Perspective

18 Juni 2024

5 Minuten Lesezeit

Sustainability Industry Insights – Focus: Energy & Chemicals

Deloitte's energy and chemicals studies look at the impact the sustainability transformation is having on these hard-to-abate industries, with a focus on critical levers from circular economy principles to renewable energy and clean hydrogen.

We provide insights into new and evolving business models designed to increase the market value of circular products and processes. Our guidelines for a successful ESG transformation also provide concrete advice on the kind of changes companies should introduce at the functional level.

Industry players rely on our studies for analyses of the challenges and best practices in the sector, as well as emerging technologies and solutions that are ready for market today. Evolving regulatory policies are driving change even as they add new compliance requirements, so another building block of our expertise is providing deeper understanding of the implications in a sector-specific context.

These studies leverage our extensive experience in the energy and chemicals industry, our up-to-date knowledge of the evolving ESG regulatory environment and our vast global client ecosystem with players across the entire value chain.

Featured Publications

Series: Pathways to decarbonization | Chemicals

Although the chemical sector is not one of the major industrial emitters of greenhouse gases, its successful transformation towards net-zero represents a critical step on society’s road towards carbon neutrality. In this installment of our Pathways to decarbonization series, we explore a range of technological measures chemical industry players can adopt to support a net-zero transformation.

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Pathways to decarbonization | Hydrogen

Despite hydrogen’s potential to help decarbonize the energy system, much work remains to ramp up its production. In this installment of our Pathways to decarbonization series, we look at the ways in which hydrogen can help accelerate the net-zero transition for high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors.

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Study: Assessing the impact of low-carbon hydrogen regulation in the EU

Based on Deloitte’s in-house energy models, the study analyzes how regulatory design of the delegated Act on low-carbon fuels affects the market uptake of different production technologies and the resulting climate impact of the future hydrogen economy.

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Study: Green hydrogen: Energizing the path to net zero

Deloitte’s new economic analysis shows how green hydrogen can play a paramount role to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. It can give us a second chance to decarbonize the planet, overcoming existing limitations and challenges posed by fossil fuels and technologies that add to greenhouse gas emissions.

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Study: Natural Gas Demand Outlook to 2050

Natural gas is facing strong headwinds on the road to climate neutrality: a Deloitte and Öko-Institute analysis sees rapidly declining gas demand in Germany and the EU.

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Study: Pathway to sustainable chemicals – beyond net-zero

The sustainability transformation is probably the biggest challenge the chemical industry is facing in its history. A new Deloitte study highlights and describes in detail what is essential to be sustainable and competitive and how chemical companies can manage this transition most effectively – beyond common buzzwords.

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PoV: Monetizing circular and sustainable products in the chemical industry

For chemical players to be successful in the circular economy, a shift from a product-centric to a customer-centric perspective, with keeping customer opinions and decision drivers as focal points, is critical. This point of view sheds light on how to successfully leverage circularity by highlighting the monetization of circular products based on the Monetizing Circular Economy Framework.

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Deloitte Insights: The future of materials

Advancements in science and technology are enabling many chemical companies to develop and design materials for a more sustainable future.

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Sustainability transformation: drivers and trends

Overview

With a significant fossil fuel and raw material footprint, energy and chemicals players are focused on adopting circular economy principles and processes as well as using clean hydrogen and other renewables. Most other sectors rely on outputs for their sustainability transformation, which creates opportunities to co-develop sustainable solutions with other sectors (e.g., improved cell chemistry for batteries).

Decarbonization

Operationalizing climate goals: With ambitious net-zero targets already in place, today’s companies are focusing on operationalizing their medium-term goals (2030/2035). Early implementation of decarbonization initiatives will be critical to meeting net-zero targets by 2045/2050.

Tailor-made climate transition plans: Decarbonizing chemical companies is a complex undertaking that requires solutions tailored to each company’s specific needs.

Tracking and reporting: Carbon accounting is a basic requirement and a cornerstone of any decarbonization strategy.

Energy Transition

Overcoming market constraints:To switch from fossil fuels to sustainable/ renewable energy sources, companies will have to address volume constraints and cost challenges.

Sourcing green energy: The security and viability of the energy supply is the key to getting the balance right between domestic production and imports of green electricity as well as derivatives such as hydrogen and ammonia.

Building new ecosystems: Supply chain/ infrastructure management is a key issue to address now, including novel partnerships.

Circular economy

Minimizing material use and waste: This is vital for plastics producers in particular, but also part of ongoing efforts to increase operational efficiency across the entire industry.

Developing recycling systems: Optimizing the portfolio of mechanical and chemical recycling systems, including mass balance approaches.

Addressing stakeholder expectations: Responding to increased public awareness (e.g., about plastics in the ocean) and customer pressure.

Establishing circular business models: The added business value of circular economy practices makes products more attractive and more viable.

Material transition

Developing new materials: On the feedstock side, the transition involves developing and deploying new raw materials (e.g., bio-based, circular).

Deploying advanced materials: Product-wise, advanced materials are a key factor (but not the sole factor) in a successful energy transition strategy.

Design with purpose: Developing materials that excel in both performance and sustainability will help manufacturers meet new end-user expectations.

Climate adaptation

Managing environmental impacts: Identifying and factoring in the impact on nature when sourcing renewable raw materials (e.g., palm oil).

Protecting ecosystems: Minimizing the negative impact that industrial activities and products have on biodiversity and nature (e.g., microplastics).

Managing climate risks: Managing climate risks (e.g., flooding and extreme weather events) to ensure safe and reliable production.