NEWS
Global chemical companies collaborate
Ten major global chemical sector companies have agreed with the World Economic Forum ( WEF ) to establish “ a breakthrough , pre-competitive development platform to accelerate net-zero climate technologies ”. They are BASF , Dow , DSM , Solvay , Clariant , Covestro , Mitsubishi Chemical , Air Liquide , Sabic and Sibur . They will formalise the existing Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies ( LCET ) initiative into a stand-alone entity by the end of 2023 , taking it “ from incubation to its missioncritical implementation stage ”. This will take the form of a project development company , in partnership with the WEF , which will share early-stage risks and co-invest in developing and scaling up technologies . The LCET began in 2019 as a knowledge-sharing platform to accelerate greenhouse gas reduction in the chemical value chain . As envisaged at the outset , it will now become an implementation vehicle . It will seek “ to foster creative public-private partnerships and to enable pre-competitive cooperation , especially on common challenges to the industry , to drive sustainable solutions and collectively solve challenges on the path to net-zero emissions ”.
“ We collaborate in the LCET initiative to jointly accelerate breakthrough technologies . We join forces to tackle critical technology challenges that cannot be tackled by a single company alone ,” said Martin Brudermüller , BASF executive board chair and also chair of LCET . The first two initiatives are in the commodity field : olefin production via steam cracking , and ammonia production based on dedicated hydrogen generation from methane or water . Further technological building blocks – such as hydrogen generation in low-carbon emission processes , using CO 2 and biomass as feedstock and the electrification of chemical operations – are said to be in the PDC pipeline . The LCET initiative aims to foster alliances , which could be structured as joint ventures or start-up companies , to innovate , share knowledge and reduce investment risks , including through shared IP schemes . Parallel project teams are addressing technology , regulatory , funding , and market and collaboration challenges to accelerate the roll-out of specific projects .
6 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981