ELEMENTS Interview | Increase sales through circular products and technologies

Evonik is expanding its commitment to developing solutions for the circular economy. From 2030, the specialty chemicals company aims to generate at least one billion euro in additional sales a year from circular products and technologies. Patrick Glöckner, head auf Evonik’s Circle Economy Programm, explains the strategy in an interview with ELEMENTS-editor Nadine Albach.

Mister Glöckner, Evonik is expanding its commitment concerning the circular economy. It right now started a circular economy program and the goal is to achieve an additional in sales one billion per year from 2030 onwards with product and technologies, helping the circular economy. I’d really like to look in the details with you to understand how to achieve this goal. And one idea is to strengthen the market with specialties and additives helping the circular economy. Do you have concrete examples; could you explain how?

Patrick Glöckner: Ja, absolutely. So we have several products and specialties that are contributing to what’s a circular economy. However to make it more tangible, we have additives, we have catalysts that can be used to improve the efficiency of recycling processes, that can be used to also improve the quality of the recyclates. This is what we are looking for: to really provide benefits to our customers and helping them to bring the circular economy into the next phase.

Nadine Albach. I see. Another idea is too not use raw materials which are of fossil origin. Which could you use and how do you achieve this goal?

Patrick Glöckner: On the one hand, we look beyond today. So carbon dioxide could be an option in the future once renewable energy is available. However at this point of time, we really look into bio based and circular raw materials. Bio based can be sourced by primary materials coming directly from the field. However, here you really need to have a look into the eco efficiency, into the product carbon footprint: how much water is used, how much land is used… and therefore, we believe that other sources can be also an option, for example, secondary bio based materials for example from Agro waste streams on the one hand but also plastic based circular raw materials coming for example from plastic pyrolysis. And here we are looking for raw materials like butadiene, which can be used for the production of defossilated Polyamide 12. And this is exactly the way we look into this defossilation road. However we of course need to have several difference options.

Nadine Albach: So a lot of options you’ve got there. Another option too strengthen the circular economy at Evonik is the idea to develop innovative technologies that closes loops. Do you of any concrete examples?

Patriock Glöckner: Yes, absolutely. We developed technologies, recycling technologies, by applying our own existing products, for example PET recycling - Polyethylenterephthalat . That is the product that is used as a plastic for bottles, for instance, or textiles. Bottles can be recycled easily mechanically. However, textiles not. And there for chemical recycling is a great option and here we developed a process by applying our catalysts alkoholat and finally coming to the monomers that can be used for the production of new PET, Polyethylenterephthalat, components.

Nadine Albach: Really impressive how you pronounced this ….

Patrick Glöckner: Polyethylenterephthalat

Nadine Albach: Okay thank you very much for those insights, Mister Glöckner, and good luck.

Patrick Glöckner: Thank you.