The Chem Ledger
TCL #56: Mining Byproduct Sale, Fusion AI Twin, Oncology Acquisition
Plus: Offshore Wind Fights, Green Hydrogen Funding, AI Crop Gene Editing
The Chem Ledger
Join me in exploring mergers, acquisitions, and emerging trends in the chemistry industry, as we navigate the evolving relationship between science and business.
The Chem Ledger
TCL #55: Black Gold Rules All
Good morning. This is the first newsletter of 2026, in which we look back at last week's key occurrences in the chemical and allied industries. Oil & Gas On January 3, 2026, the US conducted a military strike on Venezuela following months of planning and a series of
The Chem Ledger
TCL #54: The Merger of Incompatible Elements
Last week, Canada greenlit the Anglo American - Teck Resources merger, cementing Vancouver as the headquarters of the new copper powerhouse. Meanwhile, a media company is merging with a nuclear fusion company. The plan? Build utility-scale power plants, starting with a 50 MW facility. But can a media company truly
The Chem Ledger
TCL #53: Fluor, Fervo, Boom lead dash into mining, geothermal and power turbines
Last week, while markets argued over rate cuts, boards green-lit more projects to chase rocks, heat and spinning metal, the unglamorous assets that keep AI servers humming and delivery vans rolling. Mining Fluor Corporation has been awarded a contract by Teck Resources Limited for the Highland Valley Copper Mine Life
The Chem Ledger
Mining Splits, Copper Bets, and Nuclear’s Small Scale
The Chem Ledger #52
The Chem Ledger
TCL #51: BHP's Copper Quest, Reverion's Carbon Capture, and Pharma Updates from Novo & Bayer
Welcome to this week's newsletter. This edition features major moves in mining, where BHP's attempts to subsume Anglo American highlight the growing importance of copper, a metal that will underpin much of our renewable energy future. We're also looking at innovative carbon capture tech
The Chem Ledger
TCL #50: A Billion Here, A Billion There
This week saw a flurry of billion-dollar deals across energy, biotech, and pharma. The US Department of Energy is reviving the Three Mile Island nuclear plant with a $1 billion loan, while TotalEnergies is investing $6 billion in Europe's electric future. Johnson & Johnson and Roche made significant
The Chem Ledger
TCL #49: Power Plays and Carbon Bets
From Texas oil fields to Indian rice paddies, this week's deals reveal how capital chases the twin imperatives of the energy transition. Power demand surges while the world seeks to decarbonise where possible. Investors wager that profits and climate solutions might yet prove companions rather than adversaries. Meanwhile,
The Chem Ledger
TCL #48: Consolidation and Critical Minerals
Last week's transactions reveal the contours of American industrial policy in action. The federal government is deploying over $700 million in loans and incentives to establish domestic rare earth magnet production, addressing a critical supply chain vulnerability. Meanwhile, capital continues to consolidate. Oil producers are merging to achieve
The Chem Ledger
TCL #47: Silicon Valley and Nuclear Shadows
The collision between artificial intelligence and energy infrastructure is producing unexpected alliances. NextEra Energy and Google are reopening Iowa's Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear plant shuttered for five years, to power Google's expanding AI operations. The US government has separately committed $80 billion with Westinghouse
The Chem Ledger
TCL #46: The Battle for Critical Resources
The logic of globalisation assumed that markets would efficiently allocate resources wherever they were cheapest. That era is ending. From lithium deposits in Texas to rare-earth sites in Minnesota, from quantum processors to AI-powered drug discovery, the new currency of industrial policy is not cost but control. The companies and
The Chem Ledger
TCL #45: Copper's Surge and Green Pivots
This week's updates in mining and energy highlight efficiency drives and strategic pivots. Codelco's investment in I-Pulse tech to cut energy use in copper production, BHP's potential Arizona mine restarts amid rising prices, GM's EV strategy reassessment with a $1.6B charge,