Specialty chemicals company Nouryon and chemicals company Ineos Nitriles have broken ground on new facilities to be built at Ineos’ site in Cologne, Germany. The units are to produce raw materials for Nouryon’s high-quality, biodegradable chelates, used in detergents and other industries. The new facilities are scheduled to be completed between 2021 and 2022.

Ineos will operate and maintain the new facilities as well as provide key raw materials.

The companies said that demand for chelates has increased strongly following the European ban on phosphates in consumer automatic dishwasher detergents.

“This long-term agreement with Ineos will support the growth of customer demand for biodegradable chelates in home and personal care applications such as detergents, which are a key strategic market for us,” said Larry Ryan, Nouryon’s executive vice president and president of Performance Formulations and the Americas.

Ineos Nitriles claims to be the world’s largest producer of acrylonitrile, a vital raw material for products used in the automotive, home appliance, garment, carbon fiber and water purification sectors. The agreement is similar to an existing partnership between Ineos and Nouryon at their adjacent facilities in Lima, Ohio, USA.

“Our relationship with Nouryon over the past years has proven to be mutually beneficial. We look forward to building on that success, and we are proud that the products developed through this expansion in our partnership will lead to a more sustainable industry,” says Hans Casier, CEO of Ineos Nitriles.

Nouryon said that the startup of the new facilities will strengthen its global footprint in the supply of biodegradable chelates to Asia, Europe and North America. It follows completion of production facilities at Ningbo, China in 2016 and is the next step to expand the company’s capabilities to meet the needs of its customers in the European market.