Moving forward to net-zero
More than a year ago the Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry was born, the response from co-creators, including industry stakeholders, policymakers, and environmental groups, has been overwhelmingly positive, with many taking decisive actions to support the initiative. Let's explore the key highlights from the first annual progress report, starting with the foundational Three-Part Roadmap that outlines the vision and strategic steps for achieving net-zero emissions and a circular economy.
The roadmap, which represents a
group of topics and actions to be implemented, is constituted of three components:
An action-oriented component grouping the topics under three cross-cutting themes: collaboration for innovation; clean energy supply; and feedstock diversification.
A technology component identifying electrification, hydrogen, biomass, waste, Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) & Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), as well as process efficiency.
A regulatory component that collects the existing legislation, including major research and innovation (R&I) initiatives, influencing digital and sustainable development of the chemical industry.
Industry took the lead with 95% of the call for transition initiatives presented, and Germany has taken the lead in the number of projects. Whereas, one quarter of the initiatives focus on replacing fossil fuels with alternative feedstocks and improving energy efficiency, under the building block Access to Energy and Feedstock.
The progress on all the 8 building blocks of the transition respond to the generic 10/70/20 split for the actions finalized/launched/not started for all actions.
The topic with most progress on completed short-term actions, with a 60%, has to do with the viability of purchasing clean energy, particularly cost competitive climate neutral electricity and hydrogen with a low carbon footprint. A clear reflection of one of the main pain points to the industry´s competitiveness.
The EU and industry have already started taking concrete steps to support the Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry. France, Belgium, and Greece have even published their own national plans. This means more coordination is needed to keep everything on track. Task force teams focused on Energy and Feedstock, and International Competitiveness, will continue working on high-priority actions. They will go beyond their initial tasks, such as estimating future energy and feedstock needs using the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)’s iC2050 model, and developing indicators to monitor and evaluate progress.
“To stay within planetary limits and lessen its impact on climate and resources, the chemical industry must shift from a linear model to a circular one. There are three main circular carbon sources to consider: biomass, recycled waste, and carbon dioxide (CO2 ) captured from emissions or directly from the air. Each source comes with its own set of challenges, such as limited supply, higher costs, or extensive infrastructure requirements.”
