In brief -The chemical industry is one of the major polluters with the production of plastics. -Finnish start-up thinks it can eliminate CO₂ emissions with an electric cracker. -The government is supporting a pilot project in Geleen with a €5.5 million subsidy. The Dutch government is making €5.5 million available for a trial with an electric cracker, a petrochemical installation that produces basic raw materials for plastics. The Finnish Coolbrook, which developed the technology, has thus secured the financing for this €12.5 million project at the Chemelot chemical complex in Geleen, Limburg. Coolbrook says its technology can eliminate CO₂ emissions entirely. This is important for the chemical industry, which is one of the major polluters and is under great pressure to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Moving rotor Squatters now emit around 300 megatons of CO₂ worldwide. This is done by burning fossil fuels to reach high temperatures to break gas or oil molecules into smaller pieces. The cracked molecules can be recombined to ethylene and propylene, basic raw materials for plastics. In the pilot project in Geleen, gaseous naphtha (petroleum distillate) is heated exclusively via movements of a rotor in the cracker. This creates shock waves, which create the necessary heat to crack the molecules. Russian origin Coolbrook settled in Limburg at the beginning of 2020 to be able to prove its technology. 'We are therefore at the center of the industry, with a network,' says founder Ilpo Kuokkanen. His start-up was founded in 2012 with the help of engineers from the Russian space industry. After that, work continued on it in collaboration with a number of universities and companies, including Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The Finnish company hopes to attract large chemical groups soon. Kuokkanen expects to be able to announce partnerships 'in the coming months'. The Saudi chemical giant Sabic, among others, is active at Chemelot with two large naphtha crackers. Sabic is also part of a consortium of large chemical companies that are looking at the development of the 'cracker of the future'. 'It is a very traditional industry that has been working with the same technology for fifty or sixty years. It is not easy to make these companies change their mind. But now there is public and legal pressure', Kuokkanen refers to the recent judgment of the judge in The Hague that Shell must reduce its CO₂ emissions more quickly. Higher Attention CEO Harri Johannesdahl is already seeing change at the highest level. Until two years ago, Coolbrook talked to technical teams about the development of electric crackers at the large companies. Now the subject has reached the highest level of government, he says. The Finns have yet to show that their technology does what it promises. The reactor is currently under construction in Finland. It will arrive in Geleen in February or March next year, after which testing can start in the spring. The reactor should be fully operational in April 2022. Kuokkanen calls the support from the Dutch government 'extremely important'. “We are in the development phase. The combination of aerodynamics, turbomachinery and chemistry is not yet used commercially. So it is important that governments show leadership in this way.' According to Coolbrook, commercial application is possible from 2024. This is also possible with a lower investment than in the construction of a traditional squatter, the company says. But then chemical companies have to radically change their way of thinking. Kuokkanen: 'That can take some time. They also have to overcome internal challenges.'