From the Sector

Prof. Manfred Renner and Prof. Christian Doetsch will take joint leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT from August 2022. As renowned scientists, they have most recently shaped the direction of the institute as heads of the Products division and Energy division respectively, and will now follow in the footsteps of Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who has entered retirement.

This is the first time in its history that Fraunhofer UMSICHT is led by two directors. Both institute directors began their professional careers at the institute and from August they will have a joint hand in its future.

Prof. Manfred Renner holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in process engineering and business development. Since 2006, he has held various roles at Fraunhofer UMSICHT, most recently heading up the Products division and overseeing its 126 employees and its budget of 14.8 million euros. He has set international standards through his award-winning research into a free of water tanning leather tanning process that uses compressed carbon dioxide. With the development of innovative aerogel-based insulation materials for building facades, he has made a significant contribution to environmentally friendly, circular applications in the construction industry and initiated a number of industrial projects. One of the notable technological breakthroughs made by his team was the development of a new type of fire-resistant glass, which can withstand even the most extreme heat. This won his development team the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in October 2020.

Alongside becoming institute director, Prof. Renner will also take over the leadership of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE in August 2022. In this role, he will represent the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on a national and international level with regard to the transformation of industry and society to a circular economy. In addition, he will start his professorship in Responsible Process Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Over the course of his professorship, he will shape the systemic development of the circular economy at a corporate, regional and European level.

Prof. Christian Doetsch has worked in energy research for more than 25 years, spending most of this time at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. As head of the Energy division, he managed a team of around 145 employees and was responsible for a budget of approximately 10.4 million euros. His technological focal points are energy storage, Power-to-X technologies including hydrogen electrolysis and chemical conversion, catalysts, and energy system modeling and optimization. His overarching aim is the integration of renewable energies into a cross-sectoral, resilient energy system.

In 2015, Doetsch co-founded the award-winning start-up Volterion GmbH & Co. KG, which develops redox flow batteries. He attained high visibility on a global scale by redesigning stacks, one of the main components of redox flow batteries, an achievement for which he, his team and Volterion representatives were awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in May 2021. The energy expert also acts as deputy spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and task manager for the energy storage group at the International Energy Agency (IEA). He also co-founded the “Open District Hub e. V.,” an association that promotes the energy transition in the sector by means of energy systems integration.

Since January 2020, he has been Professor of Cross Energy Systems at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. In this role, he conducts research into ecological evaluation and resilience of cross-sectoral energy systems.

• Sustainability Report 2021 combines financial and non-financial performance indicators
• 2011-2021: 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton produced. 51.7% renewable source energy achieved
• ESG criteria (environmental impact (E), social values (S), organizational governance (G)) determine sustainability strategy

The new RadiciGroup Sustainability Report has been published. With the goal of continuous improvement, the 2021 report has a broader reporting boundary compared to prior years and takes into consideration all the Group companies, including sales and service companies. Over 30 sites located across Asia, North America, South America and Europe have provided their 2021 data on economic, social and environmental performance.

Not only indicators of a financial nature but also measures of environmental impact (E), social values (S) and good organizational governance (G): the latter so-called ESG criteria have become a priority for RadiciGroup, which is preparing for the new European Union non-financial reporting directive in order to contribute to the transition towards a fully sustainable economic system and increase the value of its companies.

On the environmental front, the themes of climate change and decarbonization are RadiciGroup priorities and part of a policy aimed at the uncoupling of growth and resource usage. The Group undertakes to lower emissions from production and choose limited-impact energy sources. This commitment is confirmed by the numbers: in the 2011-2021 period, total emissions per metric ton produced were reduced by 60%, while renewable source energy used by the Group reached 51.7%. Specific investments to decrease environmental impact are ongoing: in 2021, EUR 3.1 million were allocated to introduce best available techniques and improve emissions abatement and energy efficiency.

RadiciGroup promotes professional growth by valuing competence and investment in training: Group training hours once again rose after the pandemic period from 36,000 hours in 2020 to 46,000 hours in 2021. The training method was often a hybrid, taking advantage of aspects experimented with during the pandemic, that is, less traveling and use of facilities in favour of higher groupwide attendance, without the need for participation limits. Fifty-five percent of total training hours was dedicated to health and safety, which has yielded positive results based on the related indicators.

Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup: “Today, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our main guideline on sustainability issues. It shows us an ambitious scenario and urges us to confront a multitude of challenges that affect our enterprise from every point of view. We try to be quick to react and tenacious, staying faithful to our roots and our style, but expanding our perspective to become increasingly more competitive and proactive in the businesses we are engaged in. From the viewpoint of achieving less environmental impact in the future, we propose to be an enabler and facilitator for our stakeholders on themes such as the circular economy, where we see ourselves as protagonists in ecodesign and recycling, as well as innovation, which we put at the service of anyone who is processing and using our products, so as to offer real sustainability solutions together.”

