Huntsman’s innovation to promote low-carbon urban transformation through building power for the future

Huntsman’s innovation to promote low-carbon urban transformation through building power for the future
On November 17, Huntsman Corporation, a leading global specialty chemicals company, was invited to participate in the 13th China International Petrochemical Conference in Ningbo. Focusing on the theme of “New Growth with Sustainable Resilience”, participants discussed the future direction of the petrochemical industry and the new opportunities it faces. Mr. Pan Lumin, President of Huntsman Polyurethanes Asia Pacific, shared Huntsman’s sustainable development strategy and insights and practices on carbon reduction in urban life at the Mayors’ Forum and CEO Roundtable on November 16 and 17, respectively, and gave advice on green and low-carbon transformation in various fields in cities.

Under the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutral, green and low-carbon has become the keynote of China’s high-quality economic development, and the “1+N” top-level design framework issued by the State Council has guided relevant departments at all levels to formulate implementation plans and support policies in different fields and industries. As one of the key areas of “N”, cities will become the main battlefield for carbon emission reduction. From a global perspective, urban economic activities account for 60%-80% of global energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions; and this figure is relatively higher in Chinese cities, where carbon emissions account for about 80%, and the implementation of the “double carbon” strategy will drive cities to accelerate low-carbon transformation.

“The report of the 20th National Congress points out that we should actively and steadily promote carbon neutralization, accelerate the development of green transformation, and promote the formation of a green and low-carbon production and lifestyle. We see in this the determination of China’s green and high-quality development, as well as the strong resilience and inexhaustible vitality of the Chinese economy. Huntsman will continue to deepen its efforts in the large Chinese market, continuously expand the polyurethane low-carbon ecosystem, and contribute to the sustainable and resilient growth of cities and industries by helping urban life to deeply reduce carbon with green innovation.” said Pan Lumin, President of Huntsman Polyurethane Division Asia Pacific.

First to stand, then to break Explore a new paradigm of quantitative carbon reduction from 0 to 1

Cities are the main site for implementing carbon neutrality targets, and urban planning has the advantage of integrating the application of various low-carbon technology measures. The low carbon transformation of cities begins to change from qualitative guidance to quantitative constraints. From the enterprise dimension, the focus shifts from why to reduce carbon to how to reduce carbon. In response to the difficulties and pain points of low-carbon transformation in cities, Huntsman, which is deeply engaged in China, has established a perfect carbon measurement system and low-carbon evaluation standards by linking the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, providing a new paradigm of resilient development for carbon reduction in cities and green transformation in the industry chain.

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Construction and other nine departments jointly released the Implementation Plan for Establishing and Improving the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral Standard Measurement System, which focuses on establishing and improving the carbon peak and carbon neutral standard measurement system, proposing to improve the carbon emission basic general standard system and strengthen the construction of carbon emission reduction standard system in key areas. To realize accurate measurement of urban carbon footprint and analyze the key factors and links affecting carbon footprint, in order to provide a set of systematic and accurate complete method system for urban carbon reduction.

According to the measurement of carbon emissions in an urban area by China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, the carbon emissions from construction, transportation and industry are high, accounting for 33%, 26% and 34% respectively. Based on the measurement of the current carbon emission, China Academy of Urban Planning and Design also proposed a systematic carbon reduction path in nine aspects including building energy saving and green transportation, taking into account the planning of urban development, industrial development, transportation system and municipal facilities.

In view of this, Huntsman officially signed a carbon neutral strategic cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Institute of Advanced Studies of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as early as June 2021 to carry out a life-cycle carbon footprint evaluation based on the production of polyurethane products and downstream applications. As an upstream enterprise in the polyurethane industry chain, Huntsman analyzes key factors and links affecting carbon footprint by conducting life-cycle carbon footprint evaluation based on polyurethane products, and provides directional support for carbon reduction applications of polyurethane products in cities such as building energy saving, cold storage low carbonization, automobile carbon reduction and urban heating. This cooperation is the first of its kind in which a leading international enterprise in the polyurethane industry and a local first-class research institution join hands to promote carbon neutral research.

Focusing on the cold storage industry with high energy consumption in cities, Huntsman joined hands with the Cold Chain Logistics Professional Committee of China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and other organizations in September this year to jointly launch the “Cold Storage Low Carbon Evaluation Index” group standard, which will map the carbon emissions of the cold storage industry in the whole life cycle of insulation material selection, equipment selection and project application, and promote the development of the first low carbon evaluation standard for cold storage construction in China.

Anchor technology to broaden the new path of carbon reduction in urban system

Currently, China is accelerating the deep integration of emerging technologies and green low-carbon industries. in June 2022, the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Development and Reform Commission released the Implementation Plan for Carbon Dumping in Urban and Rural Construction, proposing to build green low-carbon cities, improve the level of green low-carbon buildings, encourage green travel, and generally form a green lifestyle by 2030. To broaden the path of carbon reduction in urban system, Huntsman keeps upgrading four sustainable and innovative solutions of polyurethane, which involve many applications such as building insulation, cold chain storage and automobile manufacturing, activating more low-carbon possibilities for all areas of urban life.

Huntsman’s innovation helps to promote low-carbon transformation in many fields of cities

To reduce carbon in cities, buildings are the first. Data shows that the total carbon emission of China’s construction process accounts for 51.3% of the national carbon emission, ranking first among all industries. In November, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Construction and other institutions jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for Carbon Peak in the Building Materials Industry”, proposing to take low-carbon technological innovation as the driving force to comprehensively improve the green development of the building materials industry. Based on the patented PET plastic recycling technology, Huntsman has developed Tylenol® recycled polyester polyol, which contains up to 60% recycled PET plastic, reducing the carbon footprint of construction materials at the production stage. This “carbon reduction tool” is then used to produce spray polyurethane insulation foam, insulation sandwich panels, energy-saving system windows and doors, etc., which can significantly reduce energy consumption during the operation phase of the building with excellent insulation and energy-saving performance, and provide effective support for long-term operation of the building to save energy and reduce carbon.

The low-carbon effect of Huntsman’s polyurethane insulation materials in the field of “housing” is not only applicable to buildings, but also applied to urban central heating. Huntsman has helped Taikoo Heating Project, the largest and longest district centralized heating project in China, to solve the problem of heat loss in long-distance pipeline transmission from Taiyuan, Shanxi to Gujiao, with the temperature of hot water dropping only 1 degree at both ends of the 38-km heat transmission pipeline, effectively reducing carbon through continuous and reliable insulation. In terms of green “travel”, Huntsman launched new polyurethane products with bio-based content of up to 20% based on the original lightweight and energy-saving products, which can reduce the carbon footprint of carpet back foam by 25%. In the field of “food”, Huntsman provides insulation solutions for urban food preservation cold storage, helping the cold storage industry to solve the contradiction between scale expansion and carbon emission reduction and accelerate its low-carbon transformation.

The tide is rising, the wind is sailing. The new growth path characterized by low-carbon development has become an important direction for China’s economic development. “Rooted in China, serving China”, Huntsman closely focuses on the system project of “China Double Carbon”, resonates with industry partners up and down the industrial chain, and takes the value concept of “Create Boundless, Enjoy Life” as the basis. Based on the value concept of “Creating Boundless, Enjoying Life”, Huntsman is using innovation to promote the low-carbon transformation of cities and light up the future of green cities.