Could you explain Honeywell’s global structure and how this is reflected in Latam?
Globally, we are organized into four strategic business groups (SBG) and one transversal SBG: (1) aerospace, where we lead the global supply of products, software, and equipment for commercial, defense, and space aircraft; (2) safety and productivity solutions, offering voice-enabled software, barcode scanners, mobile computers, etc. for more than half a billion employees; (3) building technologies, providing solutions for the construction sector; and (4) performance materials technologies (PMT), which represents the energy, automation, and sustainability arm of Honeywell, with a basket of advanced materials and high-tech solutions for the oil and gas, pulp and paper, mining, petrochemicals, and other industries. Finally, the fifth (5) SBG is our “connected enterprise” – a suite of software solutions supporting most of our technologies across the four SBGs mentioned.
Latam is a highly strategic region for Honeywell. We have been in this region for more than six decades and have 13,000 people working with us. Mexico is, in fact, the largest country (by employment) after the US. We have a presence in almost every single country serving our customers from the 25 production and office sites spread across the region.
You lead the Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) SBG in Latam, what have been the major trends driving demand for Honeywell’s PMT solutions?
Low productivity is a serious issue that curtails the region’s global competitiveness. As a result, we see demand for digital transformation technologies to boost productivity levels. At the same time, sustainability is also picking up fast in the region, translating to higher demand for solutions to measure and control the level of emissions, capturing GHG, improving efficiencies, and moving towards net zero. More customers are ready to make the leap in innovation to match their global peers.
Are there any specific concerns within the chemical industry in terms of how it is approaching productivity and sustainability?
Definitely. One of the common actions chemical companies are addressing these days is understanding the level of emissions issued, we provide software to capture that information. The other important area of focus in the sector is renewable fuels. Honeywell offers proven technology, with more than 30 licenses around the globe, to transform vegetable oil, animal fat, used cooking oil, or other biobased feedstocks into 100% renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). As regulations in the aviation industry are expected to become increasingly stricter in the coming years, SAF is gaining more prominence in the region. The SAF available today is not enough to meet projected demand, and Brazil, in particular, could become a powerhouse in the supply of raw materials for this emerging industry.
Could you walk us through Honeywell’s key solutions for the hydrogen economy?
Hydrogen is becoming a significantly more relevant alternative fuel, but there are two issues related to its utilization: Firstly, there is an intrinsic challenge to the technology of making green hydrogen. The electrolysis process separates the oxygen and hydrogen within the water (H2O) molecule, the oxygen being freed in the atmosphere, and the hydrogen captured; To capture the hydrogen in the most efficient manner, Honeywell developed a catalyst-coated membrane that helps absorb and secure hydrogen better. Secondly, transporting hydrogen, which is a very volatile gas, is dangerous and costly, therefore most hydrogen users will typically have a hydrogen production plant at their operations. In the context of producing green hydrogen, both Brazil and Chile have the potential to become major producers thanks to their access to renewable sources, but the consumption of green hydrogen is in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US, rather than Latam. We looked at a molecule that could saturate the hydrogen in a liquid form so that it can be transported just like any other product and identified this carrier in toluene (methylbenzene), which we saturate with green hydrogen, transforming it to methylcyclohexane (MCH), a more stable product similar to gasoline. The technology, called Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) allows us to transport hydrogen safely from Latin America to Asia. When hydrogen (in MCH form) arrives at its destination, the MCH needs to be broken back into toluene and green hydrogen, both products having commercial use.
