Riyadh [Saudi Arabia]: SABIC, a huge player in the chemical industry, recently announced that it has signed a contract with Coolbrook, an engineering and technology firm, to look at its Roto Dynamic ReactorTM (RDR) tech. This technology is seen as a move towards decarbonizing Ethylene production.
SABIC is determined to reach its decarbonization goals by 2030 and 2050, respectively. The company has taken on a new collaboration as one of multiple programs set in motion to reduce or ultimately eliminate the emissions produced from manufacturing sites. One efficient option that they are exploring is the electrification of steam cracking plants, which could potentially bring Scope 1 and 2 emissions related to Propylene and Ethylene production down by over 90%. This is part of their mission to assist customers with their energy transition processes.
Aruna Subramanian, Managing Director, SABIC Ventures, stated, “This reaffirms SABIC’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 through, among many pathways, the electrification of steam crackers. Collaborations with, and support of external innovations, such as Coolbrook’s RDR technology, is a testament to SABIC’s interest in driving our industry and world forward.”
SABIC is committed to using its near-term available electrification technology to move forward with the commercialization process, as well as investing in a pipeline of early stage related technologies. With the expectation that some of these could become commercially viable, SABIC is also investing efforts into stimulating the wider petrochemicals industry's transition towards carbon neutrality. It understands that collaboration and partnership will be essential in order to reach its ambitious climate goals while still allowing for growth within the industry.
Joonas Rauramo, CEO of Coolbrook, stated: “SABIC is a global leader in petrochemicals, and we have already established a close cooperation relationship in The Netherlands, where both companies have a strong presence. We are confident that together we can have a significant impact on reducing the climate impact from Ethylene production here and globally.”
SABIC is actively collaborating with partners BASF and Linde to develop solutions to the challenges of electrically powered steam cracking. The world's first commercial-demonstration scale electrically powered cracking facility is expected to be commissioned in 2023.
In addition, SABIC's 1st Adopter Program has chosen cracker electrification with SABIC-BASF-Linde technology, and the ambition is to have a full commercial-scale electrical cracking furnace operational at one of its manufacturing sites within the next few years.
