Austria-headed Borealis AG, a leading provider of innovative polyolefin solutions; and Finland-headed Neste Oyj, a leading provider of renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel, and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, have announced entering into strategic co-operation for the production of renewable polypropylene (PP).
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According to a statement, the co-operation will enable Borealis to start using Neste’s 100 percent renewable propane produced with Neste’s proprietary NExBTL technology as renewable feedstock at its facilities in Kallo and Beringen, Belgium, starting end of 2019. Borealis will use renewable propane produced at Neste’s biorefinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, at its facilities in Belgium to create an entire portfolio of applications based on renewable PP.
This marks the first time that Borealis uses bio-based feedstock to partially replace fossil feedstock in commercial production of PP. It will also be the first time ever that renewable propane dehydrogenation is carried out at an industrial scale. The high-quality product will offer the same product properties as conventional PP and is fully recyclable.
Polymers and chemical industries will play a major role in the fight against climate change. It is, therefore, very satisfying to see the industry change starting to happen towards more sustainable, climate-friendlier feedstock alternatives. We are eager to help forerunner companies like Borealis to start replacing fossil-based feedstock with renewable ones. This new step is a meaningful contribution towards creating a healthier planet for our children, said Mercedes Alonso, Executive Vice President, Renewable Polymers and Chemicals, Neste.
Unique propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene plant
Borealis’ unique propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP plant set-up in Kallo will enable the company to start offering bio-based propylene and consequently bio-based-PP in which bio-based content can be physically verified and measured.
In addition, Borealis will continue to apply a mass balance approach in its production at Kallo and Beringen to take a major step forward to provide both renewable propylene and renewable polypropylene to its customers.
Using renewable feedstocks produced primarily from waste and residue streams is a major contribution to reducing our reliance on fossil fuel-based feedstocks. Through co-operation with Neste we can offer our customers and partners a new portfolio of renewable PP solutions, helping them to make their offering more climate-friendly. True to our EverMinds approach, we are a frontrunner in helping build a circular economy for plastics. Borealis will not only help protect the environment, but also build a business fit for the future, explained Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Innovation & Technology, and Circular Economy Solutions.
The process will be certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus, whose full value chain scope ensures that the renewable feedstock used is certified renewable, sustainably produced and traceable to point of origin.
Following its earlier commitment to scale its offer of recycled plastics, it is great to see Borealis continue to gradually shift its core business away from the consumption of fossil resources by producing renewable-based plastics. This ambition is very much in line with the vision of a circular economy for plastics that Borealis endorsed when joining The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. In a circular economy, plastics never become waste, and plastics production shifts from a model depending on the extraction of finite fossil resources towards one based on the circulation of materials. By scaling up the production of renewable-based plastics, Borealis and Neste actively support the shift towards a circular economy for plastics, commented Sander Defruyt, Lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative.
As an industry frontrunner in sustainability, Neste offers bio-based alternatives to conventional fossil-based feedstock used in the production of polymers and chemicals. Neste has an annual production capacity of 3 million tonnes of renewable products.
Thanks to its proprietary NExBTL technology, it can utilize nearly any bio-based oil or fat as raw material, including lower-quality waste and residue oils to produce various premium-quality renewable products.
