Plastics News - Show Daily - October 15, 2024 - 8

FAKUMA 2024
8 * Plastics News, October 15, 2024
LyondellBasell drives circularity
forward in automotive applications
By Beatriz Santos
Sustainable Plastics
At this year's Fakuma, LyondellBasell
is focusing on circular solutions
for the automotive industry.
The U.S.-based materials company
has been making a range of
investments to secure feedstock
supply, expand recycling capacity
and develop scalable technologies
to address ever-growing demand
from this market segment.
" If you think about where demand
for circular solutions is
coming from, there are two big
drivers, " Yvonne van der Laan,
executive vice president, circular
and low carbon solutions, told
Sustainable Plastics.
" On the one hand, there's the
consumer brand owners demanding
recycled content for packaging.
And then there's the OEMs on
the automotive side. A year ago, a
lot of these OEMs were still on the
sidelines, but today the scenario
has changed, " van der Laan added.
Brand owners and original
equipment
manufacturers
are
increasingly turning to LYB for
solutions that go beyond using
recycled content in nonvisible car
parts, van der Laan said. They are
looking for " full-scope solutions "
that deliver high performance
combined with stellar looks.
Innovations for auto
industry
LYB is unveiling its Hostacom
foaming material at Fakuma, designed
for automotive interiors.
Developed with catalyst technology
that enhances the rheology of
the PP polymer matrix, it enables
lightweight, durable and visually
enhanced parts, such as door
panels. Hostacom is already incorporated
in the interior design
of the new Renault Rafale.
CirculenRecover, a polypropylene
compound containing 20
percent recycled content, is also
on show. It is specifi cally tailored
for automotive exteriors, offering
a unique mold-in-color aesthetic
while simplifying the recycling
process, making it an appealing
solution for automakers seeking
both performance and sustainability.
CirculenRecover is already
incorporated in bumpers, trims
and body side moldings across
the All-New Dacia Duster.
Solutions for
electric vehicles
With the electric vehicle market
continuing to grow, LyondellBasell
is at the forefront of delivering
solutions that meet the
sector's stringent demands. At
Fakuma, the company is showcasing
its comprehensive portfolio
of engineered polymers for
EV charge port assemblies and
battery systems. These materials
are designed to ensure high
strength, stiffness and durability,
addressing both functional and
aesthetic challenges in EV design.
By integrating these advanced
polymers, EV manufacturers can
create lighter, more effi cient and
cost-effective vehicles.
LYB's polymer solutions also
extend to EV charging stations,
where the company's materials ensure
reliability, durability and safety
in components such as charger
enclosures and charge plugs.
Demand for
mechanical, chemical
recycled materials
The type of demand for LYB's
automotive solutions has evolved
during the past year, van der
Laan said: " Initially [our customers]
were much more looking at
mechanically
recycled
content.
They now come really
wanting to understand
the proposition
of MoReTec,
how that really is a
drop-in replacement
in masterbatch solutions,
in PVC solutions,
and how we can work together
on closed-loop systems. "
Although interest started with
mechanically recycled materials,
customers have realized its limitations
in more challenging applications,
van der Laan added.
LYB is thus investing in both
mechanical and chemical recycling
solutions. In September, it
announced an investment in recycling
automotive and white good
appliance parts in a closed-loop
recycling center in Lich, Germany.
LYB will mechanically recycle
these parts into high-quality
feedstock for its CirculenRecover
range of sustainable polymers.
To reach where mechanical recycling
cannot, LYB is applying its
MoReTec chemical recycling technology.
It produces pyrolysis oil
and pyrolysis gas, but, unlike most
pyrolysis processes, MoReTec
technology enables the pyrolysis
gas to be recovered rather than
consumed as fuel, increasing the
yield of the pyrolysis process and
displacing fossil-based feedstocks,
which lowers direct CO2 emissions.
In addition, LYB's proprietary catalyst
technology lowers the process
temperature and reduces energy.
With lower energy consumption,
the process can be powered by
electricity, including that produced
from renewable sources.
MoReTec chemical
recycling plant in
Wesseling
Just before Fakuma, LYB laid the
foundation stone for its MoReTec
chemical recycling plant in Wesseling,
Germany. The ceremony
took place in the presence of Germany's
Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The industrial-scale facility is expected
to have an annual capacity
of 50,000 tonnes and is designed to
recycle the amount of plastic packaging
waste generated by over 1.2
million German citizens per year.
Construction is planned to be
completed by the end of 2025 with
startup expected in 2026.
LYONDELLBASELL
B1-1112
LYB is investing hundreds of millions
of euros in Wesseling. It says
the plant will be the fi rst commercial-scale,
single-train advanced recycling
plant to convert post-consumer
plastic waste into feedstock
for production of new plastic materials
that can be ran at net zero
greenhouse gas emissions.
" This plant is very important
for several reasons, " van der Laan
said. " It shows that, as a company,
we've taken that [investment]
decision ahead of the fi nal text on
chemical recycling and mass balance
in the [Packaging and Packaging
Waste Regulation]. What is
also telling is that the European
Innovation Fund granted us 40
million euros already last year.
