Renewable Feedstock

Together with partners, OMV is actively pursuing the development of industry-scale projects to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and bioplastics from renewable feedstock, including waste streams. Waste biomass, such as residual agricultural, forestry, and wood processing matter, or mixed municipal waste are not in competition with the food and feed chain. While the conversion of such waste biomass into high-value products is often technically challenging, the resulting benefits are a significant reduction in CO₂ compared with fossil fuels and local resource utilization that creates value. The biobased feedstock, which is used at OMV’s subsidiary Borealis in order to produce sustainable polyolefins, is currently entirely derived from waste biomass such as residual agricultural processing matter or collected waste streams and is not in competition with the food and feed chain. These polyolefins are marketed to the end customer under the portfolio name Bornewables™. In this section, the focus is on plastics based on renewable feedstock. For more information on energy products based on renewable feedstock, please refer to Energy Transition.

Management and Due Diligence Processes

Certification

As a global standard for recycled and biobased materials, ISCC PLUS enables traceability along the supply chain by verifying that companies comply with certain environmental and social standards and by establishing a chain of custody. Applying the mass balance approach enables OMV to provide a verifiable basis for tracking the amount of its renewable and chemically recycled raw materials in the value chain. Providing more products that are certified by ISCC PLUS is crucial for the transition to a more circular economy. OMV’s cracker in Burghausen was one of the first 20 worldwide to be ISCC PLUS certified for the production of renewable benzene, butadiene, and isobutylene. Additionally, the production of ethylene and propylene at OMV’s Burghausen and Schwechat refineries is also ISCC PLUS certified.

The Bornewables™ portfolio, Borcycle™ C, and Borvida™ are certified according to ISCC PLUS, by applying the mass balance approach. This means that the materials are not physically segregated in the production processes throughout the entire supply chain, but they are separated in bookkeeping to provide a verifiable basis for tracking the amount and sustainability characteristics of circular and/or biobased content in the value chain. This certification system ensures the traceability of the renewable, sustainably produced feedstock from its point of origin through the entire chain of custody. The Bornewables™ polypropylene, for example, is a second-generation renewable feedstock, derived entirely from waste and residue vegetable oil streams. The milestone of having all of Borealis’ European polyolefin and polyolefin compounding sites, the Renasci recycling sites in Oostende, Belgium, and Ecoplast in Austria ISCC PLUS certified was reached in mid-2023, when the PO compounding site in Monza, Italy, received the respective certification.

Life Cycle Assessment

In the life cycle assessment published in 2021, Borealis demonstrated that Bornewables™ is especially suited to reducing carbon emissions. The assessment showed that the greenhouse gas emissions of Bornewables™ poly­propylene and polyethylene go beyond carbon neutrality and can be reduced by at least 120% from cradle to gate (meaning all the steps from the sourcing of raw materials to products leaving Borealis’ production site) compared to fossil-fuel-based polypropylene and polyethylene. According to the LCA’s findings, using Bornewables™ substantially reduces a product’s carbon footprint by at least 1.9 kg CO₂e for every kilogram of polymer. This is possible while offering the same high performance levels as virgin polyolefins and the ability to be recycled in the same way.

2023 Actions

• OMV is currently working on comprehensive life cycle assessments (LCAs) for its fossil-based and renewable petrochemical products being produced at the refineries in Burghausen, Germany, and Schwechat, Austria. These LCAs are being conducted in accordance with the applicable ISO standards 14040 and 14044 and will undergo a critical peer review process. Once completed, the results are expected to be published in 2024.

Over the course of 2023, OMV’s subsidiary Borealis continued to commercialize the Bornewables™ portfolio. Some significant developments include:

• In April 2023, it was announced that PFNonwovens Group (PFN) had teamed up with Borealis to enhance their production of nonwoven materials for the personal hygiene market and set a new industry standard by using Bornewables™ polypropylene (PP) resins for spunbond and meltblown solutions. Using the certified renewable Bornewables™ polymers in the manufacturing of absorbent hygiene products, from baby diapers to feminine hygiene products, supports the PFNonwovens Group in meeting the growing market demand for more sustainable nonwoven solutions.
• In May 2023, Borealis introduced the Bornewables™ line Queo™, a range of high-performance polyolefin plastomers and elastomers based on renewable feedstock. Borealis’ production location Geleen, the Netherlands, is the production site for Queo™. The facility received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) in March 2023, thus enabling Borealis to introduce this new product line. Queo™ represents an expansion of the Bornewables™ portfolio of circular polyolefin products, which offer the same material performance as fossil-based polyolefins yet decoupled from fossil-based feedstock and with reduced carbon emissions. Applications include automotive, flexible and rigid packaging, housewares, and wire and cables.
• In July 2023, Borealis’ polyolefin (PO) compounding site in Monza, Italy, received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS). With the certification of the Monza site, Borealis is now able to offer circular PO products manufactured with renewable feedstocks (Bornewables™) and grades based on chemically recycled feedstock (Borcycle™ C) as part of their Monza PO compounds portfolio.
• Borealis began exploring carbon capture technologies and the use of carbon dioxide as a resource as an alternative to fossil-based resources. Following the proofs of concept, their target is to scale up these initiatives in 2024.

Outlook

By 2030, OMV plans to establish a production capacity of approximately 2,000 kta of sustainable polymers and other chemicals, including biobased polyolefins. To achieve this, OMV will build up capacity for the procurement of sustainable feedstock and develop and implement a sustainable product portfolio for biobased polyolefins.