Technology
& Costs

Biorenewable Insights (BI), provides in-depth evaluations and reliable data on the technology, cost competitiveness and business developments of biorenewable chemicals and fuels.  BI was created in response to the increasing activity in this industry segment in recent years, including entrances and exits of players, emergence and commercialization of new technologies, feedstocks, product types, as well as growing interest from companies in the oil, chemical, financial and other sectors. Biorenewable Insights builds on our well established TECH program and relies on NexantECA’s history, methodology, and contacts within both the biorenewable and conventional petrochemical industries.

In addition to providing technology descriptions and cost of production models for biorenewables, BI provides additional insights with comprehensive project-by-project capacity analysis and implications for the conventional industry. The creation of the BI program allows TECH to focus on developments within the broader and energy and chemical industry, as it was designed, allowing for a more focused analysis on biorenewables.  

Key features of the NexantECA Cost Curve Analysis model include: 

  • Global coverage with breakdown into major regions and/or countries 

  • Annual cash cost of production and cash margin presented by plant 

  • Historical (5 years) and forecast (10 years) cost curves including NexantECA’s low, medium, and high oil scenarios for forecast years 

  • User defined functionality allowing the user to select the year and crude oil scenario. For integration with downstream derivatives, users can develop a custom transfer price basis 

  • User defined plant call-out capability to identify specific plants on the cost curve including summary tables that identify the plant company, location, process, cash cost, and cash margin 

  • User defined hypothetical plant investment scenario to evaluate the competitiveness of a new plant, and custom price inputs for key raw materials  

  • Excel-based with a menu-driven user interface 

NexantECA’s Cost Curve Analysis program covers a broad range of products: 

  • Olefins: Ethylene, Propylene, Butadiene 

  • Polyolefins: HDPE, LLDPE, LDPE, Polypropylene 

  • Aromatics: Benzene, Toluene, Styrene 

  • Fertilizers: Ammonia, Urea 

  • Methanol and Derivatives: Methanol, Acetic Acid, Vinyl Acetate 

  • Polyester Intermediates: para-Xylene, EO, MEG, PTA, PET 

  • Propylene Derivatives: Acrylic Acid, Acrylonitrile, Cumene, Phenol, Acetone, BPA, Polycarbonate, Propylene Oxide, Butanediol 

  • Vinyls: Chlor-Alkali, EDC, VCM, PVC 

  • Renewables: HVO (Diesel, Jet, Naphtha, LPG) 

  • Others: Maleic Anhydride, PBT, and more