Permanent Shutdown of 230 KT PP Plant amid Large‑Scale European Capacity Retreat
On October 17, LyondellBasell officially shut down its PP2 plant at the Brindisi site in Italy. Commissioned in 1982, this ageing facility boasts an annual capacity of 230,000 tonnes. It represents the world’s first industrial‑scale PP production line adopting the Spheripol process and carries special historical significance within the polyolefin sector.
The root cause of the shutdown lies in broken industrial‑chain supporting infrastructure. The Brindisi site is not equipped with its own cracker unit and has long relied on propylene feedstock supplied by Eni’s Versalis facilities in the same region. Eni permanently closed its cracking unit in April 2025. Since then, the PP plant had to source feedstock via seaborne imports, which drove logistics costs sharply higher. Burdened by soaring costs and sluggish demand, the 40‑year‑old plant lost all profit margins.
The Brindisi closure is not an isolated incident. Since 2024, Europe’s basic chemical industry has entered a systematic capacity‑exit cycle. Cumulative shut‑down, idled and planned‑to‑shut capacities across ethylene, propylene, PP, PE and vinyl chloride value chains have reached nearly 11 million tonnes per annum, among which around 965,000 tonnes per annum are polypropylene capacities. Industry giants including LyondellBasell, SABIC and ExxonMobil keep divesting their conventional basic‑chemical assets in Europe.
For China’s domestic market, Europe is not a major source of PP imports. Hence this plant closure exerts no immediate impact on domestic spot prices. In the long run, however, domestic Chinese PP exporters may capture substitution opportunities brought by Europe’s capacity withdrawals.
Covestro Proposes Restructuring for Polycarbonate Production at Antwerp Site
On October 15, Covestro NV, the Belgian subsidiary of Covestro, announced plans to restructure its polycarbonate production business at the Antwerp site to strengthen its long‑term competitiveness. The company intends to consolidate four existing polycarbonate production lines into one and terminate local manufacturing of bisphenol A (BPA), the key precursor for polycarbonate.
The proposed restructuring responds to fundamental shifts in the European market and forms part of Covestro’s ongoing transformation drive to lift its global competitiveness and profitability.
Structural Market Pressures Weigh on European Polycarbonate Business
The announcement mirrors broader structural headwinds facing Europe’s chemical industry. Exorbitant production and energy costs, feeble market demand and intensifying global competition continuously erode Europe’s competitive edge. To date, European industrial policies have failed to resolve such structural bottlenecks or close competitiveness gaps.
Meanwhile, massive capacity expansion, particularly in Asia, has led to persistent global overcapacity for commodity‑grade polycarbonate. Capacity utilization rates have slumped and are expected to stay low for the foreseeable future. Against this backdrop, operations at Covestro NV’s Antwerp site have sustained losses since 2022. The company deems the current operating model economically unsustainable. Without prompt remedial actions, the long‑term commercial viability of the Antwerp site would be at risk, according to Covestro NV.
Post time: Oct-22-2026