BASF plans solar park to power its Brandenburg plant in order to cut its carbon emissions by 25% by 2030

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has teamed up with regional energy company envia Mitteldeutsche Energie AG for the construction and operation of a 24-MWp solar park in the state of Brandenburg that will supply green electricity to the group's nearby production site, according to RenewablesNow.

The joint project is part of BASF's efforts to cut its carbon emissions by 25% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The partners plan to install some 52,000 solar modules on an area of 24 hectares (59.31 acres) in the town of Schwarzheide, southern Brandenburg, starting in the first quarter of 2022, enviaM said on Thursday.

The park is expected to be put online in the second quarter of next year and generate 25 GWh of electricity annually, the bulk of which will be supplied to BASF's production site in Schwarzheide under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). The electricity from the solar park will partially meet the power needs of BASF's production lines for cathode materials for batteries that are currently under construction.

The subsidy-free project, including the solar park and the substation, will cost about EUR13 million (USD 14.74m).

The initiative, which includes the creation of a joint venture that will implement the project, is still subject to approval by anti-trust authorities.

EnviaM's subsidiary envia THERM GmbH is responsible for the planning, construction and operation of the solar park.

As MRC reported earlier, Air Liquide and BASF plan to develop world largest cross-border CCS value chain. The goal is to significantly reduce CO2 emissions at the industrial cluster in the port of Antwerp. The joint project Kairos@C has been selected for funding by the European Commission through its Innovation Fund, as one of the seven large-scale projects out of more than 300 applications.

We remind that BASF aims is to electrify its production processes for basic chemicals, which are currently based on fossil fuels.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide SA said Wednesday that its board of directors has decided to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive officer, and nominated a new CEO, according to MorningStar.

The French industrial-gases company will ask shareholders to appoint Francois Jackow CEO at its annual general meeting in May. The appointment will be effective June 1.

Mr. Jackow will succeed Benoit Potier. Mr. Potier will be up for renewal as chairman of the board of directors at the AGM, the company said.

Mr. Jackow has worked at Air Liquide since 1993 and is currently its executive vice president. He will also be nominated for a seat on the company's board.

As MRC reported earlier, Air Liquide and BASF plan to develop world largest cross-border CCS value chain. The goal is to significantly reduce CO2 emissions at the industrial cluster in the port of Antwerp. The joint project Kairos@C has been selected for funding by the European Commission through its Innovation Fund, as one of the seven large-scale projects out of more than 300 applications.

We remind that BASF aims is to electrify its production processes for basic chemicals, which are currently based on fossil fuels.

We also remind that in mid-February, BASF said it was restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted earlier that month due to a technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other"s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, announced today that its Novodur 550 has been selected by THACO Plastics Component (TPC), one of the leading OEMs producing key automotive parts for global brands in Vietnam, to be used for rear spoiler application, said the company.

Novodur is INEOS Styrolution’s brand of specialty acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) copolymers. The product line contains grades with a well-balanced mix of properties, including good impact strength, dimensional stability and heat resistance. It is easy to process and gives a high aesthetic colourful surface appearance. This versatile product line is also available pre-coloured and contains products with many unique features to fit the most demanding applications across industries including automotive, household, electronics, medical and construction.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Huy, Managing Director, P-CARE Vietnam Group, comments “As a supplier to one of most successful automotive manufacturers in Vietnam, it is imperative for us to partner with world class and innovative material suppliers like INEOS Styrolution to provide the right solutions for our customers. The high quality and consistency of INEOS Styrolution’s products enable OEMs like TPC to meet the global standards required by well-known car brands. Novodur 550 is the material of choice as it offers high heat resistance, high impact strength, good process-ability and is suitable to be coated with premium paint, offering a luxurious appearance for THACO’s cars."

"We are very pleased to partner with THACO Plastics Component and P-CARE Vietnam Group, providing them our best solutions,” says Ravi Ponnuswamy, Asia Pacific Specialties Sales Director. “The successful commercialization of this project shows that with the right partnership, Vietnamese automotive manufacturers are well equipped to develop and produce parts in their home country."

Earlier it was reported that INEOS Styrolution and Trinseo continue to implement a project to create a polystyrene processing plant using depolymerization technology in Wingles in northern France. The enterprise will be able to process up to 50 tons of polystyrene per day. It is expected to be fully operational by mid-2023.

