Millions of people refuel nearby every day 1,500 service stations Cepsa in Spain. oil It is known for its gas stations across the country; But it ‘sneaks in’ every day houses from all over the world through washing machines: one fifth global uses Detergent Produced with raw materials developed in-house chemical field. “Cepsa Química is great Unknown. Especially in Spain, everyone knows a lot about Cepsa because of service stations and refineries, but not much is known about what Cepsa chemistry is. world leader in detergent raw materials so far 16% and 18% market share and We aim for 20% in the coming years,” explains its director, José María SolanaIn an interview with Prensa Ibérica’s El Periódico on April 1, six months after taking office. He was previously global commercial director of Cepsa Química.
Cepsa started the process two years ago sale of this subsidiarybut after “options were evaluated”, this possibility was “rejected” for a job now considered “essential”. There is a chemical field seven plants The production center is located in Spain – one in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and the other in Puente Mayorga (Cádiz), Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Germany and ChinaAchieving 382 million gross operating profit (EBITDA) in 2022 13.4% of the total group.
In addition to detergent raw materials, its products include phenolwhich they claim to be “number two in the world” and its main application polycarbonateplastic used for cars or wind turbine blades. “There is also acetone, which is a product made by the same production. “For example, there are products with aspirin in the textile industry, electronics, food and pharmaceutical industries,” says Solana. “If somehow We’re reinventing chemistryvery product based petrochemical and we turn it into something green chemistry“With energy conversion, the impact can be very severe,” he adds.
“We cannot afford a Europe that pays twice as much for energy as the rest of the world.”
Cepsa is immersed in its strategic plan (Positive Motion) in which it plans to invest. 8 billion euros by 2030 Although the exploration and production business will be the main revenue focus, going greener. The target is to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 2019 and reduce the carbon intensity of its products by 15% to 20%. urgent and priority But we must defend it together and really bet on the creation of an industry in Europe that differentiates itself from other economies that are not betting on this,” explains Solana. “We cannot afford such a Europe.” Pay twice as much for energy more than the rest of the world. “We must encourage decarbonization and discourage imports of non-decarbonized products,” he adds.
Reinvent chemistry
The first step in the transformation process is to stop dependence on gas and increase its share in gas. renewable consumption. “We are in a transformation process that will make us completely dependent on foreign sources.” electric power and renewable energy and decarbonized products,” says Solana. Among these plans, green hydrogen production stands out Huelva and San Roque refineryIn Cádiz, in a place called Green Hydrogen Valley of Andalusiaand will be connected by ship to Rotterdam (Netherlands) for export in the form of ammonia. “This is clear progress.” make Europe independent“, he adds. But he also has other plans, such as construction. 15 biomethane production facilities from waste.
“My big goal and personal commitment is to help reinvent chemistry so that within a few years we will be leaders in the Next range of renewable products.”
However, beyond energy consumption, the company has also set targets in the field of chemistry. 30% of sales in 2026 comes from low carbon products. “My greatest goal, my personal commitment, is to help reinvent this chemistry so that within a few years Cepsa Química clearly Leader products in range We call Nextproducts produced with renewable energy or coming from circular products,” explains Solana. Cepsa’s first Next product was launched in 2017 2021 and consisted of the raw material of biodegradable detergent of renewable origin. Next LAB, which was launched this year with low-carbon raw materials, is planned to be launched with circular origin raw materials next year.
“Is there first has already launched a product made with plant residue to make the raw material of that detergent. Frankly, it’s still on a reduced scale. But we already work together big companies “Detergent has the largest share in the world, not only in Europe but also in Latin America,” he adds. The next thing will be to produce sue knowing that they are even more expensive for these products. “These products They cost a little morebut we aim to make them affordable. “Currently, scale is small, raw materials are scarce and there is still a certain premium,” he says.
industrial slimming
In the first two quarters of this year chemical work A profit of 123 million was made, compared to a profit of 216 million in the same period last year. Weight loss across the industry This started in the “second half of 2022”, but Solana is confident that 2024 will be the year of recovery. “We hit rock bottom What makes sense is that we will see a recovery in 2024. The question is how fast and at what slope this happens, depending on how geopolitical conflicts are resolved and how inflation and interest rates develop. But everything shows that 2024 will be the year of recoveryConfids Solana added that, in the case of Cepsa, they were able to stay “at a pretty good level despite the situation in the industry.”