Tie-ups: Dow/MEGlobal expand ethylene supply agreement; Dow/Henkel expand collaboration to decarbonise adhesives manufacturing

US materials firm Dow and MEGlobal, which manufactures ethylene glycol (EG) products, have finalised an agreement for Dow to supply an additional equivalent to 100 kilotonnes/year of ethylene from its Gulf Coast operations.The ethylene will serve as a key feedstock for MEGlobal’s ethylene glycol (EG) manufacturing facility co-located at Dow’s and MEGlobal’s Oyster Creek site.

“Dow’s low conversion costs and feedstock flexibility allow us to leverage cost-advantaged US shale gas,” said Isam Shomaly, Dow’s Vice President of Feedstocks. “This expanded agreement with MEGlobal underscores our dedication to delivering additional value for our shareholders while continuing to reliably serve and innovate with our partners.”

As a subsidiary of Equate Petrochemical Company, MEGlobal is part of the Equate Group which is the world’s second largest producer of EG. Dow is a 42.5% shareholder in Equate. MEGlobal started up its world-scale EG manufacturing facility at its Oyster Creek site in 2019.

“MEGlobal’s Oyster Creek site provides us with greater flexibility to serve our customers with consistent and reliable delivery of ethylene glycol products in the growing US and Asian markets,” said Scott Daigle, MEGlobal’s U.S. Production Director.

EG is used in a number of market applications, including polyester fibres, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and packaging, antifreeze and coolants, paints, resins, deicing fluids, heat transfer fluids and construction materials.

In related news, Dow has expanded its partnership with Henkel Adhesive Technologies to accelerate decarbonisation in adhesives manufacturing across technologies. As a first step, low-carbon feedstocks and renewable electricity will be introduced into Henkel’s hot melt adhesive production processes contributing to a product carbon footprint reduction between 20 and 40% depending on the individual product line.

Initially focused on materials supplied to Henkel in Europe, the program is slated for expansion to North America. The collaboration aligns with Henkel’s climate commitments to reduce Scope 3 emission by 30% in 2030 and 90% in 2045 and supports Dow’s strategy to decarbonise.

As well, the effort will support Henkel’s focus on SBTi relevant carbon-emission reduction starting in the hot melt portfolio serving the packaging and consumer goods adhesives industry.

Early implementation of these projects is already showing positive impact, with selected hot melt adhesive technologies achieving improved emission profiles. These results form part of a larger strategy to scale low-carbon solutions across Henkel’s adhesives portfolio in combination with Dow’s materials science innovations.

“This collaboration demonstrates the demand for low carbon products in the market and the ambition to increase the investments needed to help the industry and value chain reach their net zero goals. We are proud to continue on this journey with Henkel,” said Peter Sandkuehler, Senior Business Sustainability Director at Dow.

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