APIC ’23: Taiwan petrochemical output value contracts 5.7% in 2022

NEW DELHI (ICIS)–Taiwan’s petrochemical output value in 2022 declined by 5.7% as producers shut facilities amid a demand slowdown and price falls in the second half of last year, an industry executive said on Friday.

“Petrochemical industry players in Taiwan responded to shrinking demand and lower prices by shutting down for maintenance, and the output of major petrochemicals declined,” said Mihn Tsao, chairman of the Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan (PIAT) at the 41st Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in New Delhi.

In the same year, however, green energy-related products such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), epichlorohydrin (ECH), and carbon fibre “grew steadily in 2022, in sharp contrast with the dismal operation of petrochemical commodities”, said Tsao, who is also the president of Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC).

In February 2023, the Taiwanese government promulgated the “Climate Change Response Act”, which set out a net-zero emissions goal by 2050, he said.

“The government is also releasing policies and measures in response to net zero emissions, providing opportunities for petrochemical companies to transform and develop,” Tsao said.

In line with the net-zero emissions target, “Taiwan’s petrochemical industry is deploying toward new energy and new materials, investing in electric vehicles, battery materials, energy storage, focusing on the development of electronic chemicals, wind power products, and automotive products”, he said.

The industry is also “developing recyclable and sustainable materials to reduce the impact of disposable waste on the environment”.

Petrochemical companies are also cutting carbon emissions, investing in low carbon energy transformation, circular economy, increasing usage of renewable energy and CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage), Tsao added.

“Taiwan is an export-oriented economy that is actively investing in the use of artificial intelligence to improve production processes and efficiency, accelerate product transformation, and strengthen risk management of climate change issues,” the PIAT chief said.

The two-day APIC 2023 organized by India’s Chemicals & Petrochemicals Manufacturers’ Association (CPMA) ends Friday.