TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Solutions
SABIC enters an agreement with the World Economic Forum and other global chemical sector companies targeted at formalizing the Low-carbon emitting technologies (LCET) initiative into a stand-alone entity by 2023. In collaboration, LCET members will share early-stage risks and co-invest in developing and upscaling low-carbon-emitting technologies.
Collaboration for the Project
The project development company (PDC) will be designed and developed by an inclusive stakeholder primacy collaboration between SABIC, Air Liquide, BASF, Clariant, Covestro, Dow, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Royal DSM, SIBUR, Solvay and World Economic Forum, and is supported by The Mission Possible Partnership.
The joint undertaking represents the LCET initiative’s seminal transition from a knowledge sharing platform to the implementation vehicle as envisioned at its 2019 founding, and on course with its original mandate to accelerate greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction in the chemical production value chain.
The Forum-hosted collaboration is designed to foster creative public/private partnerships, partnerships and to enable pre-competitive cooperation especially on common challenges to the industry to drive sustainable solutions and collectively solve challenges on the path to carbon neutrality.
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As the LCET initiative moves into the critical implementation stage, it will demonstrate the groundbreaking innovation that our industry can achieve through collaboration”, said Yousef Al-Benyan, vice chairman and CEO of SABIC, and LCET Co-Chair. “
By working together to co-develop and upscale low carbon-emitting technologies, we will accelerate circular carbon economy journey to carbon neutrality.”
Operating Models Into Net-zero Production Methods
LCET technology teams have identified technical principles and specific measures that can convert traditional operating models into net-zero production methodologies. Through the PDC, these LCET pioneers will be embarking along two value chains that are the largest sources of chemical GHG emissions: olefin production via steam cracking, and ammonia production based on dedicated hydrogen generation from methane or water.
The first joint programs are on the way with an emerging R&D Hub for plastic waste processing, and a collaborative project between SABIC and BASF together with technology provider Linde on the world’s first electrically heated steam cracker furnace.
Further efforts such as hydrogen generation in low carbon processes, the use of CO2 and biomass as feedstock, and the overall electrification of chemical operations will be addressed in the PDC pipeline.
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The transformation toward climate neutrality is a must. Therefore, we need to translate climate targets now into concrete measures. We collaborate in the LCET initiative to jointly accelerate breakthrough technologies. We join forces to tackle critical technology challenges that cannot be tackled by a single company alone,” said Dr. Martin Brudermüller, BASF chairman of the board of executive directors and LCET chair. “
Sharing technology and business risks in innovative ways is key to mastering this challenge successfully.”
The LCET initiative aims to foster alliances, potentially structured as joint ventures or start-up companies, to prioritize and innovate to share knowledge and reduce investment risks.
For example, co-investment into large projects that couldn’t be financed by one party; joint IP schemes and complementary engagement with policy makers, regulators, and financial players; and co-marketing opportunities and demand creation for low-carbon products all can work together to encourage infrastructure development that enables low-carbon solutions in large systems such as electrical grids and pipelines.
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Source: SABIC