Sabic’s new strategic initiatives to accelerate the electrification transition

In the run-up to K 2022 in October, many of the companies exhibiting there have started releasing a few details about the most important themes and developments that will be on show. The theme chosen by Sabic for the event is "Making the change real," and the solutions the company will be showcasing exemplify this.

At a recent press gathering, Sabic revealed that one of the highlights at its stand will be the circular, sustainable solutions developed to eliminate plastic waste.

“It’s a huge challenge,” said Frank Kuijpers, general manager corporate sustainability at Sabic. “It’s all the more difficult because the current negative image of plastics overshadows the advantages of plastic products.”

The company will once again showcase the portfolio of Trucircle materials, first launched three years ago at K 2019 and designed to give manufacturers access to more sustainable materials. The Trucircle  range comprises design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified circular products, certified renewable products and closed loop initiatives.

“The bottom line is closing the loop and creating a circular economy for plastics,” said Kuipers.

He added that the change is about more than just producing sustainable solutions for customers: Sabic, he said,  has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. The company is striving to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 20 percent in 2030 compared to 2018 and working to decrease its Scope 3 emissions through collaborations with peers.

“One example: We have established a partnership with Linde and BASF, for example, to develop electrically powered steam cracker technology that will aim to reduce carbon emissions by 90 percent,” said Kuipers.

At the event, the company also announced the launch of its Bluehero program, a new strategic initiative,  designed to support the shift to product electrification.

With electrification becoming an automotive megatrend, the company’s starting point with Bluehero is support of the auto industry’s mission to create better, safer and more efficient electric vehicles, with an emphasis on improving structural battery components,

“Electrification is a seismic shift in the automotive industry,” said Pieter Keijer. senior nanager of engineering thermoplastics Europe. “It is vital in order to reach the climate goals we’ve set.”

With road transportion making up a significant share of total global CO2 emissions, the program will build upon the company’s established materials and capabilities to help the automotive value chain move ever closer to a world with zero tailpipe emissions.

Sabic will be strengthening and expanding its thermoplastic offering to help enable electrification with the elevated focus and new investments that will become available under Bluehero..

An integral element of Sabic’s Bluehero ecosystem is its global team of engineers, research fellows and scientists. This team is harnessing its established and growing expertise in design, testing and data generation for EV batteries and related applications to problem solve and overcome current limitations.

“The idea is  to mobilize different functions in our organization to work on electrification in cares. It’s also a value chain effort,” Keijer said.

As part of its work, the team collaborates with customers, development partners and others across the value chain, from OEMs and tiers to tooling suppliers and testing agencies.

Sabic anticipates expanding the focus and scope of its Bluehero initiative to help support efforts in additional sectors. Those could potentially include energy storage, charging infrastructure, other modes of transport and industrial and consumer equipment, the company said.