MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste, the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel as well as a forerunner in renewable and circular solutions for the polymers and chemicals industry, further accelerates the implementation of its growth strategy by establishing an R&D center in Singapore, as per the company's press release.
With this investment, Neste aims to increase its R&D and innovation capabilities globally, and drive collaboration with partners in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in Singapore.
“Neste is currently increasing the production capacity of the Singapore refinery by up to 1.3 million tons annually, operational in early 2023. Establishing our new R&D center in Singapore with advanced analytical and raw material research capabilities serves well to drive our growth ambitions in the region and supports our largest renewable products refinery locally,” says Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Neste.
The Asia-Pacific R&D center will complement Neste's already extensive efforts in the area of innovation and R&D, and strengthen Neste’s presence in the Asia-Pacific innovation network. The R&D center will be located in the Science Park II in the west part of Singapore. Approximately 40 researchers and other professionals will be hired gradually from 2022 to 2025 to the R&D center, which will be fully operational from 2023 onwards.
Neste’s main R&D facilities continue to be located in its Technology Center in Porvoo, Finland, Neste continues to increase the volume of its research, development and innovation operations also in Finland.
As MRC informed before, Neste and Ravago aim to establish a joint venture to build an industrial facility for chemical recycling in North Sea Port in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. The facility is intended to be the starting point of joint global chemical recycling activities, built upon the advancement of the thermochemical liquefaction technology of US-based Alterra Energy, an innovative chemical recycling technology company.
We remind that in July, 2021, Finnish Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC