From Challenge to Change: The Sustainability Journey of the Chemical Sector

A Sustainable Future in Sight? Overcoming Barriers in the European Chemical Landscape

Pierre Joris is an Engineer in Physics, holding a M.Sc. from the University of Stanford, and an Advanced Executive degree from Kellogg’s School of Management, Chicago. Pierre has 36 years of international experience in the Chemical Industry. He built his career for 29 years at Solvay, where he held different leadership positions in R&D, Corporate and Global Business Management. He completed his career as Chief Innovation Officer for the group and was then recruited as Senior Executive Advisor to the Chemical division of Daikin for more than 6 years. Pierre holds now non-executive roles as Senior Partner at JF Chemical Associates, an M&A boutique house, Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, and is independent board member at various companies in the field of materials and chemicals, including Prayon and Domo Chemicals. It is in this last tenure that he was elected chairman of A.SPIRE in March 2019.

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Pierre Joris: The sustainability challenges that the Chemical Industry is, and will be facing in Europe are enormous. Bringing our Industry to climate neutrality and in a circular economy, means huge transformation investments, revision of our business models and reskilling of our workforce.

It is clear that to succeed, development and scaling-up of very disruptive innovations has to continue and accelerate and the right environment needs to be maintained to foster the same.

But this is not enough since time is running, and deployment plans have to be initiated. Development of infrastructure for, and access to, massive quantities of green electricity, green hydrogen and CO2 has therefore to be planned and executed on time. In addition, appropriate framework conditions and incentives to create market opportunities and de risk the massive deployment investments needed will have to be elaborated and clarified.

All this requires an urgent dialogue based on trust between all the stakeholders, certainly the Industry, the European Commission and Member States, Funding agencies, regulatory authorities, and social partners, but also within the Industrial world, between the actors that will have to increase their producer-user inter-dependencies and efficiencies.

CIEX: What motivates you to join the Chemical Innovation Conference – CIEX Europe this year?

Pierre Joris: Our association, A.SPIRE represents the Process Industry (of which Chemical Industry is a very large and leading representative) towards the European Commission. Our main mission is to partner with the European Commission to support the development of the critical innovations needed by our industries to succeed in the climate and circular transition.

We launched A.SPIRE in 2014 and then Processes4Planet Partnership in 2021 to provide a framework for the right innovations to be supported and developed, to contribute our share to Europe’s goals. In the current context, it is even more important to sum up industrial voices for the dialogue with the European Commission and the Parliament, to overcome our industries’ innovation hurdles and boost the development of disruptive innovation.

Although we have already several prestigious members of the chemical industry in our association, including CEFIC itself, it is therefore important for me as President to keep reaching out to as many companies as possible in the field, making sure our work and directions are known, but also listen to their main preoccupations.

CIEX, with its dedicated orientation towards innovation and sustainability and the specific audience that it is gathering in this regard, makes it an ideal place for such purpose.

CIEX: How do you envision the future of the chemical industry? What are the key challenges to overcome and the opportunities to harness?

Pierre Joris: As indicated above, the transition to a climate neutral and circular economy is a formidable challenge in itself. And it is not only about complying with regulations and targets that always become more stringent, but also going into the directions that our customers and our employees are more and more requiring. So in a summary, there is not much choice.

It means disruptive innovation, huge investments, changing business models including cooperative models, reviewing portfolios, reskilling workforces, ensuring access to the renewable energy and carbon etc… And all this in a global competitive environment that doesn’t always play along the same rules.

But it doesn’t stop there as, unfortunately what is specific to the chemical industry in Europe, is that at the same time, it has to face another substantial challenge through the increasing number of regulatory initiatives and legislation towards the Net Zero Pollution ( Chemical Sustainability Strategy, REACH revision, Safe-&-Sustainable-by-Design framework etc….), which doesn’t make life easier. And all this in a local environment where Energy prices are substantially higher than in other regions.

So frankly, in my opinion, the future of the chemical industry as we know it today, will be very difficult on this continent and we cannot exclude that some segments would disappear especially in areas where the global competitive environment will bring the reality check, or simply in areas not properly connected.

But for those who can lead the game in the transition, be fast and smart and eventually claim a competitive advantage through the sustainability of their products where the market supports it, I think there are formidable opportunities to grasp in their own markets or in proliferating their IP. I see also great opportunities for those chemical players taking the lead in developing the key innovative materials or products that will be needed to enable these sustainable technologies, not only for our own Process Industry, but for the rest of the society, be it in mobility, energy, or agriculture.

