A chemical manufacturer based in Saudi Arabia recently introduced a pilot for a blockchain project, which is aimed at discovering the potential of the technology that can be used for digital traceability of feedstock in their customer products. It is expected the blockchain will be able to deliver benefits, such as reduced time and costs and will also be able to offer better data integration.
Digital traceability
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), a chemical manufacturer based in Saudi Arabia, recently announced that it had partnered with tech firm Finboot for launching a blockchain pilot project. The chemical producer disclosed that they wanted to explore how they could use blockchain technology for tracing circular feedstock i.e. raw materials digitally in their consumer products.
SABIC disclosed that the current process that they use for tracing the feedstock’s journey is extremely difficult because the petrochemical value chain is very complex. Therefore, they intend to use blockchain technology instead of previous industry applications for end-to-end tracing from the production of feedstock to the convertor.
70% of SABIC is owned by Aramco, the oil giant in Saudi Arabia. The chemical manufacturer stated that blockchain technology can come in handy for reducing time and costs and can also be useful in terms of data integration. The company is also hoping that they will be able to cut back the administration efforts that are involved in material certifications with the help of the pilot program.
Blockchain’s potential
The vice president at SABIC’s Polymers Technology & Innovation, Waleed Al-Shalfan, spoke after the launch of the pilot program. He said that the company was committed to technology and innovation that can help in delivering customers more sustainable solutions. It said that creating a circular economy for plastics requires the entire value chain to be completely transformed and they have to engage in partnerships with both downstream and upstream companies.
He added that there is a lot of exciting potentials associated with blockchain technology when it comes to offering their TRUCIRCLE products to their clients. This would help them in supporting their clients in achieving their sustainability ambitions.
Finboot’s statement
The chief executive of Finboot, Juan Miguel Perez Rosas, the pilot program would be helpful in contributing to the progression and development of the economy. The press statement also said that the MARCO software from Finboot would be used as a ‘middleware layer’, as it will be used for tracking the product from its production place i.e. Plastic Energy and until it is finally delivered to SABIC, where it is converted into the chemical manufacturer’s Trucircle circular polymers.
They will also track the process of delivery of these polymers for conversion into packaged solutions to Intraplas. During this process, all the data that will be collected will be immutable and it will be made available to suppliers, customers, and regulatory authorities. The press statement said that this offers them accountability, auditability, and transparency in a very complex industrial ecosystem and this can be immensely beneficial in the long run.
