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1. Essar Oil UK has the objective of becoming a leading low-carbon refinery by 2030. What are the key pillars for Essar to achieve its decarbonisation targets?

There is no one silver bullet to fully decarbonise our production processes, so we are building on a mixture of energy efficiency, fuel switching to hydrogen and carbon capture to significantly reduce the emissions from our operation. We are also becoming a hub for biofuels and waste-derived products which, when blended, will help decarbonise our products.

2. How can refineries stay relevant in today’s environment and prolong plant life through blue hydrogen and CCUS?

Low-carbon hydrogen is particularly interesting because, as well as decarbonising our own operations, we can supply it to other industrial users as a valuable low-carbon product for others. This will help them lower the emissions from their industrial processes. We see a future role for refineries as providers of fuels produced using low-carbon processes, being providers of heat and power to local industrial areas by being facilities that produce and balance hydrogen, power and heat supply for the clusters they serve.

3. Essar Oil UK recently announced its plan to build a £360 million new carbon capture plant at its Stanlow Refinery, could you tell us more about this project and how it will place Stanlow at the centre of the UK’s energy transition?

This project decarbonises our catalytic cracker which is one of the largest in Europe. This will reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by close to 1 million tonnes per annum. We’re excited to make such a large impact in a single project, and are working hard to unlock the maximum synergy of having hydrogen production and low carbon power generation on a single site.

Stanlow Refinery, Essar Oil UK

4. During this turbulent time for the industry, what low-hanging fruits can be taken advantage of to ensure the industry remains competitive?

As ever, energy efficiency saves both money and emissions, and there are always opportunities to improve. In this time of volatile product prices, agile refineries are able to prosper. At Essar Oil UK we have managed to eliminate natural gas consumption during normal operation, and take advantage of our flexibility to divert lower cost molecules into fuel.

5. Finally, what do you hope the discussion from a conference like ESF Europe will help the industry to achieve over the next 12 months?

As the industry starts to convert visions into reality, we are starting to address numerous practical issues and find additional opportunities. As the industry is on this journey together, I’m looking forward to learning more about how others have taken steps forward and what they are doing to make this happen.

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1. Neste has set ambitious targets for carbon-neutral production by 2035. What are the key pillars to achieve this?

Neste has a commitment to reducing the direct climate impact of our own activities. A key way to do this is through the utilisation of carbon-neutral hydrogen in production. We have been granted funding from the EU Innovation Fund to develop the Porvoo Refinery through green hydrogen production. We are also focussing our activities on replacing crude oil with renewable and circular feedstocks and have recently announced that we will be transitioning the Porvoo Refinery to a renewable and circular site, targeting a financially based phase out of crude oil refining in the mid-2030s.

2. Neste’s Rotterdam refinery has seen vast investment of EUR 1.9 billion in its renewable product capacity. How important is the Rotterdam refinery in Neste's transformation journey?

We are the only company with a global footprint in renewable fuels. Our Rotterdam Refinery is one of our world-scale refineries for renewable products. We are currently aiming for further significant investments into the Rotterdam facility, by doubling the capacity in 2026.

3. Today there are around 39,000 planes and 1.42 billion cars in the world. How can Neste’s products for renewable road transport and sustainable aviation help to decarbonise the hard-to-abate transport sector?

We are a global leader in providing renewable solutions for road transportation, aviation and chemicals. We are broadening our portfolio of scalable, sustainable raw materials and technologies in order to scale up our offerings significantly in the future. In order to combat climate change all solutions are needed. At present the only alternative to kerosene in aviation is renewable aviation fuel (SAF) and related to road transportation through diesel, renewable diesel and EV are the only alternatives available.

4. Finally, what do you hope the discussion from a conference like ESF Europe will help the industry to achieve over the next 12 months?

A good common understanding of the challenges the industry is facing, and how these topics should be tackled, to ensure the competitiveness of the European industry in these global markets.

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1. In Europe, it is estimated that 38% of plastic waste is recycled. What can the industry do to increase this percentage and therefore increase circularity within the plastics economy?

Waste plastics do not belong in the environment, they are a very valuable resource that should be captured. Over the recent years, a positive trend towards higher circularity emerged. According to the recently published “The Circular Economy for Plastics” report by Plastics Europe, the quantity of recycled plastics used in packaging increased by 45% compared to 2018. Still today 65% of plastic waste is not yet valorised in a circular economy. Collaboration from all stakeholders involved in the plastics industry will be crucial to improve this number, at every step of the value chain: from design for recycling to collecting and sorting infrastructure, from guiding policies to consumer engagement.

2. Chevron Phillips Chemical announced in 2022 its investment into the Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund, how important are investments like these for CPChem’s commitment to sustainability?

Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund aims to accelerate the transition from a linear to a circular plastic economy by investing in advanced recycling technologies. At CPChem, we believe that advanced recycling technologies, that are complementary to mechanical recycling, are expected to play a key role in the development of a sustainable, circular economy for plastics. We recently announced commercial sales of Marlex® Anew™ circular polyethylene resin made from pyrolysis oils, a feedstock made from hard-to-recycle plastics.

3. What do you envision the plastics industry will look like by 2030?

The industry has a vision to create a fully circular economy for plastics, where used plastic is recycled, reused, or repurposed. According to the SystemIQ Reshaping Plastics Report, circularity levers are the fastest, most affordable, most effective and most reliable method of reducing GHG and waste disposal in the system, and the plastics system could achieve 78% circularity by 2050 through recycling, reduction and substitution. The next few years are a critical window for action, the decisions taken in the early 2020s will determine the future of our industry. As an industry we are committed to producing life-enriching products sustainably, leaving behind the lightest possible footprint.

4. Finally, what do you hope the discussion from a conference like ESF Europe will help the industry to achieve over - the next 12 months?

As mentioned above, collaboration from all stakeholders involved in the value chain is critical to help create a circular economy for plastics. I hope that ESF Europe enables discussions to support that much-needed collaboration and allows the plastics industry to demonstrate it has clear goals and wants to maintain a leading role in the future of Europe.