LyondellBasell (LYB) Recycling Project Chosen for EU Fund Grant
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB has been selected to receive a €40 million grant from the European Union's ("EU") Innovation Fund. The money will help fund the company's plans to construct a fully electric, industrial-scale advanced recycling demonstration plant in Wesseling, Germany.
The EU Innovation Fund's 'Third Call for Large Scale Projects' chose 41 projects, including LYB’s MoReTec facility. As part of its efforts to encourage decarbonization, the EU has committed EUR 3.6 billion to fund innovative clean-tech projects.
Investing in LyondellBasell's first industrial-scale advanced recycling demonstration facility will offer the company important operational expertise as well as further technological know-how for scaling up and commercializing the MoReTec technology.
The company's MoReTec technology shows a high level of innovation in the recycling of polyolefin waste to produce pyrolysis oil and pyrolysis gas. Pyrolysis oil is an alternative to fossil-based resources used in polymer manufacturing. Typically, pyrolysis gas streams are consumed as fuel. However, the MoReTec technology allows the pyrolysis gas to be recovered as well, contributing to polymer manufacturing while displacing fossil-based feedstocks, in turn, lowering CO2 emissions.
The technology includes electrification of the core reaction process, allowing the unit to function entirely on renewable electricity. Scalable single-train architecture, low operating temperatures due to the use of catalysts and novel heat transfer design are all advantages of this differential technology.
Shares of LyondellBasell have gained 0.9% over the past year against a 16.9% decline of its industry.
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The company, on its third-quarter call, said that it anticipates seasonally lower demand across most industries in the fourth quarter. Higher feedstock costs, new industry capacity and slowing demand growth in China continue to put pressure on global olefins and polyolefins margins. Following the end of the summer driving season, oxyfuels and refining margins are projected to fall.
Nonetheless, oxyfuel margins are expected to remain significantly higher than historical averages. LyondellBasell plans to operate its assets in line with market demand during the fourth quarter, with average operating rates of 85% for North American olefins and polyolefins (O&P) assets, 75% for European O&P assets and 70% for Intermediates & Derivatives assets.
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. Price and Consensus
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. price-consensus-chart | LyondellBasell Industries N.V. Quote
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
LyondellBasell currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include The Andersons Inc. ANDE, Cal-Maine Foods Inc. CALM and Steel Dynamics Inc. STLD.
Andersons currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). ANDE beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 64.4%, on average. The company’s shares have surged 46.3% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
CalMaine Foods currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. CALM beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 131.5%. The company’s shares have inched up 0.2% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Steel Dynamics’ current-year earnings has been revised upward by 4.3% in the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. Steel Dynamics delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.5%, on average. STLD shares are up around 7.1% in a year.
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