Europe
ORLEN Halts Misguided Olefins III Project
The ORLEN Management Board has decided to halt the Olefins III project after determining that the actual implementation costs would have exceeded the initial estimates by sixfold. This decision is expected to save the company approximately PLN 15 billion. The funds will be redirected towards projects that sustainably enhance the competitiveness of both the company and the Polish economy. Irregularities related to the capital investment process have been reported to the prosecutor’s office. Additionally, ORLEN is considering pursuing a compensatory claim against former management board members, enabled by a recently adopted resolution of the General Meeting.
Topsoe Chosen as Technology Provider for HOLBORN’s Hamburg Renewable Fuels Refinery
opsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, has signed an agreement with HOLBORN Europa Raffinerie GmbH (HOLBORN), to provide its HydroFlex™ technology for the production of SAF and renewable diesel at its plant in Hamburg. HOLBORN is a successful oil refinery that supplies Hamburg and northern Germany with fuels and heating oil.
Shell to Temporarily Pause On-site Construction of European Biofuels Facility
Shell Nederland Raffinaderij B.V., a subsidiary of Shell plc, is to temporarily pause on-site construction work at its 820,000 tonnes a year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam in the Netherlands to address project delivery and ensure future competitiveness given current market conditions.
Borealis Invests EUR 4.5 Million in Porvoo Steam Cracker, Enabling Increased Share of Circular Raw Materials Used in Production
Borealis announces a EUR 4.5 million investment in the cracker furnaces of its olefins unit in Porvoo, Finland. This investment ensures that the Porvoo steam cracker, which is part of a highly integrated petrochemical complex, can increase the share of renewable and recycled raw materials used in its base chemicals (ethylene and propylene) production; thus, supporting Borealis Strategy 2030 and driving the transformation to a circular economy. The Porvoo investment program, which has already been kicked off and is expected to be completed in 2025, follows last year's completion of a major cracker furnace update in Stenungsund, Sweden.
Cepsa and Bio-Oils begin construction on the largest 2G biofuels plant in southern Europe with investment of 1.2 billion euros
Cepsa and Bio-Oils, a subsidiary of Apical, are beginning construction of the largest second-generation biofuels plant in southern Europe. This facility, which will flexibly produce 500,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (hydrogenated vegetable oil or HVO) annually, will allow the joint venture formed by both companies to double its current production capacity. The new 2G biofuels plant, along with the existing facilities operated by Cepsa and Bio-Oils in Huelva, Spain, will form the second largest renewable fuel complex in Europe, with a total production capacity of 1 million tons per annum.
Eni Moves Ahead with Conversion of the Livorno Refinery into a Bio-refinery
Today, Eni confirms its decision to build Italy's third bio-refinery in Livorno. The project, first announced in October 2022 and followed by an application for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in November 2022, is awaiting official authorisations and includes the construction of three new facilities for the production of hydrogenated biofuels: a biogenic feedstock pre-treatment unit; a 500,000 tonnes/year Ecofining™ plant; and a facility to produce hydrogen from methane gas.
Shell invests to repurpose German Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland
Shell Deutschland GmbH has taken a final investment decision (FID) to convert the hydrocracker of the Wesseling site at the Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland into a production unit for Group III base oils, used in making high-quality lubricants such as engine and transmission oils. Crude oil processing will end at the Wesseling site by 2025 but will continue at the Godorf site.
Topsoe Selected as Technology Provider for Preem's Renewable Fuels Plant in Sweden
Topsoe, a global technology and solutions provider for the energy transition, has signed a licensing and engineering agreement with Preem, Sweden’s largest fuel company, to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel, using Topsoe’s HydroFlex™ technology.
Ringing in the New Year with Energy Intelligence!
The team at Global Energy Infrastructure (GEI) are thrilled to share what makes us your resource hub for international energy market intelligence in 2024. In the coming months we have exciting plans to expand our intelligence and data offerings. Data Knowledge Hub for the Energy World GEI is yo..
