The International Energy Agency's (IEA) much-vaunted 2021 road map promised a clear path to net zero. Four years later, reality is telling a different story amid a return to “current policies” and new warnings on underinvestment in oil and gas. Electric vehicle (EV) uptake, meanwhile, is proving slower and costlier than models suggested. And far from fading, petrochemicals and plastics remain a growth engine, cementing hydrocarbons’ central role in the global economy.
As a commodity group, hydrocarbons-based plastics and resins have grown faster than any other for decades. Plastics have helped to lighten vehicles and aircraft, improving fuel efficiency and performance while ensuring safety. Food- and medical-grade plastics have transformed life in all economies. While efforts are under way to redesign and minimize use of plastics, to find alternatives and to manage the full life cycle for all types of materials including those from bio-organics, we will continue to rely on petrochemicals for a host of applications. The deployment of plastics and resins is coming into sharper perspective especially as attention turns to challenges in supply chains for key metals. Advanced carbon materials like carbon nanotube fibers (CNTFs) have the power to reshape industries and commercial and consumer products. The attributes of CNTFs — the ability to conduct electricity as well as copper and to provide thermal insulation while providing tensile strength that matches or exceeds steel products — holds tremendous allure. Advanced composites already include incorporation of ingredients like titanium and aluminum. Addition of CNTFs would constitute a paradigm shift, offsetting costs and constraints associated with traditional carbon fiber.
