The European Lubricating Grease Institute has appointed a new association management company to administer its ongoing work on the technical, economic, ecological and legislative issues surrounding lubricating grease in Europe. Celesta Maas, representing Lejeune Association Management, will head up daily operations and event planning for the 36-year-old technical association. In 2024, ELGI relocated to The Hague from Amsterdam after the retirement of longtime office manager Carol Koopman, a familiar face at ELGI events. Since then, administration was handled by Jacqueline Bosman, until the service provider NVG decided it would cease association management to focus on lobbying at the end of this year. The next ELGI event is Oct. 27-30 in Amsterdam and includes working groups, basic grease course, ELGI sustainability technical meeting and the ELGI-STLE tribology workshop.

Shell started installing an electric process furnace at its Rhineland refinery in Wesseling/Cologne-Godorf. The 24-metric-ton electric heater will replace natural gas-fueled units and is the first of its kind in the petrochemical sector. Shell said the installation is part of efforts to reduce emissions by about 620,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Crude oil processing ended at the site in March 2025, with operations shifting toward hydrogen production and new facilities, including a 100 Megawatt electrolyzer. The base oil plant, expected to start production in 2028, aims for an annual output of 300,000 tons per year, against demand of about 700,000 t/y in Germany and more than 3 million tons in Europe. Completion is scheduled for 2027. Shell emits 1.2 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to Reuters, of which 620,000 is roughly 0.05%.