High-Performance Tire Raw Materials! OMV Group Partners with Synthos to Develop Sustainable Butadiene

Austrian multinational petrochemical company OMV Group and chemical raw material manufacturer Synthos announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for cooperation, with a special focus on the supply of sustainable raw materials that can be used to manufacture high-performance tires. The two companies are adding new standards in product manufacturing by using bio-based and circular raw materials to develop the green economy.

OMV and Synthos have committed to a long-term collaboration on the production of sustainable butadiene until 2030, using palm fatty acid fraction (PFAD) and cooking oil as raw materials to produce butadiene in a steam cracker at the Burghausen refinery in Germany.

The refinery received ISCC PLUS certification in March 2022 (ISCC PLUS is the global standard for recycling and bio-based materials, enabling supply chain traceability by verifying companies' compliance with environmental and social standards and establishing a chain of custody). The first batch of sustainable butadiene was successfully delivered to Synthos in 2023.

Daniela Vlad, executive vice president of chemicals and materials at OMV, said: “Our partnership with Synthos shows that OMV is reinventing sustainable essentials for life. To achieve this, our strategy is to develop into Europe's leading producer of sustainable chemical raw material manufacturer through our integrated refineries in Schwechat, Austria, and Burghausen, Germany. By 2030, the production of sustainable chemical raw materials at these sites will increase to approximately 300,000 tons. "

Synthos will use butadiene to produce solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) to create high-performance tire tread compounds with low rolling resistance and reduce energy loss when the tire is working. This significantly improves the vehicle's energy efficiency while reducing its environmental impact. All Synthos production facilities, including synthetic rubber plants in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, have received ISCC PLUS certification in 2022.

Zbigniew Warmuz, CEO of Synthos, said: "In December 2021, the company embarked on its sustainability strategy, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per kilojoule by 28% by 2030 and zero carbon emissions by 2050, and produce 100% sustainable products by 2030. The partnership with OMV demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, which we can only achieve by working together with leading companies along the value chain. In the future, together we can support tire manufacturers to provide them with net-zero emissions, low carbon footprint and high-performance tires. "