Laced with its evergreen Visico™ and Borlink™ XLPE solutions, Borouge is looking forward to the launch of Visico and the introduction of HV XLPE insulation solutions in the Indian wire and cable market from its plants in the UAE.
Borouge, a leading plastic solution provider globally, is a joint venture Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austria based Borealis and today stands at a mammoth production capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of polyolefin. Borouge 3 project is complete and running with production of some of the much needed plastic solutions, including 350,000 tonnes of LDPE meant to serve global wire and cable industry. The LDPE solutions have shown some remarkable performance and Borouge is in process of developing some HV solutions based on LDPE.
Wire and Cable India recently interacted with Mr. Roland Janssen, Vice President (Marketing Centre – Wire & Cable), Borouge on subjects such as LDPE and other PE-based solutions, USP of Visico™ and Borlink™ XLPE solutions, its recent innovation in solutions for EHV DC transmission, growth outlook of the Indian wire and cable industry, and some new PE-based solutions for the wire and cable industry. Excerpts:
Wire & Cable India: A huge capacity addition took place as Borouge 3 at Abu Dhabi. Tell us how it is doing as of now and whether you have ramped up production at all plants conceived under Borouge 3.
Roland Janssen: The Borouge 3 project is complete. This is a major milestone for Borouge. We’ve upgraded our entire logistics operation and enhanced our talent base to deliver our new capacity and gain efficiency. Customers can look forward to our expanded offerings and increased availability.
WCI: An integral part of Borouge 3 expansion is a 350,000 tonne/ annum high pressure, low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant. How is the production taking shape at this plant and how is to going to provide concrete benefits to the global wire and cable industry?
RJ: Production has been doing great. Based on the plant’s excellent performance, we are on the fast track to produce HV solutions, which we will be bringing to the market in 2018.
WCI: Coming to the specific solutions, the LDPE plant at Abu Dhabi is tailored to manufacture unique Visico™ and Borlink™ XLPE solutions for the global wire and cable market. Tell us some unique characteristics of these two products facilitating the production of long-term reliable cables.
RJ: As compared to standard PE based LV solutions, which are mostly multiple component systems, Visico is a two component based system. This greatly simplifies the handling process. Furthermore, it is produced using reactor based technology, which gives it the advantage of material consistency over compounded or blended products. In addition to reducing the complexity of the cable production process and lowering costs from the use of an ambient curing system, Visico also has an enhanced scorch performance, allowing for longer production runs.
Borlink XLPE solutions are designed to boost efficiency and enable producers to maximise asset utilisation and production capacity. Like Visico, they also have superior scorch performance, allowing for extended cable production runs. They also have a lower degassing burden from lower initial levels of cross-linking by-products. It is these advanced properties that have enabled major Chinese cable maker Hengtong HV to break the world record for the longest-ever cable extrusion campaign. Using a Borlink HV insulation system from Borouge and Borealis, the non-stop 26-day production-run utilised 160mT of XLPE material. The end product was a single, seamless 30km 220kV AC submarine cable for offshore wind farm-to-mainland power transfer applications.
WCI: Coming to the high voltage DC power transmission, is it true that Borouge has been finally able to give shape to an innovative PE based solution, which has also been tested successfully at extra high voltage? What is the product’s production and marketing status?
RJ: Yes, Borouge and Borealis recently achieved a world first in HVDC cable extrusion technology with a 640kV cable. The record-breaking voltage level is testament to the robustness of the Borlink technology based cable system, which underwent stringent pre-qualification testing in accordance with CIGRE guidelines. Given the current challenges and opportunities associated with the energy industry, this innovation breakthrough is an important development that will allow for very large transmission capacities over long distances, improved inter-connectivity within grids and countries, and increased energy efficiency and security of supply.
The qualification confirms the viability of extruded XLPE insulation systems as an alternative to the incumbent PPLP technology at the very highest transmission voltages, thereby also addressing this technology’s environmental challenges.
