and industry officials said Friday that it was still too early to know if Boeing could devise enough changes to satisfy regulators and the flying public.
Airbus said it started informing airline customers on Thursday that it would not move ahead with an original plan to use the lithium-ion batteries on its A350s.
''Airbus considers this to be the most appropriate way forward in the interest of program execution and reliability,'' said Marcella Muratore, an Airbus spokeswoman.
Airbus completed the assembly of its first test version of the A350 late last year and initial ground tests of that plane using the lithium-ion batteries had already begun at its factory in Toulouse, France.
''Airbus is at a point where they have to make a decision,'' said Scott Hamilton, the managing director at the Leeham Company, an aviation consulting firm in Issaquah, Wash. ''Obviously, they decided to take the safer course to stay on schedule. They could always go back to lithium-ion if the 787 problems are sorted out.''
''But if Boeing went back to the older batteries, they might have to recertify the entire electrical system,'' Mr. Hamilton said. ''So it's not in Boeing's interest to do that.''
In this case, Airbus is also benefiting from being several years behind Boeing in developing the new generation of fuel-efficient planes, Mr. Hamilton said. He said Airbus had more flexibility since the A350s, which will compete with the 787s and Boeing 777s, have not yet been certified to fly by regulators.
Airbus has booked 617 orders for the A350 from 35 airline customers, while Boeing has about 800 more orders for the 787.
Ms. Muratore, the Airbus spokeswoman, said the company remained confident that the lithium-ion battery system that it had been developing with its French supplier, Saft, was ''robust and safe,'' and added that Airbus still planned to use lithium-ion batteries on the A350s it will use for flight tests scheduled to begin this summer.
The decision to revert to nickel-cadmium batteries, she said, was made purely to avoid delaying the first deliveries of the A350.
Battery makers have promoted lithium-ion batteries as being significantly lighter and faster to recharge than nickel-cadmium batteries.
Promotional materials from both GS Yuasa and Saft have also described the technology as requiring significantly less maintenance than conventional batteries, reducing operating costs for airlines.
Battery experts say that while lithium-ion batteries weigh 30 percent to 40 percent less than conventional batteries, their contribution to the overall weight of a jetliner is minimal: the empty weight of a Boeing 787, for example, is about 242,000 pounds; its two lithium-ion batteries weigh 63 pounds each.
Analysts said the cost to Airbus of making the switch was likely to be minimal.
''This seems like the thoroughly sensible thing to do,'' said Nick Cunningham, an aerospace industry analyst at Agency Partners in London.
SOURCE The New York Times
RELEASED ON 14/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Syngenta AG, the world’s largest agrochemical company, said the sluggish regulatory environment in India was discouraging introduction of new products into the country.
“The slowdown in regulatory approval process is something we hope the policy makers will pay more attention to,” said Davor Pisk, Chief Operating Officer, Syngenta.
The $14.2-billion Swiss firm has been struggling for the past 78 months to get a rice fungicide – di-fenoconazole and propiconazole — registered in India.
Similarly, another Syngenta product – Ampligo – an insecticide used for cotton and pulses has been waiting for approval since March 2010.
“There is a great difficulty in registering the mixtures and active chemical ingredients, which discourages new product investments. We like to see a change in policy,” Pisk told Business Line on the sidelines of a CII event.
The rapidly growing Indian presents a huge potential for Syngenta, where the company has seen major growth both in its agrochemical and seeds business.
In 2011-12, Syngenta’s revenues grew 22 per cent to Rs 2,539 crore in India, one of the fast growing markets.
The recent acquisition of Belgian firm, Devgen, would boost Syngenta’s hybrid rice portfolio in India and “give us a leadership position in the rice breeding technology” Pisk said.
“The Devgen brand will continue to exist in India in the foreseeable future.”
Syngenta, which is planning to bring its genetically-modified corn into the Indian market, is closely observing the developments in the crop biotechnology arena here.
“We believe in the technology, which is widely adopted in other parts of North America and South America and the Philippines.
“This will benefit the Indian growers and is demonstrably safe.
“We don’t see any reason why it should not be available in India,” Pisk said.
SOURCE The Hindu Business Line
Asahi Kasei Chemicals, the largest supplier of AN in the high-growth Asian market and the world's second-largest AN supplier' held a Grand Opening Ceremony for new acrylonitrile (AN) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) plants in Thailand on February 11, 2013.
