Neste Corp. has let two contracts to Technip Energies to provide services for proposed expansions of the operator’s renewable fuels production platform in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (OGJ Online, May 3, 2021).
As part of the first contract, Technip Energies will deliver engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) for Neste’s previously announced plan to modify its more than 1-million tonnes/year existing renewable diesel refinery at the Port of Rotterdam to enable optional production of up to 500,000 tpy of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the service provider said on May 25.
First announced in 2020 and initially to add 450,000 tpy of SAF production at the refinery, the planned €190-million Rotterdam SAF project currently is scheduled to be completed during second-half 2023 (OGJ Online, Mar. 16, 2021).
Neste also awarded a second, separate contract to Technip Energies to execute front-end engineering and design (FEED) for possible construction of another renewables refinery in Rotterdam that would be based on the operator’s proprietary NEXBTL technology, which allows conversion of waste and residue feedstock into products such as renewable diesel, SAF, and renewable materials for the polymers and chemical industries in Rotterdam.
The FEED study comes as art of Neste’s preparations to enable a final investment decision (FID) on the project by its board by yearend 2021 or early 2022, Technip Energies said.
Awarded under an existing partnership agreement between Neste and Technip Energies, the EPCM and FEED contracts have a combined value of €5-250 million, the service provider said.
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 (GHG) emissions by at least 20 million tpy by 2030.
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 GHG emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil-based jet fuel, according to the operator.
If approved, the construction of the second Rotterdam renewables refinery could begin production in 2025, Neste said upon announcing the project in March 2021.