The Chem Ledger #43: Rare earth magnets in Estonia, obesity drug manufacturing in Texas

A week of industrial manoeuvring has seen companies across continents placing substantial bets on future technologies. Neo Performance Materials has opened Europe's largest rare earth magnet plant in Estonia, aiming to produce 2,000 tons annually and reduce Western dependence on Chinese supply chains. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is investing $6.5 billion in a Houston facility to manufacture oral obesity drugs, as the sector's gold rush intensifies. From silicon battery materials in Washington state to strategic divestments in Germany, the week's deals reveal an industrial landscape rapidly reconfiguring itself around clean energy, advanced materials, and blockbuster pharmaceuticals.

Materials

Chakr Innovation, a clean tech and materials science company based in India,  has raised $23 million in a Series C funding round. The company specializes in developing solutions to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions, particularly for diesel generators. The funding will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, enter international markets, and invest in R&D, including a materials science center.

Rare Earths

Neo Performance Materials Inc., a Canadian company focused on the manufacture and sale of rare earth-based functional materials, has opened a state-of-the-art permanent magnet facility in Narva, Estonia. This facility is considered Europe's largest rare earth magnet plant. The plant will produce 2,000 tons of neodymium magnets annually in its first phase. The plans are to scale this up to over 5,000 metric tons.

Battery

Sila Nanotechnologies, a battery materials company based in Alameda, California, has opened the United States' first automotive-scale silicon anode plant in Moses lake, Washington. The plant is designed to produce a silicon-carbon (Si/C) anode material developed by Sila called Titan Silicon. Titan Silicon offers a 20% energy density increase over current graphite cells, leading to increased vehicle range and reduced charging times for electric vehicles. The plant, Sila Moses Lake, is over 600,000 square feet and can produce up to 250 GWh of capacity within five years.

Polymers

Lanxess AG has decided to sell its 40.94% stake in Envalior to its joint venture partner, an investment company of Advent International. The sale is expected to be effective April 1, 2026, subject to financing availability. Lanxess is selling this stake to optimize its portfolio and reduce debt, aligning with its focus on high-margin businesses. Envalior produces high-performance engineering polymers.

Pharma

• Pfizer is making a significant move in the obesity drug market with its acquisition of Metsera for up to $7.3 billion, despite previous setbacks in the sector. Metsera's acquisition adds four clinical-stage programs to Pfizer's pipeline, including a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist in Phase 2 development. Metsera also has two weight-loss pill candidates expected to begin clinical trials soon. Pfizer's shares have fallen nearly 50% in three years as it faces the impending expiration of patents on several key drugs, leading to a loss of market exclusivity and increased generic competition.
• Eli Lilly plans to invest $6.5 billion in a new manufacturing facility located at Generation Park in Houston, Texas. The plant, expected to be operational within five years, will produce orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, which is different from the active ingredient in Lilly's injectable weight-loss drug, Zepbound. The company aims to submit orforglipron for regulatory approval as an obesity treatment by the end of the year.