Clariant and OMV partner to green up ethylene supply chain
02 Aug 2024 --- Clariant and Austrian multinational oil, gas and petrochemical company OMV will enter a collaboration for the supply of ethylene with a lower carbon footprint. The chemical is used in makeup, household cleaners and personal care items.
In response to increasing consumer demand for more sustainable options and with a focus on Europe, the partnership intends to support both companies to meet their sustainability targets and deliver on the carbon reduction strategies of their customers.
“We are continuously working on solutions for our customers’ journeys toward the use of lower carbon footprint ethoxylates and this cooperation is an important step forward to reach this goal,” says Christian Vang, business president of Care Chemicals and Americas and member of the executive steering committee at Clariant.
“Renewable low-carbon footprint ethylene from OMV will enable us to grow our bio-based ethylene oxide derivatives portfolio as well as strengthen the supply chain with production in Europe, for Europe.”
Green advances in ethylene supply
Since 2022, Clariant has successfully been supplying global customers with segregated bio-based ethoxylates through Clariant India Glycols Specialty Company.
Under the new partnership, Clariant and OMV plan to explore and develop new strategies to meet sustainability targets in the ethylene supply chain. The move supports Clariant’s global customer base with a supply of low-carbon footprint ethoxylates.
As part of this cooperation, both companies will share their research findings, adopt a life cycle assessment methodology for unified approaches and define detailed CO2 reduction roadmaps. This will include a joint analysis of ethanol-to-ethylene technology.
“There is a broad application base for ethylene oxide and derivatives, and we are dedicated to enabling sustainable transformations for our customers as well as for OMV,” comments Daniela Vlad, executive VP of Chemicals and member of the executive board of OMV.
“By fostering the supply of circular feedstock, we are reinforcing our commitment to a circular economy and sustainability. This agreement is an important contribution to the progress we are making toward our Strategy 2030 ambitions.”
OMV background
OMV started its own renewable and circular production of chemicals and chemical feedstock at its refinery in Burghausen, Germany, back in 2021 and recently at its refinery in Schwechat, Austria.
OMV has been increasing the production capacities of sustainable products, achieving a capacity of 200,000 metric tons. Based on current forecasts, OMV expects to reach a sales volume of around 1.4 million metric tons by 2030 and 2 million metric tons thereafter.
The company targets a 30% reduction of absolute GHG emissions in Scope 1 and 2 alongside a 20% reduction in Scope 3 by 2030 in comparison to 2019. By gradually switching over to low-carbon businesses, OMV is striving to achieve net zero by 2050.
Clariant’s targets, drafted in accordance with the Science Based Targets Initiative, aim to reduce Scope 1 and 2 absolute GHG emissions by 40% and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 14% in the timeframe between 2019 and 2030.
