Borealis invests EUR4.5 mn in cracker in Finland for sustainable materials

Chemical firm Borealis has announced a EUR4.5 million investment in the cracker furnaces of its olefins unit in Porvoo, Finland. This investment ensures that the Porvoo steam cracker, which is part of a highly integrated petrochemical complex, can increase the share of renewable and recycled raw materials used in its base chemicals (ethylene and propylene) production.

The Porvoo investment program, which has already been kicked off and is expected to be completed in 2025, follows last year’s completion of a major cracker furnace update in Stenungsund, Sweden.

The Porvoo steam cracker, which has a nameplate capacity of 430 kilotonnes/year ethylene and 263 kilotonnes/year propylene, is a facility that thermally “cracks” feedstock – such as naphtha, propane, butane, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – into smaller molecules. Furnaces are the “heart” of every cracker.

Thanks to the investment, three of the ten cracker furnaces in the olefins unit will be modified to enable a total annual production of 120 kilotonnes of base chemicals based on renewable and recycled feedstocks. The renewable-based and chemically recycled base chemicals produced at Borealis’ site in Porvoo have been awarded the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS).

The ISCC PLUS certification is a voluntary scheme that covers the entire supply chain based on mass balance accounting and guarantees compliance with the highest environmental standards.

“With a focus on reinventing essentials for sustainable living, our EUR4.5 million investment in our steam cracker in Porvoo moves us closer towards a future of circular economy transformation,” says Wolfram Krenn, Borealis Executive Vice President Operations and Base Chemicals.