NEWS
Low-carbon ethylene chain deal
Clariant has agreed a deal to source ethylene with a lower carbon footprint from Austrian petrochemicals firm OMV . This , the company said , comes in response to increasing consumer demand for more sustainable options and will help both it and OMV to meet their sustainability targets .
Clariant has been offering segregated biobased ethoxylates through its Indian operation since 2022 . It now wishes to extend this to the wider ethylene oxide derivatives portfolio while also strengthening the supply chain by producing “ in Europe , for Europe ”.
OMV began renewable and circular production of chemicals and chemical feedstock at its refinery at
Burghausen , Germany , in 2021 , and more recently at Schwechat , Austria . Its capacity for sustainable products is now about 200,000 tonnes / year and is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2030 .
The two firms added that they plan to explore and develop new strategies to meet sustainability targets in the ethylene supply chain . As part of this , they will share their research findings , adopt a lifecycle assessment methodology for unified approaches and define detailed CO 2 reduction roadmaps . This will include joint analysis of collaboration potential for the ethanol-toethylene technology .
Mood subdued in Germany , says VCI
Germany ’ s chemical industry trade association , the VCI , said that the mood in the nation ’ s chemical and pharmaceutical industry “ cooled noticeably in August because the global economy did not pick up as hoped ”. This applies particularly to chemicals .
“ A weak industrial economy in Europe , the USA and China , as well as a lack of price-competitiveness in Germany , are dampening sales opportunities abroad ,” the VCI said .
Chemical exports declined in almost all regions in 1H , Asia excepted . Expectations for the coming months are also cautious . Pharmaceutical exports , particularly to North America and Asia , were much stronger , rising by 13 %. This is expected to continue in the coming months .
The association also noted that R & D budgets continue to grow , rising by 4 % to around € 15.5 billion in 2023 . Again , this was mainly driven by pharma , with chemical R & D budgets under pressure . For this year , a total R & D spend of about € 15.5 billion is expected .
Germany ’ s attraction as a location is declining , due to “ structural problems , excessive bureaucracy , lengthy approval procedures and complicated project funding systems ”, the VCI noted . As a result , companies are increasingly interested in research elsewhere and other countries are catching up .
In addition , the German government lacks a coherent innovation strategy . “ In other countries , costs are lower , public funding programmes are better and bureaucracy is lower ,” said Thomas Wessel , chairman of the VCI research committee . It is estimated that firms spend 5 % of their man-hours filling out forms .
With the growing importance of cross-sector innovations in chemical research and industrial application , the association noted , it is highly advantageous for innovators and customers to be close to each other geographically . Germany has an excellent scientific landscape , able researchers and strong basic research but this is wasted without a “ comprehensive , one-stop innovation strategy ”.
Wessel – Government approach lacks coherence
“ A new funding programme here , a new institute there – it ’ s a patchwork . This development is reinforced by uncoordinated measures by the federal government and its departments ,” said Wessel . He particularly highlighted the large cuts in federal funding for battery research planned for 2025 .
The research committee further advocated that the funding landscape should be financed from a combination of state funding , tax measures , institutional and private venture capital . Pilot and demonstration plants as well as real-world laboratories must also be funded in order to close the transfer gap between basic and applied research . Finally , much more must be done to address the shortage of skilled workers .
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981