Eni and Saipem: Agreement to Develop New Biorefineries
Eni and Saipem have signed an agreement for the development of biorefining. It was signed today by Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Operating Officer for Energy Evolution at Eni, and Alessandro Puliti, Chief Executive Officer at Saipem, to support the transformation path of traditional refineries and the development of new Eni biorefineries.
The future of H2: A regional outlook - Part 2: Europe, Russia, the CIS and Latin America
by Lee Nichols, Vice President Content and Editor-in-Chief, Hydrocarbon Processing & H2Tech Nations around the world are investing in new technologies and pathways to limit carbon emissions and adhere to ambitious net-zero goals. Part of this strategy includes the massive scale-up of H₂ production..
Repsol Selects Honeywell Ecofining™ Technology For Biofuel Production In Spain
Honeywell announced today that Repsol has licensed Honeywell Ecofining™ technology to produce renewable fuels from feedstocks such as used cooking oil and waste animal fat at Repsol’s facility in Puertollano, Spain. Repsol is designing this plant to convert approximately 240 thousand metric tons per annum (KMTA) of waste feeds/feedstocks to renewable diesel and other products.
Final Investment Decision on Green Hydrogen and HVO/SAF projects
Galp has taken the final investment decision on two large scale projects to reduce the carbon footprint of the Sines refinery and of its products. The projects include a 270 ktpa advanced biofuels unit, in partnership with Mitsui, and 100 MW of electrolysers for the production of green hydrogen. Both units are expected to have its first start up during 2025.
VARO announces plan to invest $600m to build major Sustainable Aviation Fuel manufacturing facility in Rotterdam, which will meet up to 7% of the EU's 2030 SAF target
VARO Energy (“VARO”) today announces the construction of a large-scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) manufacturing facility at the Gunvor Energy Rotterdam site, investing $600m with the aim of helping its airline customers decarbonise. This facility alone is expected to contribute up to 7% of the EU’s 2030 SAF target.
Fluor Awarded Front-End Engineering and Design Contract for LanzaTech Sustainable Aviation Fuel Facility
Fluor Corporation announced today that it has been awarded a contract by LanzaTech UK Limited to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for one of the United Kingdom’s (UK) first planned commercial sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facilities in Port Talbot, Wales. Fluor recognized the award in the second quarter of 2023.
Global Construction Update: LNG Markets, Resurgent China Kindle Pipeline Projects
by Jeff Awalt, Executive Editor, Pipeline & Gas Journal Global midstream markets continue to face near-term headwinds and economic uncertainties, but Europe’s rapid transition from Russian energy and projected higher demand in Asia continue to drive midstream expansion in those regions and other..
Distance and politics mean no easy solution to Russia’s pipeline problem
Power of Siberia 2, Russia’s long-in-development pipeline designed to send additional gas to China, has taken on a new importance in the past year because of Moscow’s collapsing energy relationship with Europe. The proposed route for the Soyuz–Vostok portion of the pipeline would run from Irkutsk, across Mongolia and onwards to Beijing. It would carry 50–80bn m³/yr of gas.
A brighter horizon for sustainable aviation fuel: Sasol and Topsoe to form a future business to accelerate global SAF production
Sasol, the global chemicals and energy company, and Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, have signed a landmark agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture (subject to approval by relevant authorities), solidifying their commitment to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.
Cargill and H2 Green Steel Sign Multi-year Offtake Contract to Supply Near Zero-Emission Steel
Agreement expected to help accelerate global ferrous supply chain decarbonization
With the founding of Hydrogen Höfe Freienbach AG, Switzerland's largest green hydrogen production facility is created
Alpiq, SOCAR Energy Switzerland, CIME Capital and EW Höfe are jointly founding Hydrogen Höfe Freienbach AG to build the hydrogen production plant in Freienbach (SZ). With a production of up to 1200 tonnes in the final stage, this will be the largest green hydrogen plant in Switzerland. This means that emissions of around 14,000 tonnes of CO2 per year can be avoided.