DOMO Chemicals, a producer of engineered polyamide materials, and Hynamics, a 100% subsidiary of EDF Group specializing in the production of low-carbon hydrogen, have entered into a partnership project with the objective of achieving zero-carbon for 100% of the hydrogen used at the Belle-Étoile industrial site, in Saint-Fons (south of Lyon, France), in the heart of the French Vallée de la Chimie (“Chemistry Valley”).

For the first time in France, the “HyDom” project will enable the installation of an 85-megawatt (MW) hydrogen production plant using the water electrolysis process at the Belle-Étoile site, with a production capacity of 11,000 metric tons of low-carbon hydrogen per year. The plant will be powered by the French low-carbon electric power mix. By 2027, it will supply 100% of the annual production of hexamethylene diamine, a key component used in the production of plastics.

The project will eventually prevent the emission of 84 kilotons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year. Hexamethylene diamine, and ultimately, durable and low-carbon polyamides, will be used in various applications in major industry sectors, such as automotive, electronics, and heating & cooling.
This project is a major step towards the decarbonization of industrial sites that use grey hydrogen (produced from fossil fuels). The location in the Vallée de la Chimie within the vicinity of major transport routes opens up opportunities for the creation of a more complete hydrogen ecosystem.

The first phase of the project will consist of building up and ascertaining technical concepts and integrating the low-carbon hydrogen production plant within the larger production process of hexamethylene diamine.

Considering the high-power scale of the future electrolytic hydrogen production facility, the HyDom project is being developed in close collaboration with RTE (an organization in charge of managing the French power grid), to solve connection issues. As a priority project for the industry's zero-carbon strategy and for the “France 2030” investment plan, HyDom is supported by the French government and has been presented to the European Commission for public funding.

• The Borvida™ portfolio introduces sustainable base chemicals to Borealis’ range of product offering
• The range will initially be based on non-food waste biomass, and chemically-recycled waste; in the future it will also draw from atmospheric carbon capture
• The traceability of the content will be based on Mass Balance, which is ISCC PLUS certified
• This is the next step in an ambitious sustainability journey, which will see Borealis move away from traditional fossil-based feed

Borealis is strengthening its EverMinds™ circular product offering with Borvida™, a range of sustainable base chemicals.

The Borvida portfolio will offer base chemicals or cracker products (such as ethylene, propylene, butene and phenol) with ISCC Plus-certified sustainable content from Borealis sites in Finland, Sweden and Belgium. The move is part of Borealis’ broader commitment to a Future-Positive Revolution, in which the unrivalled benefits of base chemicals and polymers can be enjoyed at minimal impact to the planet.   

The portfolio will initially comprise Borvida B, from non-food waste biomass, and Borvida C, from chemically-recycled waste. In the future, the range will evolve to include Borvida A, sourced from atmospheric carbon capture. Borvida is complementary and is the building block to Bornewables™, a portfolio of polyolefins based on renewably-sourced second generation feedstocks, and Borcycle™, which offers circular polyolefins produced from mechanically- and chemically-recycled plastic waste.

Borealis produces a wide range of base chemicals for use in numerous industries based on various feedstock, such as naphtha, butane, propane and ethane. Through its olefin units (steam cracker and propane dehydrogenation), it converts these into the building blocks of the chemical industry: ethylene, propylene and C4 hydrocarbons (butylenes, ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) and butadiene), and C5-6 hydrocarbons (pygas, phenol) among others.

The basis of the Borvida portfolio is Mass Balance, a Chain of Custody model that enables sustainable content to be tracked, traced, and verified through the entire value chain, offering sustainability-assured products from feedstock to end product. Using this model, circular alternatives can be offered in a cost-effective and environmentally-conscious way, which can be scaled up quickly without compromising on quality or efficiency.

Borvida can be used for a wide range of different polymer and chemical applications, also beyond polyolefins (PO). Non-PO polymers, such as polycarbonates, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), super absorbant polymer (SAP) and other chemicals, are utilised for various end applications including coatings, plasticizers, adhesives, automotive, electronics, lubricants, detergents, appliances and sports equipment.

Together with key strategic partners, including Neste and Covestro, Borealis strives to provide a long-term solution in order to allow value-chain partners to meet their sustainability goals. Borvida will enable our customers to increase the sustainability of their products, keeping them ahead of forthcoming legislative changes, and meeting their customers’ demands for climate-conscious products.

Introduced on a smaller scale in early 2020, early renewable base chemicals customers include Covestro. “The use of alternative sustainable raw materials is one important pillar of our strategic ambition to become fully circular”, comments Frank Dörner, Managing Director Covestro Procurement Services GmbH & Co. KG. “The new product line is a good example for joint solutions, another strategic pillar, in order to establish new and reliable supply chains creating benefits for our customers.”

