Chemical Week

Hosted by Chemical Week

Business

Website RSS feed

Episodes

177

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

About the show

The Chemical Week Podcast brings you authoritative insights from industry leaders and S&P Global Energy experts on the issues shaping the global chemical industry – covering petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, sustainability, innovation, market trends, supply chains, and policy and regulatory developments.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 13, 2026Episode 18026 min

How is Europe's petrochemical industry weathering rationalization and supply disruptions?

CW editor-in-chief Mark Thomas and S&P Global Energy Platts senior price reporters Mujidah Yahaya and Archit Singh join the podcast for discussion of key takeaways from EPCA 2026. Topics include securing supply for Europe amid disruptions, the shrinking European petrochemical industry and how Europe can set policy to springboard growth for the rest of the decade. The Chemical Week podcast is the industry's premier platform for wide-ranging discussion of issues impacting the global chemicals sector, hosted by the editors of Chemical Week and S&P Global Energy. Subscribe to the Chemical Week podcast on your favorite platform, or visit chemweek.com/podcast to view our episode archive.

September 29, 2026Episode 1799 min

BONUS: How are chemical distributors adjusting to disruptions in Europe?

CW specialties editor Sotirios Frantzanas joins the podcast for a short discussion of key takeaways from FECC 2026, the annual conference of European chemical distributors. Topics include the outlook for chemical distribution in Europe and how distributors are weathering the continent's prolonged industrial downturn.

September 23, 2026Episode 17823 min

How are SOEs shaping industry's present and future?

Chemical Week publisher and S&P Global Energy head of conferences content Rob Westervelt joins the podcast for a discussion of CW's Billion-Dollar Club issue and the 2026 Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC). Rob and podcast host Vincent Valk discuss the competitive pressure created by China's massive state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and how incumbent producers are responding, exemplified by this year's Billion-Dollar Club ranking. Rob also discusses some key takeaways from APPEC.

September 8, 2026Episode 17721 min

How can biomanufacturing help secure lithium supply?

AlkaLi Labs co-founder and CEO, Luis Valencia, and BioMade program director/technology, David Nathan, and program manager, Jonathan Valdez, sit down with Chemical Week specialties editor Sotirios Frantzanas to discuss biomanufacturing developments , including a new biomanufacturing program led by AlkaLi Labs with support from BioMade that is developing a scalable microbial process to extract lithium from oil-field produced water. The Chemical Week podcast is the industry's premier platform for wide-ranging discussion of issues impacting the global chemicals sector, hosted by the editors of Chemical Week and S&P Global Energy. Subscribe to the Chemical Week podcast on your favorite platform, or visit chemweek.com/podcast to view our episode archive.

August 25, 2026Episode 17623 min

What drove higher chemical margins in the second quarter?

Chemical Week editors Vincent Valk and Sotirios Frantzanas and S&P Global Energy price reporter Nayana Khosla join host Jameson Croteau for a discussion on second quarter chemical earnings. The panel examines how Middle East geopolitical tensions and related supply disruptions temporarily tightened global markets, lifting margins for many North American and European producers even as underlying demand remained weak. Topics include supply-chain shifts, specialty chemicals' resilience, continued weakness in housing and automotive demand, and emerging growth areas such as semiconductors, data centers, aerospace and defense.

August 13, 2026Episode 17521 min

What's driving the chemical M&A rebound?

Federico Mennella, managing director and head of chemicals and materials, DC Advisory, joins host Vincent Valk for a discussion on the chemical M&A rebound in 2026. Large deals look to be returning as companies grow more comfortable with volatility and pursue portfolio repositioning, while smaller and midsized transactions remain constrained by financing and valuation gaps. Topics include AI-linked surges, private equity hesitation and which end markets remain the most resilient for deal making. The Chemical Week podcast is the industry's premier platform for wide-ranging discussion of issues impacting the global chemicals sector, hosted by the editors of Chemical Week and S&P Global Energy. Subscribe to the Chemical Week podcast on your favorite platform, or visit chemweek.com/podcast to view our episode archive.

July 30, 2026Episode 17424 min

Can chemical producers turn Middle East volatility into an advantage?

Paul Kurias, S&P Global Ratings director, lead analyst, corporate ratings, and Danny Krauss, S&P Global Ratings director, join host Vincent Valk for a discussion on the 2026 credit outlook for the chemicals sector. The sector outlook remains mixed as US chemical companies may benefit in the near term from Middle East-related supply disruptions and relative cost advantages, but those same geopolitical pressures could create longer-term risks through inflation, weaker demand and stress in vulnerable end markets such as agriculture and commodities. At the same time, growth tied to AI, data centers and advanced materials provides a meaningful bright spot for specialty chemical producers. However, the industry remains exposed to high interest rates, soft housing and automotive demand. Check out the latest ratings report here .

July 14, 2026Episode 17324 min

Embedding AI in chemical operations

Hexion president and CEO, Michael Lefenfeld , joins host Vincent Valk for a discussion on how to embed AI into the day-to-day operations of a chemical company—optimizing manufacturing, supply chain logistics, and organizational processes while improving speed, precision, sustainability, and decision-making quality.

June 23, 2026Episode 17224 min

Which countries are most attractive for chemicals investment?

Mark Lustig, partner at consultancy PwC, joins the podcast to discuss the firm's chemicals manufacturing investment attractiveness index. Key points of discussion include which countries are the most attractive investment destinations now and in the future, the impact of industrial policy on the competitive landscape, and how supply chains and growth can figure into investment decisions. Check out the full index here .

June 9, 2026Episode 17121 min

How are data centers, cooling and nuclear shaping advanced materials?

Solstice Advanced Materials CEO, David Sewell, joins host Jameson Croteau for a discussion on the company's spin-off from Honeywell and the high-growth sectors of semiconductor chip and data center cooling, US nuclear energy and the ongoing transition from legacy HFCs to lower-global-warming-potential HFOs . The Chemical Week podcast is the industry's premier platform for wide-ranging discussion of issues impacting the global chemicals sector, hosted by the editors of Chemical Week and S&P Global Energy. Subscribe to the Chemical Week podcast on your favorite platform, or visit chemweek.com/podcast to view our episode archive.

Is this your show?

Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.

Claim this listing

More Business podcasts

The Bottom Line

Alexander Spencer

BusinessInterviews guests