Five minutes with… Mercedes Alonso, Executive Vice President, Renewable Polymers and Chemicals, Neste

By -

Type of post: INTERVIEW.

The BioRefineries Blog has been invited by the World Bioeconomy Forum (WCBEF) to post an interview with Mercedes Alonso, Executive Vice President, Renewable Polymers and Chemicals, Neste. Neste is the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the polymers and chemicals industries. Mercedes Alonso will be appearing on the CEO Discussion Panel at the WCBEF virtual event to be broadcast live from Ruka, Finland on 10th September 2020. She spoke to the WCBEF about Neste’s role in the circular bioeconomy as well as operating in a post COVID-19 world.



How important is the circular bioeconomy to your business and the industries you serve, and do you have a specific, inclusive, bioeconomy strategy for the future for the company you lead? 
Neste’s business is built upon the circular bioeconomy; it is in our DNA and plays a key role in our strategy. Our business focuses on reducing climate emissions and fossil oil dependency by providing renewable and circular solutions for the transport, aviation and polymers and chemicals industries, among others. We are the leading renewable diesel and renewable aviation fuel producer in the world and a forerunner in developing new, sustainable solutions for the polymers and chemicals sector based on renewable raw materials as well as chemically recycled plastic waste. We both drive and benefit from the circular bioeconomy and wish to inspire others through collaborating with industry forerunners, sustainability-oriented, like ourselves, to drive change.

Do you see the circular bioeconomy as having an important role in the post Covid-19 world?
Absolutely! Neste remains as committed as ever to combat the climate crisis and plastic pollution and to support the shift towards a circular economy. The Covid 19 pandemic has highlighted the urgency to tighten collaboration across companies, industries and country borders to develop and adopt environmentally-friendlier solutions in various areas of life. We must acknowledge the real price, the environmental toll, that comes with the current fossil oil dependency, for example, and invest in making a transformative, lasting change. As none of the companies can solve these global challenges of enormous scale alone, we have joined forces with other sustainability-oriented companies to build a more sustainable future for all of us. Neste has, for example, joined the European Alliance for a Green Recovery to support and contribute to the efforts of ensuring that the fight against climate change is placed at the core of the economic strategy aiming for a quick recovery of the economies and the societies in Europe. To succeed, we have to jointly agree on how to mobilize our resources in driving business in a more sustainable manner. We also need to develop and execute new circular business rules to achieve transformational changes instead of incremental steps. 

The World Bioeconomy Forum has a diverse range of high-level speakers and panelists, what are you hoping to achieve by taking part in the event, and what are your hopes for the future of the circular bioeconomy? 
These events provide a great opportunity to connect and engage in a dialogue with people from different organizations sharing a common interest in bioeconomy and sustainability. By participating in the event, we are hoping to get some new insights on how we can continue building a more sustainable future, how we could drive change in the value chain, and how we could implement green strategies to make tangible, quantifiable transformation a reality. The CEO Panel Discussion at the event will also include: Walter Schalka, CEO, Suzano, Annica Bresky, CEO, Stora Enso, and Pasi Laine, President and CEO, Valmet. The Panel will be moderated by Teresa Presas, Senior Advisor, World BioEconomy Forum, and former Director General, CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries). 

Five Minutes With… is a series of interviews being run by the WCBEF to highlight some of the high-level speakers and panellists taking part in the event this year. To view the whole full day programme and register for the event please visit http://www.wcbef.com/.

Popular Posts

Mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose starts up successfully

By -
Image
Recent news about one of the DOE’s 12 Top Biobased Molecules. Rennovia Inc. and Johnson Matthey Process Technologies announced on July 16 that they have successfully started-up a mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose using jointly developed technology. In March 2014, these companies embarked on a collaboration to develop, demonstrate and commercialize catalytic process technologies for the production of bio-based glucaric acid and adipic acid. Under the collaboration, Rennovia and JM Process Technologies work together in processes based on Rennovia’s technology for the catalytic aerobic oxidation of glucose to glucaric acid and the catalytic hydrogenation of glucaric acid to adipic acid. The final goal of the collaboration is to license a package enabling commercial production of these chemical products. The successful operation of this mini-plant is a major milestone in the journey to achieve this goal. The facility is located at the Johnson Matthey Process ...
Read more

Biorefinery models - Lignocellulosic biorefinery

By -
Image
Publication date: 25/04/2016 Last update: 25/04/2016 ABOUT THE SERIES OF POSTS “BIOREFINERY MODELS” This post belongs to a series called “ Biorefinery Models ”. This series is devoted to briefly describe the models or concepts of advanced biorefineries which have emerged in the last few years and that are rising currently. These models are simplified representations which enable us to understand in a simple way the structure and characteristics of a general biorefinery type. Some of these models refer to the type of feedstock while other focus on the technologies involved. A biorefinery may resemble these models or be the result of variations and combinations of them. It should be noted that although these paradigms are very useful and instructive, they show limitations in describing and classifying complex systems with high level of integration. In order to define and describe a specific complex case, the blog recommends use the classification proposed by IEA Bioenerg...
Read more

Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: HVO - Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones - Hidrotratamiento(HVO) – Ventajas sobre el biodiesel convencional y propiedades - Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable - Entradas: HVO                El acrónimo HVO significa en inglés “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrotratados”) o ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrogenados”). Clave del proceso: Tratamiento con hidrógeno. En el proceso de producción de HVO, el hidrógeno se usa para eliminar el oxígeno de los triglicéridos produciendo una mezcla de parafinas lineales, CO 2 y agua. Posteriormente, el producto de la primera etapa se isomeriza, siempre en presencia de hidrógeno, para ramificar las cadenas lineales con el propósito de mejorar las propieda...
Read more

Biofuels from algae

By -
Image
In my opinion, the production of biofuels and biobased chemicals from algae is one of the most fascinating topics in the sector of the biorefineries and it will be one of the niches of opportunity with highest potential in the medium and the long terms. This post pretend to be a very basic approach to the topic Algae-to-Biofuels through three general key points. Algae 1,2,3,4,5 Algae include a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms capable of transforming light, water and specific nutrients into products that can be used with commercial and industrial purposes. We can say that algae are sunlight-driven factories with potential to convert CO 2 into biofuels, high-value biochemical, food and feed. There are four algae cultivation technologies currently in use for commercial algae cultivation and proposed for algal biofuel production: extensive or open ponds, intensive or raceway ponds, closed photobioreactors in many designs and closed fermenter systems. Algal biof...
Read more

Biobased acrylic acid

By -
Image
Versión en Español Type of post: Fact sheet. Series: Biobased chemicals – Organic acids. Publication date: 05/05/2021. Last update: 05/05/2021. Description - Organic acid with 3 carbon atoms. - It is a clear, colourless, corrosive liquid with a characteristic acrid or tart smell. - Other names: prop-2-enoic acid. Applications - Formation of homopolymers or copolymers which are used in the manufacture of various adhesives, coatings, diapers, detergents, paints, plastics and textiles. The main use of crude acrylic acid is the generation of acrylate esters, followed by the production of polyacrylic acid, used mostly in superabsorbent polymers. - Chemical intermediate in multiple industrial processes. Conventional petrochemical route - Cracking of fossil naphtha to produce propylene / Oxidation of propylene. Main biobased routes - [3-HPA via] Fermentation of sugars to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA) / Dehydration of 3-HPA. - [Biobased naphtha via] Cracking of biobased naphth...
Read more