Borealis AG is an Austrian plastics manufacturer. As the second largest producer of polyolefins in Europe, it is one of the market leaders in the petrochemicals industry.
Borealis is an international provider of polyolefins and base chemicals.[2] The company has its head office in Vienna, Austria and currently employs about 6,000 people throughout over 120 countries.[3] In 2023, Borealis generated revenue of EUR 7,28 billion and a net profit of about EUR 216 million.[4] The company operates primarily in Europe, with manufacturing plants in Belgium, Central Europe (Austria and Germany), Finland, and Sweden. It also operates compounding units in Brazil, Italy, and the United States, and five recycling plants in Austria, Germany, Belgium and Bulgaria.[5] Furthermore, Borealis runs its Global Innovation Headquarters, two "Innovation Centres", and customer service centres in several countries.[6]
At the beginning of 2017, the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala merged.[7] Mubadala, through its holding company, owned 64% of Borealis, with the remaining 36% belonging to Austria-based OMV, an integrated, international oil and gas company. Since autumn 2020, OMV has held 75% of the shares, while Mubadala held 25%. In April 2022, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) took over Mubadala's 25% share.[8]
Borealis employs over 500 people in research and development. There are two research centres in Sweden and Finland, as well as the International Innovation Headquarters in Linz, Austria. In the latter, 300 experts from 30 different nations work on the implementation of new ideas. In 2023, Borealis filed 128 new priority patent applications, once again ranking as number one top filer in the European Patent Index 2023. In total, Borealis’ extensive patent portfolio consists of approximately 8,900 granted patents and approximately 3,200 patent applications through to the end of 2023.[9]
History
Borealis was founded in 1994 by the merging of the petrochemical interests of Finnish Oil company Neste and the Norwegian oil company Statoil (now renamed Equinor). In 1998, the petrochemicals sector of OMV was included; OMV and IPIC took over the 50% business share of Neste. In 2005, Statoil gave up its share of Borealis and one year later, in June 2006, the headquarters was relocated from Copenhagen to Vienna. Since autumn 2020, OMV owns 75% of the shares and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) owns the remaining 25%. In July 2023, the nitrogen business of Borealis, including fertilisers, melamine and technical nitrogen products, was sold to Agrofert. [10]
Products
Polyolefins
The polyolefin products manufactured by Borealis form the basis of many plastics applications that are an intrinsic part of our daily lives. Borealis polyolefins have a role to play in saving energy along the value chain and promoting more efficient use of natural resources.
Consumer products
Borealis supplies superior polyolefin plastic materials used in consumer products, advanced packaging and fibre. More specifically, Borealis polyolefins are used to make applications possible in flexible packaging (including blown film, heat seal and extrusion coating), rigid packaging (caps and closures, bottles, thin wall packaging, thermoforming), non-woven and technical fibres, and appliances.
Automotive
Borealis supplies polyolefin plastic materials for engineering applications in the automotive industry. Plastic materials replace conventional materials such as metal, rubber and engineering polymers. In automotive vehicles, Borealis’ polyolefin plastic materials are used in a wide range of exterior, interior, and under-the-bonnet applications, including bumpers, body panels, trims, dashboards, door claddings, climate control and cooling systems, air intake manifolds and battery cases.
Energy
The company provides extra-high, high and medium voltage cable applications as well as semi-conductive products that are used for energy transmission and distribution, data and communication cables, and for building and automotive wires and cables.
Pipes and fittings
Borealis offers pipes used in water and gas supply, wastewater and sewage disposal, in-house plumbing and heating, and the oil and gas industry, including multi-layer coatings for onshore and offshore oil and gas pipelines.
New business development
The company develops products in the areas of healthcare, plastomers and foamable materials.
Base chemicals
Borealis produces a wide range of base chemicals such as phenol, acetone, ethylene and propylene for use in numerous and diverse industries, as well as fertilizers and technical nitrogen products.
Hydrocarbons and energy
Borealis sources basic feedstock such as naphtha, butane, propane and ethane from the international oil and gas markets. They convert these into ethylene, propylene, and cracker co-products through their hydrocarbon units.
Technology
Borstar proprietary technology
Borstar is Borealis' proprietary technology for manufacturing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).[11]
Borouge is Borealis’ joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Its facility is in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi (UAE) and consists of 3 facilities:
Borouge 1 was founded in 2001 and has an ethane-based cracker for production of 600.000 tonnes ethylene per year and two PE lines with a combined capacity of 580.000 tonnes/year and utilises Borealis' Borstar PE technology.
Borouge 2 was a major expansion project complete in 2010 which tripled the annual capacity of polyolefin capacity in Ruwais to 2 million tonnes/year.
Since its completion in 2016 the Borouge 3 plant expansion makes Borouge the world's largest integrated polyolefins complex. The additional 2.5 million tonnes of polyolefins capacity yield a total Borouge capacity of 4.5 million tonnes, and a combined Borealis and Borouge capacity of 8 million tonnes.[12]
ADNOC and Borealis moved to the pre-FEED phase for the construction of the Borouge 4 complex, which is slated to come on stream in the end of 2025. Borouge 4 encompasses a mixed feedstock cracker, using existing feedstock available in Abu Dhabi and downstream derivatives units for both polyolefin and non-polyolefin products.[12]
Borealis Brasil
Borealis Brasil S.A. is a joint venture between Borealis (80%) and the Brazilian Braskem (20%). Located in Itatiba and Triunfo in Brazil and formed in 1999. It serves the automotive industry in South America.[13]
Baystar
Baystar is a joint venture between Borealis and TotalEnergies. The joint venture comprises an ethane-based steam cracker with an annual production capacity of one million tons of ethylene in Port Arthur, Texas, and a polyethylene plant in Pasadena, Texas, with a capacity of 625,000 metric tons per year. These production facilities enable Borealis to provide improved access to Borstar-based products directly manufactured in North America for local customers and partners.[14][15]
Acquisition mtm
In July 2016, Borealis acquired one of Europe's largest manufacturers of post-consumer polyolefin recyclates – mtm Plastics GmbH and mtm Compact GmbH.
mtm is able to process PO post-consumer plastic waste (also mixed and inferior) and converts around 70,000 tonnes of this raw material annually into recyclates. mtm uses mixed packaging, bulky household and industrial waste as raw materials.
mtm's recyclates are mainly used in injection moulding and extrusion processes. Typical applications: Containers and transport packaging, household goods, products for the building sector or lawn grids.[16]
Acquisition Ecoplast
In August 2018, Borealis announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling GmbH, an Austrian plastics recycler. Based in Wildon, Austria, Ecoplast processes around 35,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste from households and industrial consumers every year, turning them into LDPE and HDPE recyclates.[17]
Acquisition Rialti S.p.A.
In summer 2023, Borealis acquired Rialti S.p.A., a leading European producer of mechanically recycled polypropylene (PP) compounds for injection molding and extrusion, headquartered in Italy. Rialti supplies its products to various sectors, including automotive, household appliances, and construction industries. This acquisition adds 50,000 metric tons of recycled compounding capacity to Borealis' portfolio, aligning with the growing demand for sustainable solutions.[18]
Acquisition Integra Plastics AD
In April 2024, Borealis acquired Integra Plastics AD, a notable player in advanced mechanical recycling based in Bulgaria. Integra Plastics specializes in converting post-consumer waste into high-quality polyolefin recyclates tailored for various demanding applications. This strategic investment by Borealis is intended to enhance its advanced mechanical recycling portfolio, augmenting its capacity by over 20,000 metric tons and meeting the increasing customer demand for sustainable solutions.[19]
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