Borealis (Vienna / Austria: www.borealisgroup.com) has announced the development of broader applications for its polymers in the wire and cable market. Alongside the recent move to broaden its portfolio with the acquisition of a controlling stake in compounder DYM Solution (Cheonan / South Korea) – see Plasteurope.com of 08.09.2020 –, the polylefins giant is building a solid position in the renewable energy market together with Borouge (Ruwais / United Arab Emirates; www.borouge.com), the company's joint venture with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc, Abu Dhabi / United Arab Emirates; www.adnoc.ae).

In early September, Borealis and Borouge reported that cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) power cables based on the proprietry “Borlink” technology are being used for the majority of the long-distance transmission of Germany’s renewable energy as part of the country’s transition to green energy. The cables will be installed in the northern part of the SüdOstLink and along the entire SüdLink corridor, thus facilitating the delivery of renewable energy from north to south with minimal loss, the Austrian group said. This marks the first use of the Borlink technology at extra-high levels of 525 kilovolt.

With Austrian cement producer Larfarge Zementwerk (Vienna; www.lafarge.at) and the alpine nation’s leading electricity company Verbund, Borealis has signed a memorandum of understanding to realise the “Carbon2ProductAustria” project. This includes the joint planning and construction by 2030 of a full-scale plant to capture CO₂ and process it into synthetic fuels, plastics or other chemicals. Eventually the goal is to capture nearly 100% of the 700,000 t/y of CO₂ emitted from Lafarge’s cement plant in Mannersdorf / Austria.