CIEX: When looking to other regional markets, what lessons can the European chemical industry learn, adapt, or perhaps even use to differentiate itself?

Pierre Joris: Honestly, if we think in terms of sustainability, I think that the European chemical industry should not be shy of its competences and know-how in the field. And, whether we like it or not, the European market is also probably one of the most advanced when it comes to the requirement in terms of sustainability or more largely, environmental impact.

What is missing however or at least less pronounced that in other regions, is a fast, pragmatic, and efficient incentive environment to encourage the large-scale investment needed in our industry to succeed in the transition, especially considering the other hurdles that we have to face in Europe as indicated in the previous section?

The European Union has programmes to support innovation. We have seen the European Commission has tried to build complementary programmes to innovation towards market. These efforts need to continue and be strengthen towards impact.

But the funding and incentives schemes available for large industrial investment, including risky first-of-a-kind plants, are scattered among Member states and EU, come with a few conditions and questions that can discourage more than one, and generally take too much time to be developed.

We see initiatives such as the IRA in the US that go much more to the point and succeed in attracting significant investment outside of Europe. It would be wise for Europe and Member States to implement more flexible mechanisms, unified approach, and embrace supporting risky projects at different TRL levels which, if successful, will have de risked disruptive innovation bringing more investments and keeping jobs in Europe. But as resources are limited, all this probably require first a deliberate selection of the value chains that the EU wants to keep on its soil.

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you, and why?

Pierre Joris: There are a lot of very courageous and inspiring initiatives in the Chemical Sector, from electrical crackers to large scale recycling plants, through power-to-methanol plants etc…. But in order not to make any jealous within your readers and in the chemical industry at large, the one that I would like to mention will be within another Industrial Sector.

I would like to highlight the decision by ThyssenKrupp Steel to invest in the first large scale direct reduction plant to produce clean steel in Germany. This is inspiring because we are talking of a bold step, more than 2 bn EUR investment and significant contribution to the transformation of the European steel industry with a 2.5 million metric tons plants. This is risky but is susceptible of putting this company at the forefront of green steel production, a key enabler for other downstream segments of the society

Of course German subsidies are available to support this initiative and have been agreed by the European Commission, but this is part of the game and of “building trust and dialogue between the stakeholders” and this, also in itself, is a feature that should inspire other initiatives.

Join 20+ senior chemical executives including CxOs from Braskem, Levaco, Dude Chem, SCI, Solvay, Domo Chemicals, BASF. Limited Seats Available! CIEX is taking place on 25 & 26 Oct – secure your ticket now!

CIEX Europe 2023: Navigating the Future of the European Chemical Industry

Unpacking CIEX Europe 2023’s Vision from Chemicals R&D to innovation

Prof. John Metselaar has turned his 30-year global VP-level leadership responsibilities at Procter & Gamble into expertise in leadership, innovation, strategy, and organizational culture. He now serves as Professor at Solvay Brussels School for Economics and Management and is Director of The Conference Board’s (NYC) Innovation & Digital Transformation Institute, as well as its Innovation Councils across Europe, Asia, and the Gulf region. John teaches, speaks, inspires, and advises broader audiences living his purpose of passion for innovation, fascination with leadership, and the power of connecting. He is founding partner of “EI4I – Ecosystem Intelligence for Innovation” and “Includers – unleashing innovation through inclusive leadership

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Prof. John Metselaar: I’m moderating, not presenting, but during my contribution I’ll try to highlight and emphasize that what Europe needs is more innovation not more R&D. Europe is very strong in R&D but continues to find it hard to extract value from all this great effort. “

Innovation converts creativity and knowledge into new value” – is the definition of innovation I use in my class. And this value that needs to be delivered has multiple dimensions: for consumer/customer, for company, for stakeholders, for planet.

So, how do you turn R&D into Innovation into new Value. What’s the role of Chemical Industry’s leaders in this? How do you envision the future, and communicate this effectively? How do you enable your organization toward excellent execution? And, often ignored and/or overlooked, how do you engage your people and empower your teams to deliver on your goals and strategies?

CIEX: What motivates you to join the Chemical Innovation Conference – CIEX Europe this year?

Prof. John Metselaar: Ah, I go back with CIEX for some seven years now. I love the combo of “insights and network” which this forum does uniquely well, I have found. As a chemical engineer but having moved on over the years, CIEX keeps me in touch with where I started. And I’m keen to contribute to a better industry hence better economy, hence better society, in particular for Europe who needs it badly these days…. Last, I want to help my friends at Merlien 😊.

