DSM and Neste partner to create high-performance materials from sustainable feedstock

Material supplier Royal DSM has formed a strategic partnership with sustainable technology company Neste to enable the production of high-performance polymers.

In the new strategic collaboration, DSM Engineering Materials will start replacing a significant portion of the fossil feedstock used to date in the manufacture of its high-performance polymers portfolio with feedstock produced from recycled waste plastics and/or 100 per cent bio-based hydrocarbons. These polymers are used, for example, in the automotive, electronics and packaging industries.

Over the short term, DSM said in a statement, the collaboration aims to replace several thousand tons of fossil feedstock in the production of polymers with alternative, sustainable feedstock: bio-based and waste plastic-based hydrocarbons.

Neste produces its bio-based hydrocarbons entirely from renewable raw materials, such as waste and residue oils and fats. For the production of waste plastic derived feedstock, Neste focuses on plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled and have previously been directed to incineration and landfilling.

“Thanks to being a drop-in replacement to commonly-used fossil feedstock in the polymers production, Neste’s products are suitable for existing production infrastructures and enables DSM to produce more sustainable products with consistently high quality using its existing processes,” DSM officials said in the statement.

All of the chemically recycled and bio-based materials within the value chain will have the globally recognized ISCC Plus certification and will not require re-qualification.

“The new strategic cooperation underlines a strong commitment from both partners to contribute to a circular economy by collaborating throughout the value chain, and addressing the increasing consumer, societal and regulatory demand for more sustainable circular solutions,” DSM said.

For Neste, this is the second partnership with a materials supplier this year: in May, the company signed a partnership deal with material supplier Covestro to promote the use of sustainable raw materials in plastics production in Europe.