Neste to introduces its first dedicated charging service for logistics companies

Neste to introduces its first dedicated charging service for logistics companies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste will introduce its first dedicated charging service for logistics companies in the Finnish market in February 2022, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Neste ran a service pilot in 2021 together with Finland's leading moving and logistics company Niemi Services Ltd. The pilot was a success, and the Neste charging service will be widely available for the transport industry to support companies in achieving their climate goals. By using the Neste charging service to charge their electric vehicles, logistics companies can reduce their GHG emissions by 85% on average. This figure is based on a five-year average of the electricity used in Finland’s national grid as well as European regulations.

Neste has been at the forefront in reducing transport-related emissions with its Neste MY Renewable Diesel. This fuel allows drivers and companies to reduce their GHG emissions by up to 90% compared to fossil diesel use. The fuel is globally available in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and the US in California and Oregon. In Finland, more than 150 stations provide Neste MY Renewable Diesel for both business and private motorists. With the new charging service, Neste wishes to offer its customers an expanded product range for the transition to low-emission transport.

“We want to help our customers reduce their GHG emissions, and we are continuously investigating possibilities to support companies in achieving carbon neutrality. Although heavy transport vehicles will be powered by diesel for a long time to come and renewable diesel provides opportunities for significant reductions of emissions, other solutions are additionally needed to reduce the emissions from transport. An increasing number of transport and logistics companies will operate fleets comprising diesel, electric and gas-powered vehicles in the future, and that is why we wish to expand our services to include electric charging solutions. We are pleased to quickly and widely introduce the charging service for companies operating in Finland. We are investigating the possibility of later expanding the service to the Baltic market,” says Tuomas Kulola, Head of Sales in Marketing & Services at Neste.

Neste is currently planning its own dedicated electric charging solution for workplaces. The aim is to begin pilots at Neste’s Porvoo refinery and the company’s head office in Espoo, Finland during 2022.

As MRC wrote before, Neste has successfully concluded its first series of trial runs processing liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. After kicking the series off with its first-ever industrial scale trial run with liquefied waste plastic in 2020, Neste has conducted additional runs in 2021. In the course of the trial runs, Neste has been able to upgrade liquefied waste plastic to drop-in solutions for plastic production and develop industrial scale capabilities to upgrade recycled feedstocks. Trials pave the way for continuous and commercial activities. Neste has set itself the goal of processing more than 1 MM tons of plastic waste per year from 2030 onwards.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

AkzoNobel plans to expand production of its resins

AkzoNobel plans to expand production of its resins

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel plans to expand production of its resins, said the Dutch-headquartered coatings producer.

Capacity expansions will take place at 23 productions sites worldwide over the next three years, with investment plans accounting for the sites, equipment and people needed to run them. This will enable AkzoNobel to become more self-sufficient and is expected to add between EUR15-20m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 2023.

The added capacity will allow the company to build resilience against supply disruptions and reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions, in line with the firm’s target to reduce carbon emissions across the value chain by 50% by 2030. Resins are used as a binder to hold pigment particles together in the coating production process and provide adhesion to the coated surface.

Resins are a key ingredient for making coatings. They’re used as a binder to hold the pigment particles together and provide adhesion to the coated surface.

"All of our businesses use resins, and while we produce a good proportion of what we need ourselves, commodity and other specialty resins need to be sourced from third parties,” explains Michael Friede, AkzoNobel’s Chief Commercial Officer for Performance Coatings. “Further investing in our own resin capabilities will help us to secure sustainable business growth, as well as supporting our innovation pipeline and sustainability targets."

As per MRC, AkzoNobel has strengthened its paints business and footprint in Spain by completing the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Spanish decorative paints maker Titan Paints for an undisclosed fee. The transaction includes Titan Paints' three production plants in El Prat (Barcelona), Las Palmas (Canary Islands), and Maia in Portugal, seven logistics and service centers for decorative paints, the company said in a statement. Titan Paints generated sales of about EUR80m in 2019 and has 425 employees. The deal was first announced in October 2020.

AkzoNobel has started building a new powder coatings facility. The plant will appear in the city of Chungli (Taiwan). The enterprise will be a fully automated and environmentally friendly site. The assortment of the future plant includes materials to meet the needs of the growing market for furniture, household appliances, sports equipment, machine tools, automotive accessories, electronic components, telecommunications and architecture. The capacity of the object is not specified.

Akzo Nobel is the largest European manufacturer of paints and coatings. The company provides a wide range of products for both industrial, professional and home use, including building coatings, automotive paints, marine protective coatings, wood surface coatings, and space technology coatings.
MRC

BASF launches a new service offering for its plastic additives customers

BASF launches a new service offering for its plastic additives customers

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF launches a new service offering, RegXcellence, for its plastic additives customers which enables targeted access to a range of global regulatory support, said the company.

RegXcellence provides digital solutions and simplifies regulatory issue management with advisory support to accelerate innovation opportunities. The regulatory landscape changes constantly. It is increasingly challenging for global businesses to navigate the complex regulatory frameworks whilst remaining compliant.

