Green tie-ups: Sabic/Circularise launch pilot blockchain project for emissions tracking; Masdar, Mitsubishi Chemical and Inpex to explore carbon recycle and PP produced from CO2 and green hydrogen

Chemical firm Sabic has launched a pilot project with Circularise, a blockchain software provider, to evaluate the use of their technology in tracing the carbon footprint of specific material streams from end to end.

Generating and reporting Scope 3 emissions is notably complex and confronted by challenges with availability of reliable data. Accurate data on a company’s carbon footprint requires collaboration and data sharing across multiple value chain partners. Blockchain technology has emerged as a potentially efficient solution to improve the process that can bolster transparency and accountability while minimizing risk across supply chains.

Sabic’s project will employ Circularise’s technology to capture emissions across the value chain by deploying a consistent methodological and reporting framework accepted by the industry. Scope 1 and Scope 2 data captured at the material level can be used to generate Scope 3 CO2 emissions for the full value chain of targeted industries. In addition to increased transparency, the use of Circularise’s Smart Questioning technology will benefit Sabic’s entire value chain by reducing the administrative efforts associated with the data collection and providing access to upstream and downstream data provided by value chain participants, from recyclers to converters to original equipment manufacturers, among others.

Waleed Al-Shalfan, Vice President of Polymers Technology & Innovation at Sabic, added, “Accurately mapping emissions, especially Scope 3 emissions, will allow Sabic and others to identify and minimize hot spots along the value chain, a critical tool in our pathways to decarbonisation. We encourage other upstream and downstream partners to join and consider how this technology can unlock sustainable growth at every level moving forward.”

This project marks another way in which Sabic is leveraging partnerships to reduce emissions and help meet its commitment of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Earlier this year, Sabic joined Together for Sustainability (TfS), a procurement-driven initiative created by chemical companies with the goal of assessing, auditing, and improving sustainability practices within their supply chains.

This collaboration with Circularise also marks Sabic’s second blockchain application project, with the first being a pilot project with Finboot, Plastic Energy, and Intraplás to evaluate the use of blockchain technology in supporting end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock in customer products.

Meanwhile in other news, UAE clean energy firm Masdar, Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation and Inpex Corporation have announced that they will work to conduct a joint feasibility study for a carbon recycle chemicals project (CRC project) including production of the world’s first commercial-scale polypropylene produced from CO2 and green hydrogen in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The study will be conducted to explore the feasibility of a commercial scale CRC project to produce polypropylene (PP) from e-methanol via propylene. The scope of the study includes project economics and measurement of CO2 emission reduction as well as an integrated process review from the procurement of feedstock materials including hydrogen production and CO2 collection to the production of e-methanol, propylene, and PP.

Methanol is widely used in various industries as a basic chemical material. There has been a surge in demand for cleaner marine fuel such as e-methanol that will be produced from the CRC Project.

E-Methanol and PP produced from the CRC project will have lower life-cycle CO2 emissions compared with conventional products, say the firms.

Masdar is the UAE’s clean energy champion and has been pioneering renewable energy for over 17 years. As well as investing in utility-scale solar and wind project around the world, Masdar has been exploring green hydrogen since 2008. The company is targeting green hydrogen production of 1 million tonnes/year by 2030 and has signed and executed several global collaboration agreements with their strategic alliance partners in recent years.

Active in over 40 countries, Masdar’s combined renewable energy capacity is over 20GW and its global investment portfolio exceeds US$30 billion. Masdar has invested in renewable energy technologies including waste-to-energy, geothermal and battery storage.

(PRA)

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