Planet Care is at the core of our sustainability strategy. It reflects our understanding of the strategic importance of decarbonization and recognizes that climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of our time. Strategic partnerships and ambitious projects are the main elements in our journey towards low-carbon production. Learn more about four key projects:
In 2022, we partnered with Hynamics, a subsidiary of EDF, a French market leader in the low-carbon energy transition, to decarbonize our operations at our Belle-Étoile industrial site (Lyon, France).
The "HyDom" project consists of the installation of an 85-megawatt hydrogen production plant using a water electrolysis process that extracts hydrogen molecules from water. By doing so, the traditionally "gray," fossil-fuel-based hydrogen used by our site, will be replaced by "green," renewable hydrogen.
Ultimately, the project’s goal is to initiate the supply of hexamethylene diamine production (a key component in plastic production) with low carbon hydrogen by 2027, aiming at reaching 100% low carbon hydrogen production by 2030. As a result, we estimate that the project will eventually eliminate up to 80 kilotons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
We also expect this project to generate further synergies with industrial and mobility partners for enhanced decarbonization in the area. There is good access to local infrastructure, including rail, pipelines, as well as HYmpulsion h2 distribution stations. Plus, HyDom is supported by local and national authorities as a priority project for the industry’s zero-carbon strategy and the “France 2030” investment plan.
At K2022, the leading trade fair for plastics and rubbers, Wilfried Debus, Chief Corporate Development Officer at DOMO, and Pierre de Raphélis-Soissan, Global Business Development Director at Hynamics, gave an insight into the HyDOm project.
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At our Belle-Étoile facility near Lyon in France, we are investing in a project to decrease our energy use by lowering the water consumption associated with nylon salt usage in our operations to produce polyamide 66. Nylon salt is typically produced at a concentration of 52%. However, by adapting our salt workshop to change the temperature and presalification processes, we can significantly raise this concentration.
This means less water is needed for evaporation, which in turn lowers the steam and natural gas required to fuel our operations. All in all, the project shows significant potential as we estimate total CO2 emissions to decrease by approximately 5KT per year, once fully implemented. We also anticipate production efficiency improvements as well as better reliability for the nylon salt workshop to account for additional cost savings.
IN 2022, we requested internal authorization for the financing of a closed-loop water system at our Belle-Étoile production facility in France. The closed-loop water system will reintroduce used cooling water into our operations, thus reducing the amount of water taken from the Rhone & local water tables. Once implemented during the 2024-2029 timeframe, we expect this project to reduce our water intake between 20 to 30% per year at the Belle-Étoile site.
Importantly, not only will we improve our water efficiency at our plant, but we will also be helping to protect the Rhone River, demonstrating the positive impact we can achieve across both our operational and supply chain footprint.
We implemented a new reusable packaging initiative to reduce our consumption of plastic bags in packaging processes. Working with our packaging partner, we implemented a take-back process through which collects the partner emptied bags, cleans them, and returns them to DOMO, allowing the materials loop to be extended for another five cycles. As for non-reusable bags, the partner takes charge of material recycling.
This project has already been implemented at our Blanes facility in Spain, and we are currently investigating the possibility to expand this initiative to other sites . Analyses have shown promising results as this scheme not only lowers our environmental impact, but also provides significant economic benefits while also being ready for upcoming EU plastic regulations.