And the speech of the chancellor,
which has publicized
in many media, is also
stressing the political
support for investments
like this and
how important they
are for the chemical
cluster in Germany. "
Ahead of the MoReTec ceremony,
sources told SP that the German
government has argued with the
European Commission in favor of
a " pragmatic approach " to the use
of recyclate quotas for single-use
beverage bottles. The statement
hints at Germany's favorable position
toward recognition of mass
balance, and therefore chemical
recycling, in allocating recycled
content in the Single Use Plastics
Directive. Sources also revealed
that the German government
plans to implement this " pragmatic
approach " in its National Circular
Economy Strategy, due to be
adopted this year.
Mass balance
When asked whether LYB is
confi dent that chemical recycling
will count toward recycled-content
targets in the Packaging
and Packaging Waste Regulation
(PPWR), van der Laan did not hesitate:
" Yes, that's clear. "
She added: " It is also clear from
very important EU member states
like Germany. This needs to be fi -
nalized and also transposed into
the Single Use Plastics Directive. "
Van der Laan is confi dent " we
will get there, " despite not being
able to predict an exact time for
recognition of the mass balance
fuel-exempt method for recycled-content
allocation.
In mass balance, a certifi ed
volume of recycled or renewable
material is input across a production
run but may not be evenly
distributed across each individual
product output. Using the mass
balance method allows economic
operators to state that they use a
certain percentage of recycled or
renewable material in their products,
without having to prove that
each individual product produced
has that percentage of recycled or
renewable material.
Given that pyrolysis oil is
blended with virgin feedstocks in
a cracker, and that the two feedstocks
cannot be physically separated
once co-fed, many argue
that recognizing mass balance is
An end cap of the cooling system
for a fuel-cell-powered truck from
LyondellBasell at Fakuma in
October 2024 in Friedrichshafen,
Germany.
Plastics News photos by Caroline Seidel
essential for allocating recycled
content via this chemical recycling
technology.
The fact that the PPWR was
only approved a couple of months
before the new European Commission
was elected will delay the
potential recognition of mass balance
further. It remains to be seen
how the new Directorial General
(DG) Environment will address
the issue, but some hints have already
been dropped. Shortly after
the European elections in early
June, Werner Bosmans, team leader
on plastics, DG Environment, at
the European Commission, said at
the Plastics Recycling Show Europe
(PRSE) that a " vast majority "
of member states are in favor of
mass balance.
He added that DG Environment
is considering an amendment to
the Single Use Plastics Directive
that introduces controlled blending
and fuel-exempt mass balance
accounting with third-party verifi
cation. A public consultation is
expected to be launched soon.
Fully committed to
European recycling
The MoReTec and Lich plants
are just two of the many recycling
investments LyondellBasell has
been making in Europe. It has also
announced the acquisition of Germany,
Merseburg-based plastics
recycler APK. LYB views APK's solvent-based
plastic recycling technology
as a " perfect fi t " for its mechanical
and chemical recycling
technologies. APK's patented technology
allows plastic waste, such
as multilayer packaging materials,
to be processed into high-quality
LDPE recyclates.
" We see APK's solvent-based
recycling technology as a vital
addition and complementary to
our existing and future mechanical
and advanced recycling operations, "
van der Laan said.
" This is an important further
step toward reaching our goal
to produce and market at least 2
million tonnes of recycled and renewable
based polymers annually
by 2030, " she added.
That commitment has recently
earned LYB the top place in
BloombergNEF's 2024 Circular
A exoskeleton from LyondellBasell
at Fakuma 2024.
Economy Company Ranking, classifying
it as the best plastic producer
for circularity ambition.
All such pledges and investments
show that LYB is " fully
committed " to European recycling,
van der Laan said, despite
earlier this year announcing a
strategic review of its European
assets in the olefi ns, polyolefi ns,
and chemical intermediates and
derivatives business units.
LYB's CEO Peter Vanacker said
in May that the review would encompass
a potential retreat from
Europe, with options including
selling assets, investing in plant
improvements, restructuring and
closing facilities.
" The scope and context of that
review is no different than earlier
communicated, " van der Laan said.
The company's concerns about
Europe's competitiveness are
shared by many others. Van der
Laan referenced the Antwerp Declaration
for a European Industrial
Deal as an example. The declaration
was presented by 73 business
leaders spanning 17 sectors to the
European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen in February
this year. It rang alarm bells that
Europe's industries are facing the
worst economic downturn in a decade
at a period when investments
are needed to achieve Europe's
transition to climate neutrality.
" It's a tough environment with
high energy prices and no feedstock
advantages in general, "
van der Laan said. " So that is the
context in which LYB is doing this
review - we are looking at this
context and deciding where we
want to grow.
" And it's clear that we see our
future in Europe in circular and
low-carbon solutions, " she stated.
That is why LYB considers the
Cologne area, where the Wesseling
plant sits, to be at the heart of
its commitment to Europe and the
transition to circular and low-carbon
solutions.
" We will grow in these aspects,
but it will also mean that in other
aspects, where we need to
compete with other regions with
cheap feedstocks and low energy
prices, that we will look at that
and make our own portfolio decisions,
just as our peers have done
and are doing, " van der Laan said.
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