I feel like I wrote this equation before but yesterday's investor presentation from Dow Chemical emphasized their strategy in incorporating sustainability in all aspects of their operations and businesses mostly because it is profitable to do so.

The company has been busy investing and making deals right and left in lithium battery, carbon capture, solar, and other sustainability-infused projects. Here are some of them announced yesterday:

1. Dow and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) signed a multi-year research collaboration in the development of new, ultra low cost, high efficiency photovoltaic materials. The solar research initiative is one of Dow's largest externally funded research agreements.

2. Lithium ion battery developer High Power Lithium (HPL) has transferred all of its collective assets to Dow. HPL has been developing next generation metal phosphate electrode materials and electrolyte system technology.

3. Dow Kokam acquires all of the assets of lithium battery manufacturer Kokam America. The acquisition will enable Dow to manufacture a wide range of lithium polymer cells especially to the electric vehicle industry. Dow Kokam has been awarded a $161 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last August to develop new generation of high-power battery technology electric vehicles.

4. Dow and Denbury Onshore LLC (Denbury) signed a memorandum of understanding to capture the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) by-product from Dow's ethylene oxide (EO) plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Denbury will use the CO2 for its enhanced oil recovery operations. The CO2 capture project is expected to be operational in mid-2011.

5. Dow's Polyglycols, Surfactants and Fluids business are now supplying their DOWTHERM(TM) heat transfer fluid to three additional Spanish solar power plants enabling the facilities to collect heat and convert it into electrical energy.

Here are photos from Dow's exhibits at their Investor Day conference featuring their "green" products and projects:


Showcasing low VOC-paints as well as its EPA Green Chemistry award-winning Sea-Nine™ CR marine anti-foulant, a technology developed by Rohm and Haas. Sea-Nine™ antifoulants replace environmentally persistent and toxic tin-containing antifoulants.

Samples of Dow Corning's solar material solutions. Dow estimates the polysilicon global market at $3.2bn, growing at 20%/year and encapsulants at $330m growing at 23%/year.

Dow's vegetable oil-based polyol Renuva, which was launched in 2007, are now found in furniture, bedding, carpets, home decor, footwear, automobiles, toys, paints, adhesives and sealants.

Dow Agrosciences claims that it has more US EPA Presidential Green Chemistry awards than any other ag company. The company also said that it has the largest natural product research program in the industry.

Dow said its POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles opens a new market with a potential global opportunity of $5bn. The solar shingles will be available in limited quantities in 2010 but will be widely available in 2011.



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