Air Liquide, Siemens to collaborate on European electrolyzer, hydrogen developments

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide and Siemens Energy have agreed to collaborate on the development of industrial-scale hydrogen projects and to lay the groundwork for mass manufacturing of electrolyzers, mainly in Germany and France, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to combine their expertise in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology and intend to focus on the co-creation of large-scale hydrogen projects in collaboration with customers, Air Liquide says. They will also conduct R&D to develop next-generation electrolyzer technologies, it says. The linkup has support from both the German and French governments.

"Air Liquide and Siemens Energy will jointly apply for large projects funding under the EU’s Green Deal and Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI)-scheme for hydrogen, funded by the French and German Governments,” says Air Liquide. The IPCEI funding is required to “fast start those activities and meet the challenging timeline set out by the European Green New Deal, the EU Hydrogen Strategy, as well as the French and German National Hydrogen Strategies," it says.

Hydrogen will play an essential role to achieve the EU’s objectives for carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas emission reduction, according to Air Liquide. “In order to meet rapidly growing demand, and to lower costs, it is key to accelerate the production of sustainably generated hydrogen through large-scale PEM electrolyzers,” it says.

The companies have already identified cooperation opportunities for large-scale sustainable hydrogen projects in France, Germany, and other countries in Europe, including the Air Liquide-H2V Normandy project in France.

"Hydrogen is a key enabler of the energy transition. In the context of an unprecedented acceleration in Europe of hydrogen technologies and markets, the time to scale-up is now, notably in France and Germany,” says Air Liquide chairman and CEO Benoit Potier.

Up to EUR7.0 billion (USD8.4 billion) will be invested in hydrogen between now and 2030 in France, according to Bruno Le Maire, France’s economy and finance minister, while Germany’s economy minister Peter Altmaier describes hydrogen a “a key element for the success of Germany’s energy transition.” Germany is strongly committed to supporting the market ramp up of hydrogen technologies, he says.

As MRC informed earlier, in September 2020, Air Liquide finalised an agreement with Sasol to acquire the biggest oxygen production site in the world with a plan to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 30%. After the announcement on July 29, the international major industry gas company has now entered into a business purchase agreement with Sasol to acquire the oxygen production site in Secunda, South Africa.

We remind that Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol's new cracker, the heart of LCCP, is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities that came online and will provide feedstock to the company's six new derivative units at Sasol's Lake Charles multi-asset site.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Americas Styrenics (AmSty; Woodlands, Texas), a 50/50 joint venture of CPChem and Trinseo, says it increased prices for all grades of polystyrene (PS) by US0.03 per pound, effective 1 February 2021, according to Chemweek.

The price rise supersedes all other previously announced price increases, it says.

No reason for the increase was given by the PS and styrene producer.

As MRC reported earlier, with an end goal of keeping polystyrene products out of landfills through an innovative circular recycling process, AmSty has recently announced its commitment that all products designed for foodservice and food packaging applications will contain 25 percent recycled content by 2030.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 520,630 tonnes in 2020, which corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. December estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics in Russia grew by 5% year on year to 47,490 tonnes.

AmSty is a JV between Trinseo and Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- EPSilyte is seeking a price increase of 5 cents/lb (USD110/tonne) on all grades of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in North America as of 1 March, said Chemweek.

The announcement said that the increase was necessary to keep pace with rising operating costs as well as continuing investments into sustainability such as its Adept biodegradable EPS products. Increase for all grades of expandable polystyrene effective 1 March 2021; price rise due to escalating operating costs, need to continue sustainability investments.

EPS demand has remained strong in recent months amid strong demand from construction and foam food packaging applications.

EPS is a rigid form of polystyrene (PS) used in insulation foams for the construction industry as well as for packaging.

As per MRC, Epsilyte (Woodlands, Texas) increased prices by 4 cents per pound (USD88 per tonne) from February 1 on all PSV-S grades in North America. In January, the company raised PSV-S prices by 6 cents per pound.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, in Russia, the estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics for the eleven months of 2020 amounted to 454.990 tonnes, which corresponds to the consumption indicator for the same period last year. The estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics in the country in November increased by 4% compared to the same month of 2019 and amounted to 45,830 tonnes.

Major North American producers of EPS include Styropek, EPSilyte, Styrochem, Nexkemia and Dart Polymers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gregory R. Friedman will retire as executive vice president and CFO of Corteva once a suitable replacement is identified, reported Chevweek with reference to Corteva's announcement.

Friedman joined DuPont in 2001 as CFO of an electronics joint venture and would eventually be named head of finance for DuPont’s agriculture division and vice president/DuPont investor relations. He moved into his current role when Corteva was spun out of DowDuPont in 2019.