CIEX: How do you envision the future of the chemical industry? What are the key challenges to overcome and the opportunities to harness?

Prof. John Metselaar: Well, this is the elephant in the room today. The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence™ for Europe polls the Members of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) – the CEOs and Chairs of some of the best-known European industrial and technology companies with operations worldwide. Our (disclosure, I contributed to this work) spring 2023 reading reflected, dramatically, that over 80 percent of CEOs believe Europe’s competitiveness as a base for industry is weakening. And this perception also helps explain why nearly 60 percent of them plan to shift investments and/or operations from Europe to North America within the next two years. Now this is something to lose sleep over when one’s future is linked to Europe’s success.

Martin Brudermüller, Chair of ERT’s Committee on Competitiveness & Innovation, and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF stated “The results of this latest survey put Europe’s competitiveness front & centre in the spotlight. The findings are clear and urgent evidence that Europe’s future as a leading base for industry remains at risk. Geopolitical tensions are having huge repercussions – and we in Europe are in the middle of this. So all of us – companies and policymakers alike – have to fight even harder to maintain our competitive edge and our leadership in innovation. Our people, our ideas and our Single Market are our natural assets – but they need better conditions to compete globally.”

Crisis is a combination of danger and opportunity. How can we take today’s crossroads into an opportunity. What role can the chemical industry play, as individual companies but also when they come together as community and influence the EU Commission’s direction in a way that allows them to thrive. CIEX could play a meaningful role in helping to achieve the necessary turnaround…..

CIEX: When looking to other regional markets, what lessons can the European chemical industry learn, adapt or perhaps even use to differentiate itself?

Prof. John Metselaar: As I said earlier, Europe, including the Chemical Industry, needs to gets much better to turn its R&D into Innovation, and into new value. It needs more investment, more agility, more elan, and it needs help by the European Commission and its national governments to achieve this with, for instance, supportive, enabling, not stifling, regulation.

Let me quote Martin Brudermüller, upon the spring 2023 ERT results, once again: “We can still turn this around – if our institutions and governments take up this challenge. The next survey will take place in the autumn – when the European Commission’s proposals to simplify and reduce reporting requirements by 25% are due to be announced – a step which will hopefully bring more optimism and make it easier for Europe to attract investment and jobs in all-important emerging sectors.”

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you, and why?

Prof. John Metselaar: At The Conference Board Europe we did a piece of research early this year to see how companies and their functional leaders in the US and in Europe were looking to integrate the digital opportunities with the needs for sustainability.

Our “Digital for Green” report shared a helpful framework and powerful illustrations and cases for leaders to pull from and explore for their own companies.

How can the Chemical Industry become a cutting-edge force to reinvent Europe’s industrial base through effective embrace and adoption of the “Twin Transition” of digital transformation and responsible, balanced Sustainable?

CIEX: Thank you John, we look forward to hearing more at CIEX 2023!

Join 20+ senior chemical executives including CxOs from Braskem, Levaco, Dude Chem, SCI, Solvay, Domo Chemicals, BASF. Limited Seats Available! CIEX is taking place on 25 & 26 Oct – secure your ticket now!

Redefining the Chemical Landscape: From Tradition to Sustainable Transformation

Transitioning to Sustainability: Insights from Walmir Soller at CIEX Europe 2023

Walmir Soller is CEO of Braskem Netherlands BV, International Holding and Trading for Braskem SA, and VP Olefins/Polyolefins Europe and Asia, having under his responsibility the international trading of Feedstock, Chemicals and Polymers, Global Chartering, production sites in Germany (Polypropylene) and Netherlands (Recycling) and the Green Polyethylene Global business. Walmir Soller is a Chemical Engineer by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with MBA by the University of Michigan and has been working in the petrochemical industry for 32 years, being the last 22 years with Braskem in several leadership positions and businesses.

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Walmir Soller: The chemical industry is going through an unprecedented transition to become more sustainable and that will demand innovation not only in technology but also in business models to combine competences and assets to accelerate the process and minimize costs and investments.

CIEX: What motivates you to join the Chemical Innovation Conference – CIEX Europe this year?

Walmir Soller: This is my third time participating in CIEX, and I believe it’s an excellent opportunity to exchange views with relevant stakeholders in the chemical industry and get an overview of the latest trends in innovation.

CIEX: How do you envision the future of the chemical industry? What are the key challenges to overcome and the opportunities to harness?

Walmir Soller: The chemical industry will remain pivotal in providing materials and solutions to meet society’s current and future demands. However, the prevailing model, which relies on fossil feedstock, faces challenges. Industry players must seek ways to enhance the circularity and sustainability of products and feedstocks. The task ahead involves reconfiguring the current setup and re-engineering the entire industry. Such a complex transition necessitates robust public policies to back the essential investments.

CIEX: When looking to other regional markets, what lessons can the European chemical industry learn, adapt or perhaps even use to differentiate itself?

Walmir Soller: I believe the European Chemical Industry can seize the opportunity to become more flexible and nimble, accelerating its transition to a carbon-neutral circular economy. This shift will require either new competencies or a combination of existing ones, along with reconfigured assets. Traditional setups and business models will need reevaluation. With its vast and diverse asset base, a comprehensive technology portfolio, and a leading role in the global sustainability agenda in recent years, Europe is well-positioned. Thus, the region’s successful model should leverage these strengths, bolstered by a clear regulatory framework to mitigate risks during the transition.

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you, and why?

Walmir Soller: Natura & Co, the Brazilian cosmetic giant (Avon, Natura, The Body Shop e Aesop), has a program to develop alternatives that are economically viable in the Amazon region based on social and environmental principles. The program focus on preventing deforestation and promoting the well-being of the local communities.

Limited Seats Available! CIEX is taking place on 25 & 26 Oct – secure your ticket now!

From Challenge to Change: How SMEs are Shaping the Future of Chemical Innovation

The Role and Challenges of SMEs in Chemical Innovation

Marius Mühlenberg has been CEO of the LEVACO Chemicals Group, based at Chempark in Leverkusen, Germany, for about 2 years. LEVACO is a manufacturer of specialty process chemicals for agrochemicals, fiber production, cable industry and food production as well as for paper manufacturing and coatings. Today, Marius is primarily responsible for sales, production, R&D and supply chain. After studying economics and chemistry at the University of Passau, San Diego and the Technical University of Munich, Marius took his first steps at Clariant. However, he was soon drawn to medium-sized companies and, after various stations, finally to LEVACO Chemicals. LEVACO was founded in 2014 after several intermediate stops as a former part of the Bayer Group and is now part of the Diersch & Schröder group of companies.

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

M. Mühlenberg: One of the core messages is that the industry understands the potentially different challenges SMEs face in this “revolution” compared to larger companies and groups. SMEs continue to play an important role in the overall value creation of the whole chemical industry. Especially in today’s environment, the change in perspective is crucial: we can only be successful as an industry with more collaboration within the branch. Participants will take away that SMEs are also able to react quickly to these changing conditions in the industry and that they can contribute innovative ideas and elements to the transformation process.

CIEX: What motivates you to join the Chemical Innovation Conference – CIEX Europe this year?

M. Mühlenberg: First of all, it is always nice to have the chance to speak in such a highly decorated forum and audience. Once again, a big thank you for that.
In my opinion, the need for the voice of SMEs to be heard gets more and more important, especially in discussions about the changes taking place in the chemical industry nowadays. If we risk that our SMEs are not functioning well, it would strongly influence the entire industry and therefore needs to be reconciled. We must be aware that in Germany in particular, the majority of the chemical industry is made up of SMEs.

CIEX: How do you envision the future of the chemical industry? What are the key challenges to overcome and the opportunities to harness?

M. Mühlenberg: It is very important that we find out which new paths will actually bring us to the goal of a sustainable chemical industry. The big challenge will be to define feasible, realistic and goal oriented targets together with authorities. In my view, this orientation is still lacking at many levels.In addition, it is important that effective political and economic conditions are created so that the green transformation can also be implemented. The level of bureaucratic obstacles is immense. Above all, the slow political decision-making processes is not supporting this path.
Most likely the associated costs for a majority of companies will be very high. Accordingly, the bottom line is that the transformation will only be successful from a position of economic strength. Therefore we have to reconcile ecological and economic goals. Otherwise, I see a significant dissonance that is impairing to the process.

CIEX: When looking to other regional markets, what lessons can the European chemical industry learn, adapt or perhaps even use to differentiate itself?

M. Mühlenberg: Basically, I can see regions where the goals of the industry and the political level are far more closely aligned than it is currently the case in Europe. We see that faster reaction times are possible and that the agility needed in such challenging times is available. We have many great companies in Europe that could bring great innovations to the market in a shorter time. This needs to be supported if we want to continue to play an important role in the long term.

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you, and why?