Plug to provide Stef with Green Hydrogen and Fuel Cells solutions for cold storage distribution centers
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, will supply Blue EnerFreeze, the energy subsidiary of STEF, the European market leader in the transportation and logistics of food products, with a complete green hydrogen ecosystem across two distribution centers, before potentially expanding further into their network of over 100 sites. One of the distribution centers is close to Paris, France and the other is close to Madrid, Spain.
CEPSA and Yara Clean Ammonia seal an alliance to connect southern and northern Europe with Green Hydrogen
The two companies have agreed on a strategic partnership to set up the first green hydrogen maritime corridor between the ports of Algeciras and Rotterdam for the decarbonization of European industry and maritime transport
Maersk secures green methanol for maiden voyage of the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel
Maersk (Maersk) has successfully secured green methanol for the maiden voyage of the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel. Achieving this green fuel milestone is a significant step for the company and the industry’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
NextChem awarded a feasibility study by Marcegaglia to decarbonize their Ravenna Steel Plant through Carbon Capture solutions
MAIRE S.p.A. announces that its Sustainable Technology Solutions subsidiary NextChem and Marcegaglia Group (Marcegaglia) have signed a contract for a feasibility study to accelerate the decarbonization of Marcegaglia’s steel plant in Ravenna (Emilia Romagna region, Northern Italy). The study refers to the installation of carbon capture units from flue gases. Upon a successful completion of the feasibility study, NextChem will involve the Group’s Integrated E&C Solutions Business Unit for the execution of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED).
Dutch Gasunie, ACE Terminal and Spanish Iberdrola join forces for hydrogen corridor between Spain and the Netherlands
Spanish energy company Iberdrola wants to export green ammonia to the Netherlands and supply it to its European customers as hydrogen through Gasunie's national hydrogen network. To establish this green hydrogen chain from Spain to the Netherlands, the Spanish energy company signed letters of intent with Dutch Gasunie’s subsidiary Hynetwork Services and ACE Terminal. In doing so, Iberdrola will export green ammonia to the Netherlands through the planned ACE import terminal at the Port of Rotterdam and transport it as green hydrogen via the Dutch national hydrogen network of Hynetwork Services to European customers.
NEW: Carbon Capture Storage Database is now available!
Addressing the challenges of climate change requires innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has emerged as a promising approach to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy-intensive industries and power generation. To support the advancement and deployment of CCS, the new Global Energy Infrastructure (GEI) Carbon Capture Storage database provides a comprehensive collection of information and data related to CCS projects worldwide.
Germany Welcomes Construction of Hydrogen-Ready Pipeline with Italy
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday he is pleased that Italy and Germany have agreed to push ahead with work on the construction of a new pipeline to transport gas and hydrogen between the countries. "Strengthened cooperation on diversifying energy supply is very important for me. Expanding supply networks in Europe will benefit us all and certainly increase energy security," Scholz said during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
TotalEnergies Steps up Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production at Grandpuits
Ahead of the Paris Air Show held in Le Bourget, TotalEnergies is stepping up production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and low carbon energies of its Grandpuits site.
Fluxys starts building a new natural gas and hydrogen pipeline in the presence of Prime Minister De Croo and Energy Minister Van der Straeten
Infrastructure partner Fluxys Belgium started today, in the presence of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Federal Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten, the construction of the first dual-purpose pipeline. Initially this pipeline between Zeebrugge and Brussels will greatly increase the capacity for the security of supply of Belgium and neighbouring countries.
Enagás becomes industrial partner and co-shareholder of Hanseatic Energy Hub in Stade
Joint goal: securing security of supply and driving forward decarbonisation in Germany Terminal operation planned for 2027 ammonia-ready The final investment decision is expected to be made by HEH´s shareholders throughout 2023 Spanish Transmission System Operator contributes with its global experience in CO2-neutral operation of LNG terminals
