Germany: Chemicals company BASF says that it has completed the sale of its Styrodur extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation business to Karl Bachl Kunststoffverarbeitung.

BASF says that it will continue to produce expandable polystyrene under its Neopor and Styropor brands. It aims to increase the production capacity of its Ludwigshafen expandable polystyrene plant in Rhineland-Palatinate by 200% to 250,000t/yr in early 2027.

UK: Magical Mushroom Company supplied a stage at Glastonbury Festival in Somerset on 25 – 30 June 2025 featuring mycelium fungus and hemp-based acoustic insulation panels. Dezeen News has reported that the panels have shown promise in tests for thermal insulation applications. They are fully compostable in 50 days, making them especially suited to temporary construction.

Magical Mushroom Company arranged the insulation in 25 large ‘discs’ of 32 panels. The order took seven days to produce at its plant in Surrey. It estimates its current production capacity at 50,000 panels/week.

Hungary: Masterplast and Poland-based Selena FM have restarted the 19,000t/yr Szerencs glass wool insulation plant, with a view to resuming full-scale production later in 2025. Bne IntelliNews has reported that the partners invested €47.5m in the project, including €14m in funding from the Hungarian government. When fully operational, the plant will supply glass wool insulation for the domestic and Central and Eastern European markets.

Russia: TechnoNICOL has begun construction of a US$25.5m stone wool plant in Ryazan Oblast, AK&M News has reported. The plant will produce 230,000t/yr of stone wool briquettes from mine tailings. When operational in April 2026, it will increase the company’s stone wool production capacity by 40%.