In future , Carbon Capture and Storage ( CCS ) will play a key role in the chemical industry . Photo courtesy of Technip Energies .
Sustainability becomes a driver for chemical plant construction
These are the birth pangs of a new economy : the increasing demand for chemical products is bringing growth to the industry , which at the same time has to cope with the necessary transformation towards climate neutrality . For chemical plant construction , both of these factors mean a lot of work in the coming years ; in addition to enormous challenges , huge opportunities await .
Text by Armin Scheuermann , for ACHEMA
The energy crisis resulting from the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine sent shock waves through the global chemical industry in 2022 . Germany and chemical nations in Europe , which have few energy resources , were hit hard by the rapid rise in gas prices . As a result , the pressure for more efficient processes and new energy sources increased significantly . However , a rethink of the raw material and energy base was already underway . Chemical nations and global chemical companies have long been working towards the goal of “ Net Zero ” and want to end greenhouse gas emissions by 2070 ( India ), 2060 ( China and Russia ) or already by 2050 ( all other chemical nations ). The project is ambitious : in Europe alone , the chemical industry will have to invest EUR 1 trillion for this purpose , according to estimates by the consulting firms Accenture and Nexant ECA . EUR 400 to 600 billion will be spent on modifying and building new production plants for the eight most important chemicals : ammonia , ethene , propene , nitric acid , carbon black , caprolactam , soda ash and fluorochemicals . In the USA and China , investments will be much higher . Chemical plant construction has a key role to play : the mammoth task is to scale up new technologies to large-scale production in the shortest possible time .
Decarbonisation picks up speed For several years , companies in the plant engineering sector have been registering growing interest among
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