WCI: Borouge has been active in the Indian wire and cable industry for a long while and trying to educate the industry on better PE-based compounding solutions. Give your views on the challenges faced in this industry with regard to widely prevalent compound related practices and persuading customers to your kind of solutions. What kind of approach do you take to educate your customers?
RJ: We are working to shift the industry’s focus away from cost by promoting innovative, value generating solutions. In doing so, we focus on complete systems rather than standalone products. We thereby help producers differentiate their offerings in a crowded market and stay ahead of the competition. Furthermore, our approach allows us to better engage not only our customers, but also other value chain partners such as cable designers, utilities providers and government bodies.
As an example, as far as underground cables are concerned, there is no practical reason why PVC remains the choice of utilities other than tradition. With a robustness critical to improving the reliability and longevity of underground power cables, our PE jacketing solutions are a better alternative to PVC. On top of their enhanced mechanical properties, which include abrasion, impact and moisture resistance, they are also free of toxic compounds, which make them safe for the environment.
Another example to highlight relates to our XLPE insulation solutions. Their unique and world leading capabilities allow cable makers to significantly optimise their cable designs. This allows them to produce longer cable drum lengths, creating benefits such as a reduction in the number of cable joints, which results in reduced cable system costs while increasing reliability.
WCI: What are your projections with respect to the growth of Indian wire and cable industry? Tell us also the factors on which you projections hinge. What role does Borouge conceive or wish to bear for itself to be a partner in this growth?
RJ: The growth potential of the Indian wire and cable industry is tremendous, especially in light of the government’s recent announcement of a USD 59 billion investment to build and modernise the country’s infrastructure. This, together with rapid urbanisation and growing prosperity among the population, will see a shift in the focus of local producers from low cost to high quality, innovation driven solutions. This will greatly impact a host of market segments from specialised ones such as HVDC, to mass market ones like fiber optic cables. Borouge has the capacity and resources, both global and local, to support this growth – our innovation based technologies and strong track record have also empowered us to deliver a product portfolio that is value generating and fit for purpose. This creates benefit for the value chain as a whole.
WCI: Coming to the innovation-led synergy between Borouge and Borealis, tell us what thought process reinforces their commitment to the wire and cable industry. Brief us also about the shared R&D and innovation culture between the two companies.
RJ: We believe that there will be a substantial and sustained growth of the Indian wire and cable industry based on drivers such as population growth, globalisation and industrialisation. As market leaders, we are committed to being a key partner to this growing industry by way of investing in our production and innovation capacities.
Jointly, we have significantly expanded our production capacity to support the growing demand.
We have furthermore invested in the expansion of our innovation capabilities with the construction of the Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi. Together with the Borealis Innovation Centres in Austria, Sweden and Finland, we cooperate to develop our future product portfolios to allow us to stay at the forefront of the industry and ahead of our competitors.
WCI: Borouge launched, sometime in 2016, its 2021 Sustainability Goals, which beautifully combine the business and environmental sustainability with a focus on resource optimization and community welfare. Tell us something about the goals, your process blue-print to realize them, and some credible achievements so far in the directions.
RJ: Every objective under the Borouge 2021 Sustainability Goals has a clear direction and focus in line with the company’s broader corporate strategy to generate a positive social, economic and environmental impact. To date, we have reduced our CO² emissions by 54,000 tonnes, and our energy and water consumption by 7% and 8% respectively.
Sustainability is a key tenet of our business, be it in product development or customer benefits. For example, our HVDC XLPE insulation system for subsea wind and solar applications can reduce energy loss by 60% during long distance transmissions. They are also more stable than traditional oil filled paper insulated HVDC cables, thus reducing the risk of oil leakages into the environment.
WCI: Any other things you wish to highlight?
RJ: 2018 will be an important year for us in terms of the new offerings which we will be bringing to the Indian market. We are looking forward to the launch of Visico, which will facilitate a consistent supply for our local customers, and the introduction of HV XLPE insulation solutions from our plants in the UAE.
We will furthermore continue to work with the industry to continue to increase the overall reliability and efficiency of the energy infrastructure by selecting the right product solutions for the right cable design.