The sustainable collaboration and innovation between Indorama Ventures (IVL), Auping and TWE Group presented a certified cradle to cradle process for mattress components across nonwoven applications, at Techtextil, Frankfurt, 21st to 24th June 2022.

Using circular research and design, the industry partnership between IVL Mullagh (Ireland), Auping and TWE Group has resulted in a perpetual, sustainable economic business model, for manufacturers globally. The inclusion of safe raw materials within mattress manufacturing allows the materials to be easily disassembled at the product’s end of use in order to be further reused as same components or recycled into new raw material at the same quality level, to enable versatile textile applications.

Designed for disassembly to optimize the use of existing resources, reduce carbon footprint and support customer objectives all along their customers’ supply chain. This circular industry collaboration begins with design, where the mattress is constructed using only two different base materials, 100% PET polyester textiles and steel wire pocket springs connected with Niaga®️, a non toxic reversible adhesive, making the mattress easy to disassemble and recover.

IVL, Auping and TWE’s shared vision for a better world is demonstrated through their connected and innovative circularity that helps to close the loop. Auping collects, sorts and separates the collected fabrics, which then go to IVL Mullagh for processing, melting and extrusion to form polyester staple fiber. These staple fibers are then converted by TWE Group into nonwovens for use in Auping’s Evolve mattress, a fully circular mattress. Following the end of mattress use, the material recovery process simply starts again.

Auping estimates that annually more than 40 million mattresses are disposed of in Europe alone, the majority of which are incinerated. Their take back system in the Netherlands ensures that when their new mattress is delivered, the old mattress is retrieved and recycled, irrespective of the brand, ensuring existing materials are continually optimized, diverted from landfill and kept in use to achieve a circular economy.

• Bio circular Fibre - Shaping Sustainable Living

The European staple fibre producer Beaulieu Fibres International turns the spotlight on future-focused solutions for nonwovens & engineered fabrics at Techtextil 22. A key priority is innovation in polyolefin fibres and bicomponent polyester/polyolefin fibres, to advance sustainable design, end-of-life recyclability, and resource and carbon footprint reduction for industrial and hygiene applications.

The new sustainability roadmap - Route 2030 outlines how the company is targeting the reduction of our environmental footprint to zero, taking care of people and doing business in a transparent, ethical way. Sustainability is key to Beaulieu Fibre International’s long-term strategy, and the company is heavily focused on defining its green portfolio to support evolution in diverse market applications and to work towards a circular economy with the whole supply chain.

Beaulieu Fibres International will offer ISCC Plus (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus) certified bio circular MONO-PP and BICO PP/PE fibres in 1,3-8,9 dtex, available with all the main available finish classes. These drop-in solutions, with no loss in quality, will support customers reduce reliance on virgin fossil carbon in their nonwoven and engineered fibre applications, contributing to the transition towards a circular economy.

At Heimtextil Frankfurt 2022, Devan, will launch novel technologies to the Home Textiles market. The first innovation is a range of bio-based and biodegradable microcapsules. With increased sustainability and circularity requirements in Europe and beyond, Devan is pushing the limits further of its encapsulation methods, also in terms of wash durability. The capsules are biodegradable and hence no harm for risk of microplastics. The new R-Vital NTL range includes evergreen Aloe Vera, waste-material based avocado seed oil with very high hydration abilities! and Vitamine E.

Devan, as part of the Pulcra Chemicals Group, co-launches the new Pulcra TEC-SU, a new biobased C0 DWR. This hydrophobic agent has a bio-content above 60% and contains no APEO or formaldehyde. It keeps performing very good after multiple washings.

The Devan bio-based thermoregulation range, like Tones of Cool Bio which is already several years on the market, is having a positive effect on carbon footprint. Devan is now expanding its cooling range with a specific foam-solution. In the Home Textile industry new (bio)foam types are introduced the last 1,5 years to comply with the EU GreenDeal and circularity / recycling requirements. A good enough reason for Devan to develop a foam-specific cooling system. After all, research shows that our bedroom interiors get warmer every year, partly due to better insulation but also due to global warming. On top of that Devan thermoregulation solutions can save Energy and Water during application: low curing solutions are available next to cooling products to that can be applied, using less water.

Setting concrete environmental sustainability objectives for abating direct greenhouse gas emissions and leveraging investments and state-of-the-art technology. This is the approach that has always guided RadiciGroup in operating its businesses with a wide range of products: chemical intermediates, polyamide polymers, high performance engineering polymers and advanced textile solutions.

Between 2011 and 2020, overall Group greenhouse gas emissions were cut by 70%, falling from about 700,000 metric tons per year of CO₂ equivalent to 200,000 metric tons.  

