Digitalization

Stepping up digitalization in Chemicals & Materials is one of the key drivers for transformation. Not only will it increase the Group’s productivity and improve the customer experience, it will also support the achievement of sustainability goals. In particular, digital solutions for the circular economy of plastics will become more important for the success of the Group’s carbon neutrality journey.

For that reason, Borealis decided in 2023 to merge the Borealis Digital Studio, its digitalization incubator organization, with the Group’s IT organization. The department has been renamed Digital Solutions and is now a united and empowered function, consisting of diverse, cross-functional teams of IT professionals with profound business, project management, and platform knowledge. The team supports the delivery of the Group’s business objectives, while putting the user at the heart of every solution, whether they are customers, employees, suppliers, or others.

During 2023, Borealis further developed Neoni, a digital tool that calculates CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emissions for its products. The materials covered a wide range, from virgin fossil feedstock-based solutions to renewable feedstock-based grades in the Bornewables™ portfolio of circular polyolefins and the Borcycle™ portfolio of mechanically recycled polyolefins. Neoni is the first digital tool in the industry to offer CO₂e emissions data down to the grade level for polyolefins, so Borealis’ customers can make informed decisions about which materials best meet their circularity goals. This is in line with Borealis’ EverMinds™ approach to accelerating circularity by working with its value chain partners. The carbon footprint Neoni calculates includes all CO₂e emissions generated up to the moment the product leaves Borealis’ facilities. The tool offers customers the option to calculate CO₂e emissions that take place from Borealis to their own operations, making it even more useful. Having introduced Neoni in 2022, Borealis rolled out the tool during 2023 and added data on hydrocarbons, in addition to polyolefins grades. Customers can access the results from the tool on the MyBorealis customer portal.

MyBorealis is the Group’s online platform for engaging with its polyolefins customers. It is designed to blend seamlessly with Borealis’ offline commercial processes in order to enhance the customer experience. The portal supports customer service representatives and sales managers in their daily interactions with customers and puts order management at the customer’s fingertips, along with a complete library of order, product, and complaint documentation. The application works 24/7, providing instant access to up-to-date information, with ordering fully integrated with Borealis’ supply chain and IT processes. The portal supports eight languages, allowing organizations in Europe, North America, and South America to use it. By the end of 2023, 26% of the business’ order volume was placed via the portal, up from 20% at the start of the year, with almost half of customers now active on MyBorealis. Borealis looks to develop new tools that improve safety performance and support its Goal Zero objective. The Group is also exploring new digital ways of working to increase efficiency in operations, focusing on asset intelligence, field excellence, data and connectivity, and value chain optimization. Various initiatives contribute to this, including:

• a fit-for-purpose, sustainable, and affordable technical Data & Document Management System, which enables Operations to harmonize documentation, standardize work processes, and close gaps in current tools;
• a Mobile Operator tool that gives operators a powerful, simple, and purpose-built solution to assist them in the field;
• an initiative to compare different ways of detecting corrosion under insulation so as to determine the best technologies;
• a project to support the Group’s sustainability strategy by implementing a tool to structure the validation process for energy data, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring data quality and traceability.

The Group also continued its Borstar^® Digital Twin program, a set of digital solutions for Borstar^® plants, rooted in Borealis’ process expertise and built on the Group’s successful applications such as its Proprietary Advanced Process Control and Operator Training Simulators. The goal is to capture Borealis’ unique know-how and utilize it in research engineering and production process improvements, while also providing a support and collaboration platform.

The program has now started delivering its first solutions, which aim to generate significant business value by improving operations in Borealis and its joint ventures, and by enhancing Borstar^® as a leading technology.

Last but not least, in the Leonardo program Borealis continues its SAP S/4HANA journey. The program reshapes our enterprise platform to enhance agility, simplicity, and transparency, thereby supporting Borealis’ global growth and sustainability strategy by moving our business technology solution to the next generation of SAP.