Neste and Lotte Chemical team up to scale renewable plastics from used cooking oil

10 Apr 2024 --- Neste and South Korean company Lotte Chemical have partnered on a project to elevate the sustainability profile of chemicals and plastics. The partnership’s ambition is to replace fossil resources with renewable raw materials that offer a lower carbon footprint.

The collaboration will see Neste providing Lotte Chemical with renewable Neste RE, a raw material for chemicals and plastics made from 100% renewable raw materials.

Lotte Chemical will use Neste RE at its Korean sites to produce various common types of plastics and chemicals across its broad product portfolio.

“We are looking forward to increasing the share of renewable solutions in collaboration with Lotte Chemical,” says Jeroen Verhoeven, vice president of value chain development for renewable polymers and chemicals at Neste.

“Together, we can pave the way to more sustainable supply chains and lower emissions for a wide range of sectors and applications.” 

Varied applications
The plastics and chemicals produced through the partnership can be used in supply chains for various product applications, from packaging to construction and textiles to electronics.

The quality and performance of the end products remain unchanged, the partners maintain.

Neste uses bio-based waste and residue materials — like used cooking oil and plastic waste — to produce Neste RE. The company has collaborated with Suntory, ENEOS and Mitsubishi Corporation in this process.

The company details that independently reviewed life cycle assessments suggest the use of renewable Neste RE reduces GHG gas emissions “by more than 85%” when replacing fossil feedstock. 

The assessments also reveal that using recycled Neste RE reduces GHG emissions by around 40% compared to feedstock production from fossil materials and the incineration of plastic waste.

Plastics based on Neste RE are of “identical quality” to those made from conventional feedstock, as outlined by the company. “They can be turned into just the same products and used for the same applications and the recyclability of plastics made with Neste RE remains the same.”

Offsetting emissions
Neste claims to assist its customers with reducing their GHG gas emissions by “at least 20 million metric tons annually by 2030.”

The company’s ambition is to make its Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the “most sustainable refinery in Europe” by 2030. Neste is also committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040.

In 2023, Neste’s revenue stood at €22.9 billion (US$24.9 billion).

In other recent activities, Neste linked up with plastic recycling innovator Mura Technology in signing a product offtake agreement that will convert ISCC PLUS accredited products from Mura’s first commercial-scale site in Teesside, UK, into feedstock to produce new plastics.

By Benjamin Ferrer