SkyNRG to develop Europe's first dedicated biojet fuel plant
Photo: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
May 28, 2019
BY Ron Kotrba
Global biojet fuel marketer SkyNRG announced May 27 it will develop Europe’s first dedicated sustainable aviation fuel production plant in Delfzijl, The Netherlands. The facility is being scaled to produce 100,000 metric tons of biojet fuel and 15,000 tons of biobased liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per year, along with naphtha, from regional waste and residue streams as primary feedstocks. No oils from so-called food crops such as soybean or palm will be used in production of the biojet fuel, nor will any byproducts from these sources, such as palm fatty acid distillates, be used.
“For us and our partners, this project is an important milestone in further upscaling the market for sustainable aviation fuel,” said Maarten van Dijk, executive director of SkyNRG. “We are the first to take a step on this scale and we hope it will serve as an example to the rest of the industry in the transition towards a sustainable future for commercial aviation.”
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has committed to purchase 75,000 tons of biojet fuel from the plant for a 10-year period.
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“By joining hands with other parties, we can build a plant that will accelerate the development of sustainable aviation fuel,” said Pieter Elbers, KLM president and CEO. “From 2022, the plant will produce 100,000 tons a year, of which KLM will purchase 75,000 tons. This will reduce our CO2 emissions by 200,000 tons a year, which is equal to the emissions released by 1,000 KLM flights between Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro.”
LPG distributor SHV Energy is investing in the facility and will purchase the bioLPG manufactured at the facility.
“Our customers in Europe, many of whom are not connected to the natural gas grid, rely on SHV Energy to meet their energy needs efficiently, sustainably and safely,” said Bram Gräber, CEO of SHV Energy. “As pioneers in the field of bioLPG, we are pleased that this project will add 15,000 tons of bioLPG to our annual supply. This amounts to more than 35,000 tons of CO2 reduction.”
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Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is also expected to invest in development of this new biojet fuel project, which SkyNRG says is named DSL-01.
Other partners involved in various phases of the project include EIT Climate-KIC, Royal Schiphol Group, GROEIfonds, NV NOM, Groningen Seaports, Nouryon, Gasunie, Arcadis, TechnipFMC, Haldor Topsoe, Desmet Ballestra, Susteen Technologies and MBP Solutions.
The plant is expected to be operational by 2022.
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