Synthos, Austrian firm cooperate on sustainable raw materials

OSWIECIM, Poland—Synthos S.A. has signed a memorandum of understanding with an Austrian firm to develop sustainable raw materials.

The Oswiecim-based producer of synthetic rubber is teaming with OMV, an Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemicals company, to cooperate on the long-term supply of sustainable raw materials, according to a Dec. 12 news release.

The partnership will focus on developing sustainable butadiene for the production of SR for use in high-performance tires with a lower carbon footprint.

Synthos CEO Zbigniew Warmuz said the firm in December 2021 adopted its Sustainable Development Strategy, which commits the company to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent by 2030, produce 100-percent sustainable products by 2030 and reach zero carbon emissions by 2050.

"The cooperation with OMV is proof of our commitment to sustainability, which we can only achieve together with other leading companies in the value chain," Warmuz said. "Together, we can support our customers, the world's leading tire manufacturers, to achieve their sustainability goals in terms of net zero emissions and high-performance tires with a lower carbon footprint."

Under the partnership, Synthos and OMV will partner on the project until 2030.

They initially will use palm fatty acid distillate and used cooking oil as feedstock. The agreement also commits to future cooperation on sourcing circular butadiene derived from pyrolysis oil obtained from end-of-life tires.

"The demand from leading tire manufacturers for sustainable synthetic rubber is increasing rapidly," said Matteo Marchisio, Synthos vice president in charge of its synthetic rubber business. "We are committed to delivering tailor-made solutions to best meet our customers' needs, be it ISCC-Plus certified material, bio-based rubber or customized products that we develop exclusively with our partners."

Synthos already has tested sustainable butadiene produced by OMV in its steam cracker at the Burghausen refinery in Germany, which received full ISCC-Plus certification in March 2022.

"Our tie-up with Synthos clearly shows that OMV is re-inventing essentials for sustainable living," said Daniela Vlad, OMV executive vice president of chemicals and materials. "To achieve this, we have a strategic goal to become a leading European producer of sustainable feedstocks for chemicals production."

Vlad added that OMV's production of sustainable chemical feedstocks will increase to about 300,000 metric tons a year by 2030 at its integrated refineries in Schwechat, Austria, and Burghausen.

Synthos has production facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, and has achieved ISCC-Plus certification for its entire portfolio of synthetic rubber products.

It was the second partnership based on sustainability that Synthos has entered into in December.

On Dec. 1 it reached an agreement with Kumho Tire Co. Inc. for the development of more sustainable raw materials for tires. Together, the two companies will research and develop neodymium-butadiene rubber using bio-butadiene, with the aim of expanding environmentally friendly SR in tire manufacturing.