In line with its business expansion strategy, Asahi Kasei Chemicals established PTT Asahi Chemical Co., Ltd. (PTTAC) as a three-way AN and MMA joint venture together with PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) of Thailand and Marubeni Corp. of Japan.
PTTAC's AN plant is the world's first propane-process plant, which uses propane directly as feedstock, and its MMA plant is an acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) process plant, which uses byproduct hydrogen cyanide from the AN plant as feedstock.
SOURCE Japan Corporate News
RELEASED ON 15/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
CropLife Pakistan (CLP) has formed a 'Biotech Committee' to create more awareness about agricultural biotechnology in Pakistan. This Committee for year 2013 would be chaired by Monsanto, while DuPont Pioneer and Syngenta are the members. This announcement was made by CropLife Pakistan's senior members Farooq Shahid, Sajjad Chatha and Nadeem Austin at a Press conference on Thursday.
Monsanto Pakistan's Country Lead Aamir Mahmood Mirza and Regulatory Affairs Lead Muhammad Asim were also present on the occasion. CropLife Pakistan established in 1968 is working to promote sustainable agriculture through the process of research, development, manufacture and sale of new, innovative and safe products and services in the areas of Plant Biotechnology, seeds and crop protection products.
Farooq Shahid said working of the Biotech Committee will be governed by policies and procedures of CropLife International, a global federation representing the plant science industry, and CropLife Pakistan representing national and multinational companies of plant science industry.
He said achieving sustainability in food grain production and food security continues to be a challenge in the developing world including Pakistan. Biotechnology is a tool available to improve food security problem and reducing poverty. The application of biotechnology by Pakistani farmers would not only result in enhancing productivity but would also help in addressing food security challenges faced by the country. At a time when nations all across the world are multiplying their agriculture productivity, preventing disease prevalence and solving the problem of environmental pollution, Pakistan needs a national strategy and plan of action to use this revolutionary science for solving, preventing problems and for rapid development, he added. Biotech crops can increase productivity and income significantly, and hence, can serve as an engine of rural economic growth that can contribute to the alleviation of poverty for the small and resource-poor farmers, he claimed.
'The Biotech Committee would therefore engage the biotech regulatory agencies for implementation of Biosafety Guidelines and Rules 2005 so that science-based, level playing field and transparent regulatory processes are implemented in Pakistan. It would create and enhance acceptance of biotechnology by closely working with regulators, scientists, farmers, media, industry, academics and civil society. It would also act as a key promoter of safe and sustainable use of plant biotechnology and as industry focal point and immediate contact on matters pertaining to agricultural biotechnology,' Farooq Shahid said.
The major activities to be undertaken by Biotech Committee include understanding and identifying biotech regulatory needs of the country and engage with regulators to ensure that these become part of the regulatory framework. It will also participate and articulate the benefits of modern bio-technology in agriculture on various public and academic platforms.
SOURCE Business Recorder
Thailand-based PTT Asahi Chemical has started commercial production at its 200,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) and 70,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plants in Mab Ta Phut, Thailand, its Japanese parent Asahi Kasei said on Wednesday.
The producer had held a celebration ceremony at the site on 11 February, Asahi Kasei said in a statement.
The plants were currently operating at nearly full rate, an Asahi Kasei spokeswoman said on the phone.
PTT Asahi Chemical originally planned to start commercial production at the ACN and MMA plants in 2010, but it was delayed partly due to the Thai government’s change of policies, the spokeswoman added.
Another reason for the delay was because it took longer than expected to adjust the facilities so they could sustain stable operations, she said.
PTT Asahi Chemical first fed feedstocks into the ACN and the MMA plants at the end of 2011, the spokeswoman added.
It took more than a year before the plants could stably operate at full rate on commercial basis, she said.
PTT Asahi Chemical is a joint venture between Asahi Kasei Chemicals, PTT and Japanese trading firm Marubeni.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
RELEASED ON 14/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta is planning to double its revenue from India in the next three years. India contributes less than 5% to the group's total turnover of $14.2 billion.
"India is an emerging market for us. We expect to clock a double-digit growth in India driven by rice, corn and vegetables. We will be launching at least a dozen new varieties in the market this year," said Davor Pisk, chief operating officer, Syngenta.
SOURCE Indiatimes
Airbus said Thursday it is dropping lithium-ion batteries from its new A350 airplane because of uncertainty surrounding the technology that has led to the grounding of Boeing's 787.
The European planemaker said it has decided to revert to conventional nickel-cadmium batteries for the A350. The plane is a wide-body long-range jet rival to the 787 and is expected to make its first flight around the middle of the year.
Airbus says it does not expect the battery switch to lead to a setback in the A350's schedule.
"Airbus considers this to be the most appropriate way forward in the interest of program execution and A350 XWB reliability," spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said.
Federal officials grounded the 787 last month because of problems with its lithium-ion batteries that caused one fire and forced another plane to make an emergency landing.
Airbus noted the A350 uses batteries in a different setup than the 787, making it unlikely that it would face the same problems. Its A350 flight-test program would still go forward with lithium-ion batteries.
But because the causes of the problems with the 787 batteries remain unclear, Airbus decided to make the switch "to optimize program certainty," Greczyn said. Airbus is a unit of Netherlands-based EADS NV.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Airbus' decision to drop the lithium-ion batteries, noting the incidents with the 787 have led to industry uncertainty about future safety standards for the technology.
SOURCE News24.com
RELATED STORIES
Boeing problems put spotlight on battery technology (lithium-ion)
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Chemicals & Chemistry -- New research on Electrolytes is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Ludwigshafen, Germany, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "Polyether solvents are considered interesting and important candidates for Li-O-2 battery systems. Discharge of Li-O-2 battery systems forms Li oxides."
The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from BASF, "Their mechanism of formation is complex. The stability of most relevant polar aprotic solvents toward these Li oxides is questionable. Specially high surface area carbon electrodes were developed for the present work In this study, several spectroscopic tools and in situ measurements using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) were employed to explore the discharge-charge processes and related side reactions in Li-O-2 battery systems containing electrolyte solutions based on triglyme/lithium bis-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) electrolyte solutions. The systematic mechanism of lithium oxides formation was monitored."
According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "A combination of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), NMR, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) measurements in conjunction with electrochemical studies demonstrated the intrinsic instability and incompatibility of polyether solvents for Li-air batteries."
For more information on this research see: On the Challenge of Electrolyte Solutions for Li-Air Batteries: Monitoring Oxygen Reduction and Related Reactions in Polyether Solutions by Spectroscopy and EQCM. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013;4(1):127-131. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters can be contacted at: Amer Chemical Soc, 1155 16TH St, NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA. (American Chemical Society - www.acs.org; Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters - www.pubs.acs.org/journal/jpclcd)
Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting D. Sharon, BASF SE, D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany.
SOURCE Chemicals & Chemistry
French firm Global Bioenergies (EPA:ALGBE) said yesterday it had received a payment of EUR 1.17 million (USD 1.6m) from its Polish partner Synthos (WAR:DWR) under a project for the development of a renewable feedstock-to-butadiene process.
The partners agreed in July 2011 to form a strategic partnership, the first phase of which was devoted to the discovery of metabolic pathways to convert renewable resources into butadiene via a direct, gaseous fermentation process. Global Bioenergies is entitled to get royalty payments from synthetic rubber maker Synthos on bio-based butadiene for the production of rubber, while keeping the exclusive rights for non-rubber applications.
In December Global Bioenergies received a milestone payment of EUR 1.5 million for completing the first phase of the project.
Meanwhile, the French company reported revenues of EUR 1.78 billion for July-December, some EUR 28,000 of which come from the EUR-1.17-million project payment. In December Global Bioenergies changed the ending of its fiscal year from June to December, noting that the fiscal year ended December 2012 would only cover six months.
SOURCE SeeNews Renewables Through FACTIVA News - For internal use only
RELATED STORIES
France’s Global Bioenergies progresses on renewable butadiene
Genomatica (San Francisco) says its biobased 1,4-butanediol (BDO) production process has been proven at commercial-scale. In partnership with DuPontTate & LyleBio Products—a joint venture between DuPont and agribusiness firm Tate & Lyle that produces biobased 1,3 propanediol at Loudon, TN—Genomatica says over 2,000 m.t. of BDO was produced over a 5-week period. “This was a sizable commercial-scale production campaign,” says Christophe Schilling, Genomatica CEO. “Partnering with DuPontTate & Lyle brought us biochemical process know-how at significant scale to make the leap from demonstration to commercial volumes. The success of this campaign is a significant milestone for our technology and for the biochemical industry.”
SOURCE Chemweek's Business Daily
RELATED STORIES
Latest investments in large-scale bio-based materials production are starting to ease the supply-side concerns