OMV has set itself ambitious targets: The company plans to become climate-neutral by 2050. Achieving this will require us to rethink technologies and develop innovative methods. The fact that we are making rapid progress in these areas is thanks to the know-how and commitment of our employees. Here we introduce you to nine of them.
Only with the latest technologies in energy production and innovative recycling methods can CO2 emissions in our industry be reduced. The OMV minds we introduce below are all working on projects that will transform the future: Every day, promising research results emerge as they develop and test new methods. Some of them are playing a significant part in transforming the linear economy into a more sustainable circular economy. It is only thanks to them that we are well on our way to achieving the sustainability goals of the OMV Strategy 2030 and becoming a net-zero company by 2050.
On the path to net zero
Bansri Raithatha knows: Much more challenging than developing a good strategy is actually implementing it successfully. Together with her team, she ensures that every OMV department is aware of its contribution to the company’s carbon footprint and also advises them on how to reduce it.
Our goal as a team is to devise realistic and achievable climate targets that will steer our organization to becoming a net-zero company by 2050. Bansri Raithatha, OMV Carbon, Energy and ESG Team
New horizons for a future worth living
As part of the New Business Development team, Nives Bukovac works on countless topics related to OMV's Strategy 2030. She is particularly proud of the launch of the Pioneers Speak initiative. OMV employees contribute new ideas to the program and implement them with the help of startup incubators. Whether it's sustainable fuels, e-mobility or green hydrogen: Only new, innovative ideas can help to broaden horizons.
Our world needs creative solutions in order to solve the issues of our time. Our goal in the New Business Development Team is to inject entrepreneurial spirit into the organization and help OMV shape the future with innovation. Nives Bukovac, New Business Development OMV
Granules as a valuable resource
Plastic waste is not just trash, it is the basis of plastic recycling. Mari Kylmälä ensures that there is enough good quality feedstock to implement the recycling projects and make Borealis and OMV leaders in the circular economy. She works with the entire value chain – from waste management companies to end customers. Plastic thereby becomes a valuable resource and receives a second life.
When used and recycled correctly, plastics have a lot of advantages, for example being lightweight and providing essentials for the sustainable living. We want to make sure that all the plastics are collected and recycled and giving another life – meaning that we close the loop and reuse our resources. Mari Kylmälä, Circular Economy Solutions Borealis
From intern to expert
Sebastian Zahlbruckner started at OMV as an intern. Today, as a Business Development Professional in the Plastic-to-Plastic department, he develops new business models for the ReOil project. With the help of chemical recycling technology, plastic waste is refined and returned to the cycle.
We are supporting a circular economy and keeping precious resources in the loop. Working at OMV and especially in such an innovative department like Plastic-to-Plastic feels like a dream come true. Sebastian Zahlbruckner, Plastic to Plastic Department OMV
Natural gas as a safety net
Even in a future of renewable energy, natural gas will play an important role in mitigating uncertainties related to alternative energy sources. Franco Iglesias has a full nine years of experience in four different positions in the gas business. Today, as Senior Portfolio Manager, he supports OMV in safeguarding the supply of natural gas to Austria in the future.
Our goal at OMV is to find alternative supply volumes and routes and set up a portfolio structure that guarantees the delivery of natural gas to Austria. Franco Iglesias, OMV Gas Optimization Department
Plastics in the recycling loop
The year 2023 marks a special milestone for Senior Project Manager Beate Edl: The go-live of the ReOil 2000 demo plant in Schwechat is imminent. In the future, plastic can be recycled even more effectively and fed back into the cycle to further reduce greenhouse gases.
The long-term goal is to develop ReOil into a commercially viable, industrial scale recycling technology processing 200 kilotons of used plastic per year. Beate Edl, OMV Plastic-to-Plastic department
Testing new technologies
The first step in OMV’s transformation is always via the “Technikum” in Schwechat. In the Pilot Plants department, technical engineer Ella Hundegger identifies and tests processes and methods of alternative energy sources before they are used in the refinery.
The climate crisis is here and it’s real, so we have to act. That’s why it is so important to test new technologies, as they can actually help us solve the issues faced today.
Ella Hundegger, OMV Pilot Plants department, Schwechat Refinery
Sustainable air travel: No longer a pipe dream
At 2.8 percent, the aviation industry is a huge contributor to global CO2 emissions. Sustainable aviation fuel is expected to slash this figure by 80 percent. Jack Middelhoff and his team have achieved amazing things in this field: In a very short time, they have developed an SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) and brought it to market.
Within only 9 months, we were able to secure the feedstock, find the customers, certify the process, register the products, and install the equipment necessary to produce SAF. Jack Middelhoff, Consultant Operational Excellence OMV
Promising geothermal energy
In order to achieve the goals of OMV’s Strategy 2030, the OMV energy portfolio must be expanded to include sustainable energy sources such as geothermal energy, photovoltaic systems and wind turbines. At the first geothermal well test in Aderklaa, project expert Nina Romich and her team are testing promising sources of geothermal energy in the Vienna Basin, which will supply Vienna and Lower Austria with green energy in the future.
Our projects are perfectly in line with the OMV Strategy 2030 and will support the decarbonization of our business. I strongly believe that geothermal energy will play an important role in reaching our climate targets, besides other renewables like photovoltaic and wind. Nina Romich, OMV Low Carbon Business
These are just some of the many employees working with tremendous passion, commitment and cumulative knowledge on the projects that will drastically reduce OMV’s carbon footprint in the coming years.
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