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, prices of Russian polystyrene (PS) continued to go up in December.
Demand for PS was strong, the market was still experiencing a shortage of Russian material. Prices of European styrene monomer (SM) were in the range of USD1,515-1,575/tonne this week.
MRC

1. COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented pressure on many global industries supply chain

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The ongoing impacts of COVID-19, surging prices for energy and raw materials, and Forces Majeures destabilising the global supply chain put mounting pressure on the supply chain not only in one industry, but instead represents a global challenge wrought by global issues. Most unprecedented is the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that have led to a huge shift in consumer behaviour and economic patterns, according to Packaging Europe with reference to statements of Bernard Lombard from Cepi and Ron Marsh from the Polymers for Europe Alliance. “Many sectors, including ours, had to adjust to a global economic slow-down but are now facing a spectacular and unexpected rebound,” explains Bernard Lombard, a trade expert working at Cepi, when discussing the impact of the supply chain crisis on the paper industry.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The ongoing impacts of COVID-19, surging prices for energy and raw materials, and Forces Majeures destabilising the global supply chain put mounting pressure on the supply chain not only in one industry, but instead represents a global challenge wrought by global issues. Most unprecedented is the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that have led to a huge shift in consumer behaviour and economic patterns, according to Packaging Europe with reference to statements of Bernard Lombard from Cepi and Ron Marsh from the Polymers for Europe Alliance.

“Many sectors, including ours, had to adjust to a global economic slow-down but are now facing a spectacular and unexpected rebound,” explains Bernard Lombard, a trade expert working at Cepi, when discussing the impact of the supply chain crisis on the paper industry.

The problem of unpredictability appears to be shared across sectors. Ron Marsh, chair of the Polymers for Europe Alliance, an information platform initiated by EuPC, adds: “Demand is very volatile, but recently has been unexpectedly strong.” As economies around the world bounce back earlier than expected from the pandemic, various industries are struggling to keep up.

Then there is the issue of shipping. Currently, as Lombard says, “the distribution of containers around the world is imbalanced, some regions having too many, others lacking capacity”. The pandemic saw altered shipping routes and staff shortages that meant containers could not be processed. Marsh agrees global freight is “not functioning as smoothly as is customary”.

Additionally, across the Northern Hemisphere, last year’s winter was colder and longer than average. Catch-up maintenance work in Summer 2021 meant that supply has yet to align with demand for some segments, forcing a spike in energy prices. Speaking to Packaging Europe earlier this month, the president of EuPC, Ranato Zelcher, identified Storm Uri, which hit Texas in February 2021 and forced the shutdown of polymer production in the region, as a factor in exacerbating shortages for the plastics supply chain.

For Marsh, however, “the most obvious feature (of the supply chain challenge) is the rash of Forces Majeures that have afflicted supply chains during 2021”. IVK estimates that 81 Force Majeures statements were issued by raw materials producers between January and September 2021, which can allow companies to delay or cancel the fulfilment of particular contracts, largely without liability.

“Not all of what is happening at the moment is related to short-term trends,” Lombard adds. “Some changes are here to stay. (COVID-19) has changed how people and companies behave, work, and consume.”

But it’s clear solutions are needed now. Lombard says an “element which influence is not to be underestimated is the power of communication. We must get better at communicating to our stakeholders about the current situation, its causes, and today and tomorrow’s challenges.”

A holistic approach to managing the current supply chain challenges could be essential for the plastics industry, too. “Recognition that the entire (supply) chain needs to come together because the success of polymer suppliers and plastics convertors are inextricably linked” is something Marsh identifies as a potential opportunity - a way to ensure, going forward, the supply chain does not fragment due to unnecessary competition and conflict.

For both Lombard and Marsh, the recovery of supply chains also needs to involve sustainable development if it is to be successful.

As MRC wrote before, oil refiners are ramping up output to meet a synchronized uptick in demand across Asia, Europe and the United States, but plant maintenance and high natural gas prices will constrain supply in the fourth quarter. This comes as profits for producing ground transportation fuels such as diesel and gasoline have rebounded globally for the first time since the start of the pandemic, as countries gradually emerge from COVID-19 movement restrictions.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC