International Airlines Group (IAG) has invested in Wastefront, a company converting waste tyres into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

The investment supports Wastefront’s planned facility in Sunderland, which will process up to 10 million waste tyres annually starting in 2027. The plant aims to address the UK’s annual generation of 50 million end-of-life tyres, most of which are currently exported and incinerated or landfilled.

Wastefront will convert waste tyres into tyre-derived oil, then refine it into road fuels and SAF. The sustainable fuel is expected to reduce carbon emissions by over 80% compared to fossil fuels.

Jonathon Counsell, IAG’s Group Sustainability Officer, said: “We’re proud to support innovators like Wastefront, who are finding new forms of feedstocks to produce advanced fuels. However, as global demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) grows, it’s crucial to expand production in the UK. The recent Government mandate will help reduce aviation’s overall carbon impact, but airlines need confidence that the planned revenue certainty mechanism will support UK businesses in developing SAF technology without further increasing the cost base for UK airlines.”

Vianney Valès, CEO of Wastefront, said: “At Wastefront, our mission is to turn a problematic waste stream into a highly valuable resource. We can create SAF at an extremely competitive cost with a very low environmental footprint - capable of reducing carbon emissions in the production process by up to 80 percent compared to traditional jet fuels. This investment is a testament to the potential of Wastefront’s technology in tackling waste and air pollution.”

The project aligns with the UK’s SAF mandate, which requires 10 percent of jet fuel to come from sustainable sources by 2030, rising to 22 percent by 2040. Currently, the UK produces just 64,000 tonnes of SAF annually, far short of the 1.2 million tonnes needed to meet the 2030 target.

IAG, which owns airlines including British Airways and Aer Lingus, has already secured over a third of its 2030 SAF target. The company was the first European airline group to pledge 10 percent SAF usage by 2030.

Wastefront plans to expand to four large-scale plants by 2030, potentially producing 90,000 tonnes of SAF annually.

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Kraton Corporation, a leading global producer of speciality polymers and high-value bio-based chemicals derived from pine wood pulping co-products, a global price increase for all polymer products with effect from 1 April 2026. The price hike will range from USD 440 per MT to USD 700 per MT, or as individual contract terms permit, with the exact price change varying according to the polymer type and production location.

The driving forces behind these significant pricing actions are multifaceted, rooted in substantial disruptions to global supply chains. These disruptions are largely attributed to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has had a cascading effect on logistics. Compounding this issue are the sharply rising costs associated with transportation and essential raw materials.

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German specialty chemicals company LANXESS has announced a global price increase for its portfolio of functional additives for the manufacture of tyres and speciality rubbers. These changes, which are set to take effect immediately or as soon as individual contract terms permit, will see prices rise by 15 to 50 percent.

The driving forces behind these significant pricing actions are multifaceted, rooted in substantial disruptions to global supply chains. These disruptions are largely attributed to the ongoing geopolitical conflict, which has had a cascading effect on logistics. Compounding this issue are the sharply rising costs associated with transportation and essential raw materials.

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Orion S.A., a global speciality chemicals company, has announced a global price increase for its portfolio of speciality carbon black. These changes, which are set to take effect immediately or as soon as individual contract terms permit, will see prices rise by up to 25 percent.

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German chemical group WACKER has announced a price hike across its global polymers portfolio, responding directly to significant upheavals in international commodity markets triggered by the recent military conflict in the Middle East. This geopolitical instability has created pronounced distortions throughout the supply chain, leading to a sharp escalation in the costs of essential inputs. The company is experiencing substantially higher prices for crude oil and natural gas as well as for various other raw materials and logistics services.

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