Portuguese oil company Galp’s plan for an industrial-scale plant to produce biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from waste materials has been approved by Portugal’s environment agency, Reuters reported.
With an initial investment of €269M (US$302M), Galp aimed to launch the hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) plant at its Sines refinery south of Lisbon, where it also planned to install its first 100MW green hydrogen unit, the 17 July report said.
The company is aiming to gradually produce zero-carbon hydrogen at the site through a process of electrolysis using renewable energy, according to the report.
As part of its plans, Galp was aiming to allocate around 50% of its capital expenditure to low-carbon activities until 2025, Reuters wrote.
In a statement, Portugal’s APA environment agency was quoted as saying its decision to approve the project had taken into account “the identified negative impacts, generally possible to be minimised, and the expected positive impacts”.
The plant would produce biodiesel and SAF from waste materials, such as used cooking oil (UCO) and animal fats, the APA said.
The plant will have a maximum production capacity of 262,700 tonnes/year of biodiesel and 193,000 tonnes/year of SAF and other products, also from renewable sources, the agency added.
