MOL buys polyol license

Half a year after the announcement of its 2030 strategy, Hungary's MOL Group has reached an important milestone in its industrial transformational journey. The license agreements signed with Evonik and thyssenkrupp, will enable MOL to produce propylene oxide, a key component for the production of polyether polyols.

MOL says in a statement that it intends to become a significant producer of polyether polyols, high-value intermediates for products applied in the automotive, packaging and furniture industries.

MOL Group has entered into key contracts related to core technologies of the Polyol Project, which was announced in 2016 as part of the first investment cycle of the MOL 2030 long-term strategy.

The contracts signed with the two comapnies concern the purchase of technology licenses and process design packages for the so called HPPO (hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide) technology of propylene oxide production.

The licensor of the hydrogen-peroxide unit for captive use is Evonik, while a consortium formed by Evonik and thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions licenses the propylene oxide unit.

The contracts also contain binding offers and pre-agreements regarding the later engineering and execution phases of the HPPO units by thyssenkrupp and the purchase of proprietary catalysts from Evonik.