Technological and policy options for the defossilisation of chemical manufacturing

Abstract

The chemical industry plays a pivotal role in modern society, providing essential products like plastics, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, speciality and agricultural chemicals. With increasing global prosperity and evolving societal demands, the need for sustainable chemicals is more pressing than ever. Essentially, the production of chemicals as we know it today is based on the use of fossil fuel for supplying the feedstock needed to provide the carbon-skeleton and the energy required for the synthesis process. As either of the two leads to CO₂ emissions, net-zero in chemistry requires both renewable energy and sustainable carbon supply strategies. Decarbonisation in the chemical industry requires the use of carbon-free renewable energy and changes in process design to replace CO₂ liberating steps (mainly energy supply) during manufacturing, e.g. with hydrogen as a reducing agent. While defossilisation technologies refer to using defossilised carbon feedstock for material production, namely biomass, or carbon supplied via carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) or from recycling of carbonaceous waste streams. This paper presents a meta-analysis of net-zero transition scenarios for the chemical industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, focusing on feedstock structures and renewable energy requirements. Additionally, it evaluates the sustainability of defossilisation technologies and underscores the imperative of target-oriented cooperation of industry, policymakers, academia, and the public to facilitate a rapid transition towards a more sustainable chemical industry.