Mitsubishi confirms purchase order for 40 HydrogenPro electrolyser systems

Norwegian hydrogen-plant manufacturer HydrogenPro AS said Monday that its previously announced purchase contract for an initial 40 electrolyser systems from Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc, said the company.

has been converted into a firm purchase order worth more than USD50 million. The engineering, procurement and construction and other system deliverables for a turn-key electrolyser green hydrogen production plant will be supplied by other companies, it said.

A nonrefundable commitment was made by Mitsubishi Power in February, enabling HydrogenPro to prepare for production, it said.

"This is one of the largest electrolyser system contracts ever, and it illustrates the accelerating green energy transition currently taking place in the United States," HydrogenPro Chief Executive Elling Nygaard said.

As MRC reported earlier, in February 2022, MCC and its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates (MCM announced plans to design and build a pilot plant to further validate the technology. Three possible pathways to creating sustainable MMA, including the molecular recycling of acrylic resin; substituting conventional materials with drop-in plant-derived raw materials in the existing MMA monomer manufacturing process; and the direct production of MMA monomers from plant-derived raw materials by fermentation were explored. The promising results using the drop-in route have now led to the decision to commence with the design process for a new pilot plant using this technology.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

The Japanese integrated chemical company Mitsubishi Chemical was established on October 1, 1990 as a result of the merger of Mitsubishi Kasei and Mitsubishi Petrochemical Co. Due to the wide scope of its activities, it is one of the ten leading chemical companies in the world.
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MRC) -- China's state refiners are honoring existing Russian oil contracts but avoiding new ones despite steep discounts, heeding Beijing's call for caution as western sanctions mount against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, reported Reuters.

State-run Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinochem have stayed on the sidelines in trading fresh Russian cargoes for May loadings, according to sources. Chinese state-owned firms do not wish to be seen as openly supporting Moscow by buying extra volumes of oil, after Washington banned Russian oil last month and the European Union slapped sanctions on top Russian exporter Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.

China and Russia have developed increasingly close ties in recent years, and as recently as February announced a "no limits" partnership, and China has refused to condemn Russia's action in Ukraine or call it an invasion.

China has repeatedly criticized western sanctions against Russia, although a senior diplomat said on Saturday that Beijing is not deliberately circumventing sanctions on Russia. China, the world's largest oil importer, is the top buyer of Russian crude at 1.6 MMbpd, half of which is supplied via pipelines under government-to-government contracts.

Sources expect China's state firms to honor its long-term and existing contracts for Russian oil but steer clear of new spot deals.

A drop in China's imports of Russian oil could prompt its giant state refiners to turn to alternative sources, adding to global supply concerns that had driven benchmark Brent oil prices to 14-yr highs near USD140/bbl in early March after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Brent futures have since eased to below USD110 after the US and allies announced plans to release stocks from strategic reserves.

Risk control and compliance first. Before the Ukraine crisis, Russia supplied 15% of China's oil imports: half of that via the East Siberian and Atasu-Alashankou pipelines and the rest by tankers from its Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Far East ports.

Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec and a leading Russian oil buyer, has warned its global teams at regular internal meetings in recent weeks against the risks of dealing with Russian oil. According to a source, the message and tone are clear - risk control and compliance comes before profits. Another of the sources with a refinery that regularly processes Russian crude said his plant was told by Unipec to find replacement to maintain normal operations.

Unipec loaded 500,000 metric t (tonnes) of Urals from Russia's Baltic ports in March, the highest volume in months, supplied by Surgutneftegaz on spot and under a Rosneft export tender that Unipec won for loadings between September 2021 and March 2022, according to traders and shipping data.

Other state buyers - PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinochem - have shunned Russia's ESPO blend for May loading, sources said. Sinopec is facing payment problems even for deals agreed earlier as risk-averse state banks look to scale down financing Russian oil-related deals, the second source said.

As MRC wrote previiously, amidst the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine in Eastern Europe, key industry players are releasing announcements regarding their stand on this topic. From taking firm actions such as retracting services to provide humanitarian resources, there is a lot happening around the globe. In this curated piece, get a clear understanding on plastic additives industry’s take and the measures they are adopting that will alter the market trends and developments moving forward.
MRC

NextChem, Maire Tecnimont's energy transition technology company, has completed the construction of the first demonstration plant in Italy for the chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester from textiles, as part of the European Union’s DEMETO project, as per the company's press release.

The plant is located in Chieti, in the Abruzzo Technology Park.

The depolymerization technology adopted, based on the reaction of alkaline hydrolysis with the use of microwaves, allows the plant to chemically recycle PET and polyester textile fiber waste and obtain pure monomers to produce new polymers.

