Oleochem Analytics — Royal Dutch Shell plans to build an 820,000 t/yr biofuels facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the company said. The facility will be at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park, formerly known as the Pernis refinery. Production is expected to start in 2024.
Shell will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (HVO) made from waste feedstocks including used cooking oil (UCO), waste animal fat (tallow) and other industrial and agricultural residual products waste.
Of the 820,000 t/yr capacity, SAF could make up more than half, with the rest being renewable diesel. Shell also stated its will to “adjust this mix to meet customer demand.”
Shell plans to supplement the waste feedstock with a range of certified sustainable vegetable oils, until even more sustainable advanced feedstocks categorised under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II Annex IX Part A, become more widely available. The facility will not use virgin palm oil as feedstock, Shell said.
Shell expects to use technology to capture carbon emissions from the manufacturing process and store them in an empty gas field beneath the North Sea through the Porthos project. A final investment decision for Porthos is expected in 2022, according to the company.
As part of its Powering Progress strategy, Shell said that it is transforming its refineries (which numbered 14 in October 2020) into five energy and chemicals parks. The company says it aims to reduce the production of traditional fuels by 55% by 2030 and provide more low-carbon fuels such as biofuels for road transport and aviation, and hydrogen.
The Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam is the second park to be announced by the company, following the launch in July of the Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland, in Germany.