"As a leading global producer of plastic additives, we leverage our extensive experience in the plastic industry and strong knowledge of product stewardship and chemical legislation to stay ahead of the evolving regulatory trends. We proactively support our customers to ensure responsible and appropriate use of our additive solutions,” says Dr. Thomas Kloster, President, Performance Chemicals, BASF. “With the extension of the successful RegXcellence service to include plastic additives, we now enable our customers to benefit from our extensive regulatory service and expertise. Together, we can mitigate business risks, accelerate innovation, and achieve sustainable growth through regulatory compliance."

As this service expands, plastic additives customers will have access to a convenient digital solution to access regulatory documents. A global community of regulatory experts also evaluates relevant environmental, health and safety data. These experts are available to support customers when it comes to registration services or process and substance consulting. In addition, specific regulatory trainings are offered.

BASF already offers RegXcellence services to the customers of its fuel and lubricant solutions, plasticizers, pharma solutions and human nutrition businesses. RegXcellence for plastic additives is part of the VALERAS™ portfolio. With VALERAS, BASF is committed to increasing the sustainability of plastics along the entire polymer value chain with innovative solutions and offerings from its plastic additives business.

As MRC wrote before, BASF will build a battery recycling prototype plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, at the site of its cathode active materials (CAM) plant.

We also remind that n June, 2021, Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, and BASF announced the intention to expand their businesses with the production of styrene monomer (SM) based on circular feedstock. Trinseo has procured first supplies of SM based on circular feedstock from BASF for use in its Solution-Styrene Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR) and polystyrene (PS) products. Trinseo supplies S-SBR to major tyre manufacturers while its PS products are used in applications such as food packaging and appliances. The first few customers have already processed the material, said the company.

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

SAPREF refinery to shut operations indefinitely in March

SAPREF refinery to shut operations indefinitely in March

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Africa's largest refinery, SAPREF, a 50/50 joint venture between oil majors bp and Shell will pause operations indefinitely on March 22 as its owners consider selling the plant, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Situated in the east coast city of Durban, SAPREF has a nameplate capacity of 180,000 bpd and accounts for around 35% of the refining capacity in Africa's most industrialized economy, a net importer of petroleum products. "The decision has been taken to allow an informed finalization on the various options available to the shareholders, a sale option being the most preferred," said the statement.

"Until decisions about the future of the plant have been made – including a possible change of ownership – the SAPREF shareholders are unable to commit to further investment in the refinery," the operators said.

In September, South Africa's petroleum industry body SAPIA warned the country's refinery capacity could become obsolete within two years as the government pushed to introduce rules meant to reduce sulfur emissions from 2023.

The South African Petroleum Industry Association, which represents oil firms such as bp and Shell that operate local refineries, has deadlocked with government in talks to finance the upgrade of six refineries to cleaner fuels at an estimated cost of USD3.9 B.

As MRC informed previously, in April 2021, SAPREF let a contract to KBR Inc. to provide technology for an upgrade of the 33,000-b/d FCC unit at its 180,000-b/d refinery in Durban, South Africa. As part of the contract, KBR will license its Catalyst Regeneration technology as well as deliver basic engineering, detailed engineering, and proprietary equipment for the FCC regenerator project, which will enable SAPREF to improve the unit’s reliability and integrity by optimizing catalyst and air distribution.

SAPREF, situated near Durban along the east coast, is a 50/50 joint venture between BP and Shell with a refining capacity of around 8.5 million tons a year. It accounts for 35% of the refining capacity in Africa’s most advanced economy, which is a net importer of petroleum products.
MRC

Marathon sets 2030 target to cut absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions

Marathon sets 2030 target to cut absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. has established a 2030 target to reduce absolute Scope 3 – Category 11 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15% below 2019 levels, according to CISION.

The new Scope 3 target further enhances MPC's GHG disclosures, which include reporting aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (since 2017), Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity target (since 2020), methane emissions intensity target (since 2020), third-party verification of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions (since 2020), CDP long-form disclosure (since 2021), Scope 3 disclosure (since 2021), and third-party verification of Scope 3 emissions (since 2021).

"Our Scope 3 reduction target is part of our commitment to continuously improve our environmental performance while meeting society's energy needs sustainably," said MPC President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Hennigan. "As the energy industry evolves, we are positioning ourselves to continue delivering positive results in an energy-diverse future."

MPC's Scope 3 target covers "Category 11: Use of Sold Products," for products manufactured at the company's refineries. Informed by guidance from the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and IPIECA, the calculation of Scope 3, Category 11 emissions is based on refinery yields because MPC's refinery yields are larger than marketed volumes.

As MRC informed earlier, in May, 2021, US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp said its board had approved the conversion of the Martinez refinery in California to a renewable diesel plant. Besides, the company made a final investment decision regarding this project. Martinez, once complete, will be one of the largest renewables facilities in the country.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation's largest refining system. MPC's marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets.
MRC