These results were largely achieved through the action implemented by the Group’s Specialty Chemicals Business Area at its plants in Novara, Italy, and in Germany, which are the heart of RadiciGroup’s chemicals business. Here the Group produces an essential intermediate for synthesizing polyamide 66, adipic acid, whose production process releases nitrous oxide as a by-product. Nitrous oxide in itself is not particularly problematic (in fact, it is used in the medical sector as an anaesthetic and in the food industry as a spray propellant, in cans of whipped cream, for instance), but, if it is released into the atmosphere, it has a much higher greenhouse gas effect than carbon dioxide.

At the Radici Chimica site in Novara, a multiyear investment budget of over EUR 10 million was dedicated to lowering these emissions through three important undertakings: in 2004, putting into operation a three catalyst bed reactor, designed and patented by the company, to decompose nitrous oxide into nitrogen and oxygen, the two elements it is composed of, thus making it innocuous for the atmosphere; in 2013, installing an EnviNOx plant to decrease the release of nitrous oxide formed in the production of nitric acid, and, in 2021, a further improvement in the emissions abatement system associated with nitric acid production.

Since activating the last plant just 9 months ago, more than 35,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent have been cut. All the above-mentioned actions have enabled Radici Chimica Novara to record a nitrous oxide emissions level less than 10 ppm, a value close to zero.

With an annual report entitled 'Here.We.Go' and a sustainability report 'Shaping sustainable living, together', B.I.G. is also publishing a strong ambition for a sustainable future.

Offering sustainable flooring and material solutions will be the number one priority for the coming years.

The Group's first sustainability report is built around a self-designed sustainability model - "Route 2030" - which is based on achievable commitments, covers the main priorities and reflects B.I.G.'s vision in a sincere way.

Their vision for the B.I.G. change is to actively build a better future by their our carbon footprint to zero and doing business in a transparent, integer way. In this sense, it is the translation of the Group's purpose defined in 2021: shaping sustainable living, together.

Pol Deturck adds “By 2030, together with a broad group of suppliers, stakeholders and partners, we want to be the leader in sustainable flooring and material solutions. Specifically, our future value proposition is based on products and services that are environmentally & climate friendly, circular and offered by talented, innovative people with an emphasis on integrity and respect for values. This results more in a recurring value proposition for the future.”

Clear growth ambitions
As a 100% family-owned international Group with a clear long-term vision, B.I.G. stayed true to their plans and kept on investing in all areas of their business.
“The ambition for 2021 was to invest over 100 mio euro. But we were held back by external, unforeseen factors: from delays on quotes and execution to the lack of availability and resources due to the pandemic. If all goes as planned, we’ll make up for it in 2022 with an investment budget well over 100 million euro. The main areas of interest will be sustainability, innovation and Industry 4.0.” says Pieter-Jan Sonck, CFO of B.I.G.

Adding to the gradual top-line growth of recent years, the Group can look back on an unprecedented financial boom. The driving forces: favorable market conditions, a revitalized growth strategy and a team of nearly 5.000 first-class employees.

B.I.G. reported a turnover of EUR 2,5 billion, an increase of 45 % compared to 2020. The Group ebitda amounted to EUR 451 million, an increase of 120 % compared to 2020 and a net result of EUR 274 million, a growth of 215% compared to 2020.

Fruitful year for all Business Units
It was a fruitful year for all 3 business units, but the Group's business unit Polymers stood out. Exceptionally strong demand in Europe and North America, combined with raw material shortages and unplanned shutdowns of competitors, pushed prices and margins up to highs. The Polymers facilities ran at full capacity to meet the customers’ needs and hit all-time profit records during several months.

The Group's business unit Flooring Solutions also fared well. Most divisions and regions outperformed amid surging energy prices, disrupted supply chains, cost volatility in transport and raw materials, and other challenges. Their sustained focus on innovation, design and product differentiation led to an improved operating result at the end of 2021.

The achievements by Engineered Solutions echo those of the other two business units, from volume increases to budget increases. B.I.G. took big leaps forward in all its key markets, including the automotive sector, geotextiles and filtration.

A boundary-pushing approach to hacking carbon reduction challenges has been established by AkzoNobel and partners from across the extended value chain following the company’s first ever global Collaborative Sustainability Challenge.

During 24 hours of intense discussion at the pioneering event a series of high impact exploration teams was set up. Those involved will now continue to work together in a determined effort to collectively accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions in the paints and coatings industry.

The participants – represented by senior and next generation leaders – hacked four key areas: energy transition, process efficiency, solvent emissions and circular solutions. It resulted in 27 partners signing up, including suppliers, customers and end-users, as well as representatives from finance, government, service providers and consultancies.

AkzoNobel has set science-based sustainability targets to halve its carbon emissions across the full value chain by 2030. Achieving that ambition will rely heavily on collaborating with partners and challenging each other to find innovative ways to overcome the unprecedented challenges everyone faces.