Because climate and industry experts alike anticipate global energy demand to nearly double between 2020 and 2050, similarly growing populations must develop additional energy through renewable sources.
Shell touts pyrolysis oil as part of biofuels portfolio
From left are Emma Lewis, Sr. VP with Shell’s U.S. Gulf Coast’s Chemicals and Products; Marla Kline, GM with Shell’s U.S. Gulf Coast’s Business Management; and Helmut Brenner, ESG manager with Shell’s U.S. Polymers, Chemicals and Refined Products.
"That is just a given," said Marla Kline, GM with Shell’s U.S. Gulf Coast’s Business Management. "Along with that demand come additional requirements around sustainable products to these markets in order to support all this growth in population in the industries we provide."
But how does Shell plan to do that?
"At Shell, we are continuously looking at how we make technological advances, looking for technological solutions and partnering with our customers, as well as other partners in the industry, on making sure that we are all able to reach our net-zero goals," Kline said discussing Shell’s push toward sustainability at the Gulf Coast Industry Forum in Pasadena, Texas. "We have committed to being a net-zero company by 2050, and that ambition has not changed. Our customers also have goals that are similar."
Noting that Texas is home to a lot of Shell businesses, Kline pointed to specific products made in Shell’s assets in Deer Park as well as other sites throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
"We actively have projects ongoing now where we are using bio-feedstocks and other renewable feeds to make energy products," she said. "We signed a deal earlier [in 2023] with a company called Henkel. Their laundry detergent brands are Percil, which is their top-tier brand, as well as All and Purex."
Kline called this deal with Henkel "the first of its kind" in the laundry detergent market.
"We basically are replacing two hundred thousand tons of fossil-based feedstock with a bio-based feedstock," she said. "We are actually delivering on that commitment already in our assets on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
"We feel that this is not just something that is nice to have or the right thing to do for some of the communities that we work in and serve but is also a great business venture as well," Kline continued. "There is high demand for the products we make, which will continue to be in demand and made in a more sustainable way."
Helmut Brenner, ESG manager with Shell’s U.S. Polymers, Chemicals and Refined Products, observed the application of this biofuel, also called pyrolysis oil, "is not the only pathway to net-zero."
"Consumers want products that are the same price or cheaper, that are just as good as the current products and that are more environmentally friendly — all seemingly impossible tasks, right? But it’s the perfect job for people who are creative and like a good challenge."
"We actively have projects ongoing now where we are using bio-feedstocks and other renewable feeds to make energy products."
Emma Lewis, senior VP with Shell’s U.S. Gulf Coast’s Chemicals and Products, reminded conference delegates that while the petrochemical industry is responding enthusiastically to the pursuit of renewable energy sources like pyrolysis oil, "we do actually have to make money as a company.
"One thing that is incredibly helpful is the government funding that is out there and available to us," Lewis added. "There’s a different approach in the United States than in Europe — it’s a bit more of the stick than a carrot. We’ve got some great electrification processes in some of our assets where we get this win-win. We get to improve steam reliability and we get to decarbonize at the same time. If we can also get government funding to do that, we’re going to try to progress that."
But developing pyrolysis oil is merely one part of a circularity portfolio that Shell is pursuing, Brenner said. Shell is also actively engaged in hydrogen, advanced recycling and CCS projects.
"You can’t be a one-trick pony," Brenner concluded. "There will be winners and losers. It’s going to take really smart people tackling really tough problems to figure out the right way and the cost-effective way to do this. And I’m convinced that we can do it."
