Industry Trends

June 2023

See what has been happening in Asia’s petrochemicals, agrochemicals, automotive, bio energy, and mining industries over the last weeks. What are experts and industry magazines talking about?

What has been happening?

Mining’s changing ESG landscape, Get ready for carbon capture’s second coming, Fueling sea transport with ammonia, and more. See what journals and industry experts have been discussing in the last four weeks.

Latest Industry Articles

Mining’s changing ESG landscape

MINING.com

MINING.COM sat down in May with Dean Slocum, founder of Acorn International and Chris Anderson, a strategic partner at the Houston-headquartered consulting firm. Slocum and Anderson offer ESG risk management advice for the extractive and industrial sectors around the world with dozens of projects that range from off-shore pipelines in Angola, bauxite mines in Brazil and gas infrastructure in Kazakhstan to gold mines in West Africa, to an oil company in India and offshore wind in the US.

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Get ready for carbon capture’s second coming

BusinessWorld

Forthose who’ve followed the energy transition over the past few decades, there’s one technology that is treated as much as a punchline as a serious industry: Carbon capture and storage (CCS). A decade or so ago, many still thought it the best hope for decarbonizing the world’s power systems. CCS was “the Google and Intel of the energy world,” the Atlantic magazine declared in a 2010 cover story that predicted solar and wind would never get above 10% of power supply.

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Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Eyes to Fuel Sea Transport with Ammonia

Rigzone.com

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has entered a deal for technical studies on technologies that would enable ammonia to be used to power vessels.

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Turning Ethanol Into Hydrogen

Ethanol Producer Magazine

A new technology developed by Proteum Energy could use ethanol as a feedstock for producing hydrogen, a very real contender in the hard-to-electrify sector.

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An emerging bonanza in ethanol-focused carbon capture?

Biofuels Digest

The US carbon capture market has grown, experts say, to $13 billion in 2023 and according to ExxonMobil is on the way to $4 trillion. That could mean that a bonanza for infrastructure in the form of carbon dioxide pipelines is on the way in ethanol country. Is “gold rush” putting it too forcefully? Perhaops not. Already in Nebraska and Iowa alone there are four different CO2 pipeline projects in varying stages of development.

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Glycerol: A Byproduct of Biodiesel as an Alternative Ingredient for Livestock?

Advanced BioFuels USA

Glycerol, also known as glycerin, can be obtained through biodiesel production from vegetable oils or animal fats. Through a process called “transesterification,” the fatty acids are separated from glycerol and re-esterified into an alcohol known as methanol, leaving glycerol as a residue. For every 100 kg of biodiesel produced, approximately 4 to 10kg of glycerol is obtained.

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Oil Demand Growth to Slow Almost to a Halt in Coming Years: IEA

Rigzone.com

The use of oil for transport fuels will decline after 2026, and growth in overall oil demand will ‘slow almost to a halt in the coming years’.

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Synergy for sustainability and ESG

BusinessWorld

Calls to protect the planet and the people get more resonating and expansive in the past years. This prompts several corporations to commence taking on the responsibility to make good contributions to the environment and humanity by setting and committing to targets and plans for sustainability. Nowadays, sustainability is among the top priorities in the corporate world.

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Thai Cabinet supports use of ethanol for bioplastics production

Biofuels Digest

In Thailand, Thaiger reported that the Thai Cabinet has given the green light for the promotion of ethanol in the production of bioplastics, aiming to develop more eco-friendly materials. The report noted that this decision supports the ethanol bioplastic manufacturing industry with tax exemptions for bioethylene, a key precursor in bioplastic pellet production. Current legislation in Thailand states that domestically produced ethanol can only be used for fuel and liquor production.

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USGC underscores efficacy of ethanol in Australia, Thailand

Ethanol Producer Magazine

The USGC’s Southeast Asia and Oceania office recently participated in two simultaneous renewable fuels events in Australia and Thailand, giving presentations and partaking in panel discussions on renewable fuels and ethanol.

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Thiess wins expansion contract for MSJ coal mine in Indonesia

Mining Technology

Cimic Group’s mining subsidiary, Thiess, has been awarded a mining expansion contract from PT Harum Energy at the Mahakam Sumber Jaya (MSJ) mine in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Effective until March 2026, the expansion is worth A$300m ($202.26m). The contract allows Thiess to operate in an adjacent area to the current mining operations. The scope of the agreement expands the current mining operations, which include load and haul, drill and blast, haul road maintenance and rehabilitation.

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China Produces Hydrogen by Direct Seawater Electrolysis

Advanced BioFuels USA

by Liu Tianwen (CGTN) China tested its hydrogen production technology at sea with a direct seawater electrolysis method on Friday at the Xinghua Bay offshore wind farm, east China’s Fujian Province. The test was verified by a team of experts from Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). A floating offshore platform for hydrogen production, Dongfu No. 1, was used in the test.

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Thai firm Energy Absolute doubles SAF production

Biofuels Digest

In Washington D.C, the Thai Embassy to the United States reported that Energy Absolute, a Thai renewable energy and electric vehicle firm, is doubling its production of sustainable aviation fuel to 130 tons a day. Energy Absolute’ SAF is an offshoot of its commodity-grade biodiesel, which it has produced for almost two decades, the Embassy stated.

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Singapore's Sembcorp Inks Deal for Natural Gas from Indonesia

Rigzone.com

The agreement to import natural gas piped from the West Natuna gas fields in Indonesia is estimated at $1.41 billion.

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Bangchak signs SAF MOU with Thai Airways

Biofuels Digest

In Thailand, Bangchak signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Thai Airways regarding exchange of technical knowledge and expertise on the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). In 2022, Bangchak established Thailand’s first and only company to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from used cooking oil. This initiative is part of the BCP 316 NET plan, a clear and tangible roadmap aiming at achieving Net Zero GHG Emissions by 2050.

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Asia’s largest mass timber building completes in Singapore

Global Construction Review

Work has finished on Toyo Ito & Associates’ “Gaia” project for the Nanyang Business School in Singapore. The zero-energy building, which is billed as Asia’s largest mass timber building, takes the form of two six-storey curving rectangles that are joined at multiple points. It consists mainly of sustainably sourced cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber, or glulam, stiffened by a concrete core.

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Philippines says China's Yadea to invest $1 billion in EV battery plant

Channel NewsAsia

China’s Yadea Group Holdings, one of the world’s biggest electric two-wheeled vehicle makers, plans to invest about $1 billion in an e-motorcycle factory in the Philippines, the country’s investment promotions agency chief said on Thursday.

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MHI and TNB Genco sign clean energy MOU to drive decarbonisation

Digital News Asia

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and TNB Power Generation Sdn. Bhd. (TNB Genco), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to study and exchange information related to clean energy technologies. Agreement covers hydrogen infrastructure and CO2 capture. Helps accelerate net-zero goals and 50% reduction in coal generation by 2035.

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UK consortium to invest $9bn into Indonesian mining and EV battery industries

Mining Technology

An consortium of companies, including mining giant Glencore, is planning to invest $9bn into mining and electric vehicle (EV) battery production in Indonesia, the country’s minister for investment Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters this week. The mineral-rich nation is increasingly attracting interest as demand for energy transition minerals mounts.

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Investing in Food Processing in Vietnam for EU Firms

Vietnam Briefing

Vietnam’s food processing industry is currently struggling, and firms are looking to sell assets or even part of their companies to survive. Here’s what EU firms looking for opportunities in Asia should know about the current state of Vietnam’s food processing sector.

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