Ciech aims to reduce emissions 30% by 2025, carbon costs ‘main challenge’

LONDON (ICIS)–Ciech aims to cut 30% of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within five years, compared with 2019 levels, the Polish soda ash producer said this week.

Ciech is Europe’s second largest soda ash producer, with plants in Poland and Germany, and the manufacturing process is an energy-intensive activity.

Due to large polluters’ need to purchase emissions allowances under the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), rising carbon pricing will be key for companies like Ciech.

“Rising CO2 certificate prices remains the main challenge for soda ash manufacturers,” it said.

Carbon pricing, combined with pressure for more capital expenditure aimed at reducing emissions, could contribute to upward pressure on soda ash prices on the European market in the autumn, the company said.

Ciech said that in the past year its CO2 emissions rate per tonne of soda ash produced at its Polish plants fell by around 2%.

“The discernible reduction of unscheduled production outages, the increase of the actual levels of soda production, and the decrease of CO2 per tonne of soda ash produced are amongst the results of our work, which translate into real savings,” said Ciech’s CEO Dawid Jakubowicz.