Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell has selected Australian engineering house Worley for a low-carbon fuels facility in the Netherlands producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel for the transportation sector and others that are hard to decarbonise, like heavy road transport and aviation.
Worley will provide design and procurement services to the new facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam in the Netherlands, set to become one of the largest of its kind in Europe, Shell said.
The facility aims to produce 820,000 tonnes of low-carbon fuel annually, using used cooking oil, sustainable vegetable oils, waste animal fat and other agricultural residue as feedstocks. Production is expected to start in 2024.
“The new hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) plant we are building is a major investment, vital to Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam’s path to net zero,” said Jos van Winsen, general manager of the park.
Shell announced in September that it plans to produce 2 million tonnes of SAF per year by 2025, with the fuel making up 10% of its global aviation sales by 2030.
The International Energy Agency estimates that liquid biofuel production will have to quadruple between 2021 and 2050 to meet the needs of a net-zero economy.
Worley was chosen as a prime candidate for the product given its experience from the 40 other low-carbon fuels contracts it has earned this year.
“We value Shell’s continued trust in Worley to deliver this important project. The facility opens up new possibilities in low-carbon fuels and is aligned with our purpose of delivering a more sustainable world,” said Peter van Alphen, senior vice president for the Netherlands and Germany at Worley.