The DEMETO project has been co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program with NextChem as coordinator of a consortium of 14 partners, covering the entire value chain (NextChem, 3V Tech, SPINDOX UK, Technical University of Denmark, The European Outdoor Group, EuPC, The Fricke and Mallah GmbH, gr3n, H&M Group, NEOGROUP, RECUPRENDA, PETCIA, SUPSI, Synesis).

NextChem is the developer and co-licensor of the depolymerization technology, owned by the Swiss start-up gr3n, as well as designer and constructor of the plant. Various types of materials, including polyester-based textile fibers, will be tested in the plant, which is capable of recycling almost 100% of the incoming material, amounting to 1 MM kg/yr. The project has been supported by an Industrial Advisory Board, which includes companies such as Unilever, Coca-Cola, Oviesse, Danone, Henkel and several others.

This innovative technology could contribute to the solution of some still-unresolved problems in textile waste recycling, such as mixed fibers. In Italy alone, tracked textile waste amounted to 157.7 Kt in 2019, of which 47% consisted of single and mixed synthetic fibers. In Italy 5.7% of unsorted waste is composed of textiles, with a total estimated at 663 Kta. In Europe, each inhabitant uses 26 kg of textile material each year and disposes of 11 kg, with a total production of textile waste estimated at about 5 MMt/y.

As MRC reported before, in July 2020, Eni and NextChem, the Maire Tecnimont Group’s subsidiary for green chemistry, strengthen their partnership one year after their first agreement. This partnership will conduct research for a new project to be developed in Taranto, in addition to ongoing engineering studies for a waste-to-hydrogen production plant at the Eni bio refinery in Venice, Porto Marghera, and for a waste-to-methanol production plant at the Eni refinery in Livorno.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption in January, 2022, rose by 4% year on year.
MRC

At least two Indian refiners plan to buy less Saudi oil than usual in May, after the kingdom raised the official selling price to record highs for Asia, as India increases purchases of cheap Russian crude, reported Reuters.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, has been hit hard by rising crude values, with pump prices in some states touching record highs.

State oil producer Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, has raised crude prices for all regions, with those to Asia hitting all-time highs.

The Middle East accounts for the bulk of India's oil imports, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia the top two suppliers to Asia's third largest economy.

The sources at the two Indian refiners declined to be named, citing confidentiality.

They did not disclose the volumes refiners would buy, and said the reductions in May would be marginal because they have to lift the amount they have committed to under annual contracts.

To mitigate the rising cost of oil imports, India has turned to Russian barrels that are available at a deep discount to the dated Brent benchmark, citing "national interests".

Some companies and countries have shunned Russian crude after the country began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Indian refiners have bought at least 16 MM barrels of cheaper Russian oil for May loading on a delivered basis, similar to purchases for the whole of 2021, according to Reuters calculations.

The companies have mostly bought Russian Urals, a grade similar in quality to medium sour crude produced in the Middle East and West Africa, mainly Angola.

As MRC informed before, in mid-March, 2022, Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, bought 3 mln bbl of Russian Urals from trader Vitol for May delivery, its first purchase of the grade since Russia invaded Ukraine. Western sanctions against Russia have led many companies and countries to shun its oil, depressing Russian crude to record discount levels. IOC said in late February it would buy Russian oil on delivered basis to avoid any complication relating to fixing vessels and insurance.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

SIBUR has completed commissioning in Tobolsk at a new maleic anhydride (MAN) production facility located on the territory of Zapsibneftekhim, the company said.

The production will reach its design capacity before the end of the year. The unit has a design capacity of 45,000 tons/year and is expected to ramp up through the year and is expected to cover all domestic MA demand in the country this year, with work ongoing to ensure steady operation and build out a supply chain as production ramps up, the company said.

Solid and liquid product will be marketed domestically and abroad, SIBUR added.

As per MRC, at the end of 2018, SIBUR announced the launch of a project to build a maleic anhydride production facility with a capacity of 45,000 tonnes per year in Tobolsk. Maleic anhydride is now used in construction, agriculture, automotive, paints, furniture, pharmaceuticals and other industries.

Maleic anhydride is a raw material for the production of tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, films and synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, detergents, plasticizers, maleic, succinic, fumaric and malic acids and a number of chemicals for agriculture.

Plasticizers are substances introduced into a polymer material to give it elasticity and plasticity during processing and operation. In particular, plasticizers are used to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The share of plasticizers used for the production of PVC products is about 80%.

SIBUR Holding is the leader of the petrochemical industry in Russia and one of the world's largest companies in the sector with more than 23,000 employees. Over the past 10 years, SIBUR has implemented a number of large-scale investment projects worth about 1 trillion rubles.
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