Globalpu News: Covestro, Korean petrochemical company SK geo centric and Neste are working together to produce an important polyurethane raw material based on renewable raw materials through a mass balance approach. In this cooperation, Neste provides SK geo centric offers renewable Neste RE™, an ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) system certified polymer and chemical feedstock, 100% Made from renewable raw materials such as waste and grease residue.
SK geo centric processes this raw material into benzene at its Korean plant and supplies it to Covestro's integrated site in Shanghai for the production of diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). MDI is an important raw material for the production of polyurethane rigid foam. As a mature thermal insulation material, MDI is widely used in the construction industry and cold chain equipment. In this way, CO2 emissions and energy consumption will be reduced during the product life cycle.
The partnership marks the beginning of possible future collaborations between the three companies, with the goal of replacing fossil feedstocks with more sustainable feedstocks for the production of polymers and chemicals in Asia Pacific and beyond.
"With the introduction of renewable solutions, we are entering a stage of scaling up their use in the chemical industry." Mercedes, executive vice president of Neste's Renewable Polymers and Chemicals business Alonso said, “This is critical to replace the vast amount of fossil resources that the industry currently relies on. To scale successfully, we need to build collaborations along the value chain – this collaboration between three sustainability-conscious partners Set an example for the industry.”
Replacing traditional petroleum-based fossil feedstocks with Neste RE can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby improving the carbon footprint of the polyurethane raw materials produced by Covestro and downstream industries. Neste RE is made from renewable raw materials such as waste or grease residue.
"I am delighted that through this partnership, we are able to continue to expand the market for sustainable alternative materials. We are thus able to offer our customers in the Asia-Pacific region more sustainable MDI products based on mass-balanced raw materials." Chief Commercial Officer, Covestro Sucheta Govil said, “It is attractive to customers that using such materials will help them achieve their respective climate goals. Another core advantage of this range is that it is a technically ready-to-apply solution. , which our customers can use immediately without major modifications to their plants.”
Choi Woo-hyuk, Vice President of SK geocentric Aromatics Business Unit, said: "We are pleased to have completed the first export delivery of renewable benzene based on Neste RE, a 100% renewable raw material from Neste. This is the first such collaboration between our three parties in the Asia-Pacific region. .SK geo centric will continue to actively collaborate with Covestro and Neste and we are committed to expanding this collaboration. "
Under the guidance of its "Green Creates a Better Life" strategy, SK geo
centric has announced an ambitious goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. To fulfill its corporate responsibility, the company will drive business transformation by expanding its portfolio of high-quality renewable products. SK geo
centric will leverage the strong synergy between the three partners to respond to the growing global market demand. 
