- Cepsa Química launches a new range of sustainable products which include renewable and recycled raw materials, thanks to innovation and technological development
- Cepsa Química’s new line of research will lead to a wider variety and new generations of products from renewable and reused sources, with an improved environmental footprint, over the next decade
- The new developments will be marketed under the NextLab and NextPhenol brands
- The first products in this range will be marketed before the end of the year
- The production processes will be certified based on the ISCC+ system, which identifies and guarantees sustainable production
Cepsa Química is launching a new sustainable offer, a responsible and innovative solution that introduces renewable and recycled raw materials into the production of its main products of industrial use. With this launch, the company takes a further step towards strengthening its commitment to sustainable development and also to meet its customers’ environmental goals. This new range of products, to be marketed under the NextLab and NextPhenol brands, is made possible thanks to R&D progress in recent years with the first developments to be launched to the market this month. In the coming years, additional products from sustainable origins, and with an improved environmental footprint, will be added to the portfolio.
Cepsa Química has introduced, for the first time, certified renewable raw materials to produce LAB (linear alkylbenzene), an essential component in the production of biodegradable detergents, a sector led globally by Cepsa Química. This biodegradable detergent will maintain its properties and performance but, for the first time will also include linear alkylbenzene (LAB) from renewable sources in its formula.
Cepsa Química is also pioneering the manufacture of phenol from renewable and recycled raw materials as part of a circular economy model that utilises materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill by incorporating them back into the production cycle. Phenol is used in the automotive, construction and pharmaceutical industries, among others.
This exciting milestone is the first piece of a global plan designed to continue leading progress towards further sustainable development across the chemical sector, a framework of action focused on the environmental improvement of production processes, as well as the product portfolio. This is a comprehensive project that considers a plan based on reducing direct and indirect CO2 emissions, enabling the exclusive consumption of renewable electricity, and gradually incorporating renewable and recycled sources.
Paloma Alonso, Head of Chemicals and ESG at Cepsa, stressing the importance of this launch, said: "This new sustainable portfolio, which we are unveiling today, is part of our multigenerational plan to achieve a green transition and provide our business with the sustainable goals that our customers and society demand. This is where we focus our efforts on innovation and technology, as we have done since our company’s first days, when we were able to create biodegradable surfactants and develop the technology to produce LAB in a more environmentally friendly way. In doing so, we are contributing to the sustainable development of the societies and economies in which we operate whilst also leading the future of the chemical industry".
Both products will initially be manufactured at the company's plants in Spain. Puente Mayorga in Campo de Gibraltar (Cádiz) will be responsible for NextLab and Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) for NextPhenol. In addition, both facilities have been certified under the ISCC+ system which identifies and guarantees sustainable production from origin to delivery using the mass balance methodologies to ensure that the sustainable products manufactured correspond to the amount of sustainable raw materials introduced into the process.
In March 2021, the company obtained its certification under the ISCC+ system for its Puente Mayorga plant and in 2019 Cepsa Química obtained the same certification at its Palos de la Frontera plant for the production of phenol and acetone. Cepsa Química is currently working to obtain certification for cumene and AMS at Palos de la Frontera and at the Shanghai plant, as well as LAB and LABSA at the Detén (Brazil) and Bécancour (Canada) plants.
About Cepsa Química
Cepsa Química is a world leader in its sector and is leading the shift towards sustainable chemistry, with a clear commitment to the fight against climate change and the transition to a circular, non-fossil economy.
The company leads the worldwide production of LAB, the main raw material used in biodegradable detergents. It is also number one in the production of cumene, an intermediate product used in the production of phenol and acetone, which are the main raw materials for the manufacture of engineering plastics and of which it is the world's second largest producer.
Cepsa Química currently employs more than 800 people and has plants in seven countries around the world (Spain, Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia and Nigeria).