"Corteva has a strategy that is working, as its industry-leading pipeline continues to drive growth and the benefits of our work over the past few years will accelerate earnings improvement starting this year,” Friedman said in a statement. “With the company well-positioned to deliver a strong 2021 and on track to deliver on its mid-term targets, I felt the completion of the Company's fourth quarter earnings was the right time to announce my retirement from Corteva.”

The announcement comes just a few weeks after activist investor Starboard Value LP (New York, New York) nominated eight directors to Corteva’s board, aiming for a majority in a bid to end what it calls a “disappointing leadership tenure” for CEO Jim Collins. “His track record stretching further back has also been littered with missed expectations and promises, leading us to believe that this current spell of mediocrity is simply the continued manifestation of a preexisting condition,” Starboard says. “Simply stated, if Corteva were looking to hire a new CEO and Jim was proposed as a candidate, based on his track record, we would not interview him.”

The eight Starboard nominees include James Gallogly, former CEO of LyondellBasell, and Kerry Preete, a former top executive at Monsanto. It also includes former Dow agchems vice president Janet Gisselman; former Rohm and Haas CFO Jacques Croisetiere; and Jeffrey Smith, Starboard’s CEO. If all eight nominees were elected, Starboard would have effective control of Corteva’s board, which has 12 members.

As MRC wrote previously, Corteva swung to a surprise gain in the fourth-quarter of 2020, reporting adjusted earnings of USD0.04 per share - down 43% year-on-year (YOY) but beating the analysts’ consensus estimate for a loss of $0.03/share, as reported by Zachs Investment Research. The company reported net earnings of USD43 million for the seasonally weak quarter, up from a loss of USD18 million in the year-ago quarter, on early seed sales in North America. Net sales increased 7.5% YOY, to USD3.2 billion, as volumes increased 10% on adoption of new and differentiated crop protection products.

We remind that in late January 2020, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Corteva, Inc. and The Chemours Company announced that they had entered into a binding memorandum of understanding containing a settlement to resolve legal disputes originating from the 2015 spin-off of Chemours from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (EID). Cmpanies aimed to establish a cost sharing arrangement and an escrow account to be used to support and manage potential future legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) liabilities arising from events prior to 1 July 2015, the day the spin-off was completed.

We also remind that DuPont is investing USD400 million in the production capacity of Tyvek nonwoven fabric made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) at its site in Luxembourg. A new building and a third work line at the production site will be constructed. The launch of new facilities is scheduled for 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's HDPE production totalled about 1,824,800 tonnes in 2020, up 90% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output,.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following a year of grim losses amid pandemic lockdowns that dented demand for fuel as people stuck close to home, the largest U.S. independent refiners are promoting plans to boost production of renewable fuels, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Renewable fuels represent a silver lining for refiners under threat of being left behind by the shift to electric vehicles and away from fossil fuel processing. As the big refining companies in recent days reported year-end results, executives devoted plenty of time to discussing how they will create fuels that emit fewer emissions that contribute to global warming.

"Renewables is the hot topic, and I think we're in a real good position to put ourselves in a good spot there," Marathon Petroleum Chief Executive Mike Hennigan said. Marathon reported losses of USD12.2 billion for 2020. Hennigan said the company isn't clear what gasoline and diesel demand will be post-pandemic.

The company is currently converting its Martinez, California, refinery to renewable fuels, with plans to spend nearly all of its USD350 million 2021 renewables budget on that refinery, which was idled last year. Marathon's Dickinson, North Dakota, refinery, started producing renewable fuels sold in California late last year.

Currently, refiners make the most money selling into California as the state's low carbon fuel standard encourages the production of renewable diesel, which is subsidized by federal and state policies. Notably, renewable diesel was the only segment that turned a profit for Valero Energy in 2020. The company, the second largest independent U.S. refiner, lost USD1.4 billion for the year, but its renewable diesel segment posted a USD638 million profit.

"The reality is that cleaner fuels are going to be part of the future. ... The internal combustion engine is far from being extinct," Valero's chairman and CEO, Joe Gorder, said on an earnings call last week. Valero and partner Darling Ingredients are planning a USD1.45 billion facility in Port Arthur, Texas, that will be able to process 1.2 billion gallons of renewable diesel per year from sites in Texas and Louisiana.

Phillips 66 reported result, posting a USD4 billion loss for 2020. It, too, talked up its plans to produce renewable fuels at its former Rodeo refining plant in San Francisco, and a joint venture with Ryze Renewables in Nevada to produce renewable diesel. "We want to participate in energy transition. We want to do it where we can invest and earn returns that are above our weighted average cost of capital," said Greg Garland, Phillips 66 chairman and CEO.

As MRC informed before, in October 2020, US refiner Phillips 66 said it plans to reconfigure its refinery in Rodeo, California to produce renewable fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC