Borealis Invests €4.5 Million in Porvoo Cracker Furnaces to Boost Circular Economy Efforts

Borealis Invests €4.5 Million in Porvoo Cracker Furnaces to Boost Circular Economy Efforts

(IN BRIEF) In a bid to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy, Borealis has announced a significant investment of EUR 4.5 million in the cracker furnaces of its Porvoo site. This investment aims to increase the utilization of renewable and recycled raw materials in the production of ethylene and propylene, key base chemicals. By modifying three of the ten cracker furnaces, Borealis aims to enhance its annual production capacity to 120 kilotons of base chemicals sourced from sustainable feedstocks. This move aligns with Borealis Strategy 2030 and reinforces the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Wolfram Krenn, Borealis Executive Vice President Operations and Base Chemicals, emphasizes the importance of this investment in advancing the company’s mission of sustainable living and economic resilience.

(PRESS RELEASE) VIENNA, 10-Apr-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Borealis announces a EUR 4.5 million investment in the cracker furnaces of its olefins unit in Porvoo, Finland. This investment ensures that the Porvoo steam cracker, which is part of a highly integrated petrochemical complex, can increase the share of renewable and recycled raw materials used in its base chemicals (ethylene and propylene) production; thus, supporting Borealis Strategy 2030 and driving the transformation to a circular economy. The Porvoo investment program, which has already been kicked off and is expected to be completed in 2025, follows last year’s completion of a major cracker furnace update in Stenungsund, Sweden.

The Porvoo steam cracker, which has a nameplate capacity of 430 kilotons ethylene and 263 kilotons propylene per year, is a facility that thermally “cracks” feedstock – such as naphtha, propane, butane, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – into smaller molecules. Furnaces are the “heart” of every cracker. Thanks to the investment, three of the ten cracker furnaces in the olefins unit will be modified to enable a total annual production of 120 kilotons of base chemicals based on renewable and recycled feedstocks. The renewable-based and chemically recycled base chemicals produced at Borealis’ site in Porvoo have been awarded the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS). The ISCC PLUS certification is a voluntary scheme that covers the entire supply chain based on mass balance accounting and guarantees compliance with the highest environmental standards.

“With a focus on reinventing essentials for sustainable living, our EUR 4.5 million investment in our steam cracker in Porvoo moves us closer towards a future of circular economy transformation. Through strategic furnace modifications and a commitment to renewable and chemically recycled base chemicals, we are poised to elevate annual production to 120 kilotons, forging a path of environmental stewardship and economic resilience,” says Wolfram Krenn, Borealis Executive Vice President Operations and Base Chemicals.

About Borealis
Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions. In Europe, Borealis is also an innovative leader in polyolefins recycling and a major producer of base chemicals. We leverage our polymer expertise and decades of experience to offer value-adding, innovative and circular material solutions for key industries such as consumer products, energy, healthcare, infrastructure and mobility.

With customers in over 120 countries and head office in Vienna, Austria, Borealis employs around 6,000 people. In 2023, we generated a net profit of EUR 216 million. OMV, the integrated energy, fuels & feedstock and chemicals & materials company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, owns 75% of our shares. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), owns the remaining 25%.

In re-inventing essentials for sustainable living, we build on our commitment to safety, our people, innovation and technology, and performance excellence. We are accelerating the transformation to a circular economy of polyolefins and expanding our geographical footprint to better serve our customers around the globe. Our operations are augmented by two important joint ventures: Borouge (with ADNOC, headquartered in the UAE); and Baystar™ (with TotalEnergies, based in the US).
www.borealisgroup.com | www.borealiseverminds.com

About Borealis in Porvoo, Finland
Borealis’ production facility in Porvoo is a fully integrated petrochemical complex comprising an Innovation Centre and seven production plants: a cracker for the production of olefins (ethylene, propylene and butadiene), a phenol and aromatics plant, two plants for polyethylene PE (one is a Borstar® plant), a polypropylene (PP), a compounding unit and a catalyst plant. The main applications produced are pipe, packaging and cable products. Borealis’ innovation centre in Porvoo focuses on catalyst and process research and includes catalyst scale-up facilities and fully integrated Borstar PE and PP semi-commercial pilot plant lines. Borealis in Finland employs around 900 employees. www.borealisgroup.com

Media Contact:

+43 1 22 400 899
media@borealisgroup.com

SOURCE: Borealis AG