Neste adding SAF production at Rotterdam renewables refinery

Neste Corp. is moving forward with a project to add production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its more than 1-million tonnes/year existing renewable diesel refinery at the Port of Rotterdam in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Requiring an estimated investment of about €190 million and slated for completion during second-half 2023, the project will involve modifications to the refinery that will allow the site to optionally produce up to 500,000 tpy of SAF, Neste said.

The operator disclosed no further details regarding specific modifications to be included in Rotterdam SAF addition, which comes as part of Neste’s broader program to expand its existing European feedstock and production platform for renewable products.

“[As] the aviation industry is likely to resume on a growth trajectory after its recovery from the [coronavirus (COVID-19)] pandemic, there is a growing need and urgency to act on aviation-related emissions. Here sustainable aviation fuels offer considerable potential,” said Peter Vanacker, Neste’s president and chief executive officer.

First announced in 2020, the Rotterdam SAF project initially was to add 450,000 tpy of SAF production at the refinery (OGJ Online, Mar. 16, 2021).

Once completed, the Rotterdam SAF addition—together with the company’s ongoing €1.4-billion, 1-million tpy SAF expansion at its 1.3-million tpy renewable diesel refinery in Singapore—by yearend 2023 will enable Neste to produce 1.5 million tpy of SAF, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil-based jet fuel, according to the operator.

Expansion of its renewable diesel and SAF production platform comes as part of Neste’s two strategic climate commitments, which include achieving carbon-neutral production by 2035 and reducing customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tpy by 2030.

Neste also said it remains on track to reach final investment decision by yearend 2021 or early 2022 on its recently proposed plan to build another renewables refinery in Rotterdam, which—if approved—could begin production in 2025.