Eni-Petronas-Euglena JV taps Maire hydrogen technology for Malaysian SAF, HVO project

Petroliam Nasional Berhad’s (Petronas) Petronas Mobility Lestari Sdn. Bhd. (PMLSB) alongside partners Eni SPA’s Enilive SPA and Euglena Co. Ltd. of Japan have let a contract to a subsidiary of Maire SPA’s Rome-based NextChem SPA for delivery of a new hydrogen production unit (HPU) to be installed at the joint venture’s (JV) planned grassroots biorefinery to be built in the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) at Johor in southern Peninsular Malaysia (OGJ Online, July 26, 2024; Apr. 3, 2023).

As part of the contract, NextChem’s KT-Kinetics Technology SPA (KT Tech) will provide engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) services, as well as licensing of NextChem’s proprietary NX Reform technology, for an HPU equipped to produce 38,000 cu m/hr of hydrogen for the biorefinery’s conversion processes, Maire said in a Jan. 14 release.

Implementation of NX Reform technology in the HPU will enable the operator to produce low-carbon hydrogen while simultaneously reducing site emissions and maximizing recovery rates to support the JV’s goals of advancing the global transition to low-carbon fuels, the service provider said.

Maire valued the EPCC and technology licensing order at about $125 million.

This latest contract for the project follows the JV’s late-2024 preliminary letter of award (LOA) to Samsung E&A Co. Ltd. to serve as main EPCC contractor on the proposed biorefinery that —scheduled for construction within Petronas’ existing 300,000-b/d Johor integrated conventional refinery and petrochemical complex in PIC—will be flexibly configured to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO, or renewable diesel), and bionaphtha to meet rising demand for reduced-carbon fuels from global aviation and transportation customers (OGJ Online, Dec. 12, 2024).

Biorefinery details

Approved for final investment decision in July 2024 and targeted for startup in second-half 2028, the biorefinery will be equipped with the Eni-Honeywell UOP LLC codeveloped proprietary Ecofining technology for flexible processing of about 650,000 tonnes/year (tpy) of 100% waste and residue biofeedstocks including vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste from the processing of vegetable oils.

Designed to maximize production of SAF and HVO, the new biorefinery additionally will house a pretreatment unit for its biofeedstocks, which can be sourced from nearby and abroad given the project’s proximity and access to major international shipping lanes, according to the JV partners.

With PMLSB and Enilive as its largest shareholders, the JV is also exploring other potential biomass feedstocks such as microalgae oils, with Euglena confirming it will expedite its microalgae research and development activities for supplying algae oil to the global market in line with the project.

In 2023, the partners said the biorefinery would be equipped with a combined production capacity for SAF, HVO, and bionaphtha of 12,500 b/d (OGJ Online, Nov. 6, 2023).