M. Mühlenberg: The TFS initiative is a fairly broad attempt to define a standardization of goals and work on them accordingly. This is the right signal and a very good initiative from my point of view. I also see many great approaches in the chemical industry in replacing questionable raw materials with green alternatives, for example, in our surfactant chemistry market. Although not all approaches can be implemented commercially yet, it shows what great approaches can be developed in such a short time. I am very sure that if we promote innovations even more intensively, many products can be placed on the market from European companies that will amaze us. I would like to see more of this confidence in our industry, especially from official sources.

Clean Energy – Evonik’s transition from fossil fuel

Evonik: Transitioning from fossil fuel to clean energy – presentation Highlight from CIEX 2022

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Transitioning from fossil fuel to clean energy as a consequence of the current crisis

Becoming more energy independent and less vulnerable to commodity price shocks driven by supply and demand with renewable energy
Reducing the use of fossil fuels and boosting innovation towards alternative sources of energy: The step by step pathway
Rebuilding a more innovative industry based on renewable and circular feedstocks: Developing new supplies and accelerating green chemistry

Dr. Steffen Hasenzahl, Senior Vice President, Head of Creavis, EVONIK

Watch all CIEX 2023 presentations for free in our Video Archive.

Full abstract below. (Note: This is an AI generated summary, it may contain inaccuracies)

The presentation discusses the need to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and highlights the environmental challenges we face. The speaker emphasizes the importance of reducing our environmental footprint and taking action to address global warming and other challenges. They provide examples of how Evonik, a leading manufacturer of special chemicals, is making progress in reducing emissions and transitioning to clean energy. They also discuss the cost involved in transitioning to clean energy and highlight the potential of photovoltaic energy. Overall, the video promotes the importance of sustainability and the need for companies to focus on their carbon footprint and strive for a positive impact.

00:00:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the need to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and highlights the environmental challenges we face. They mention the increasing frequency of floods and the impact of expensive electricity in Europe due to the energy crisis. They also discuss the historical development of the chemical industry and the significant changes it has undergone. Overall, the speaker emphasizes the importance of reducing our environmental footprint and taking action to address global warming and other challenges.
00:05:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the global energy and emissions problem caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels. They highlight that approximately 13 billion tons of fossil fuels are used annually, with the majority being used for energy production and only a small fraction for chemical production. The emissions from the chemical industry alone account for 0.16 billion tons, and when considering all greenhouse gases, the total emissions amount to 58 billion tons. The lack of significant progress in reducing emissions in the past 17 years is also highlighted. The speaker emphasizes the need for six technical avenues, including the use of renewables, bio mass, and energy efficiency, in order to effectively reduce emissions.
00:10:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, using Evonik as an example. Evonik is a leading manufacturer of special chemicals and has organized its business into four divisions—Smart Materials, Specialty Additives, Nutrition & Care, and Performance Materials. They have a strong focus on sustainability and aim to make a real contribution to making the world a better place. The speaker mentions that it is important for companies to focus on their carbon footprint and also strive to have a positive handprint, meaning making a positive impact in their operations. The speaker highlights that Evonik has made progress in reducing its emissions, but there is still work to be done, particularly in the upstream supply chain.
00:15:00 In this section, the speaker discusses Evonik’s transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. They focus on one specific site, Rheinfelden, which produces various products for industries such as batteries, coatings, paper, and solar cells. The site’s energy balance reveals that 80% of its primary energy consumption comes from natural gas, while 20% is derived from hydro power. The speaker emphasizes the need for green electricity to meet their energy demands and highlights the significant carbon footprint associated with the production of certain materials, such as silicon metal. Scope 3 upstream emissions, including the production of materials like sand, also contribute to Evonik’s overall carbon footprint.
00:20:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the cost of transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy. They explain that there is a significant amount of money involved in reducing CO2 emissions and implementing clean energy solutions. They mention various expenses, such as heat pumps, green electricity usage, and the capture and utilization of bio-gas. The chemical industry is also reluctant to make the move to clean energy. Additionally, the speaker highlights the forecasted energy costs and the potential for generating electricity through photovoltaics. They note that with ample sunshine in southern Germany, photovoltaic energy could meet a significant portion of the energy needs.
00:25:00 In this section, Evonik discusses their transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. They mention their efforts to reduce emissions and their focus on green technologies. One example they provide is the production of green hydrogen using electrolyzers and water. They highlight the benefits of this process, such as not requiring precious metals and expensive materials. Another example they mention is the use of carefully selected bacteria in fermentation to produce special chemicals. They are currently running these processes in pilot plants and aim to scale up production in the future.

Join us at CIEX 2023 for cutting edge stratgies on innovation, sustainablity and product development. Limited seats available at https://ciex-eu.org/.