Global oil giant Shell is set to make the first deliveries of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in 2025 from its Rotterdam plant in the Netherlands, according to a report by S&P Global.
However, the company said more commercially-ready technologies and production pathways were needed to help it meet global demand, the 4 May report said.
The 820,000 tonnes/year Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam used hydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) to produce biofuels by refining vegetable oils, waste oils or fats using hydrogen, S&P Global wrote.
In response to queries from S&P Global Commodity Insights following the suspension of Shell’s biofuels unit and a Group II base oil plant in Singapore, the oil company said it would continue to invest in “promising technologies” to produce more SAF, while its growing portfolio of SAF supply agreements would also help meet global demand.
In late 2021, Shell said it was exploring the development of a 550,000 tonnes/year biofuels facility – to produce low carbon fuels including SAF and renewable diesel – in Singapore, the report said.
Once operational, it would be one of the largest biofuels facility in Asia, allowing it to provide SAF to customers in Asia and worldwide, the company said on its website.
Shell had not specified the production capacity of the two suspended projects, the report said.
The global oil giant said it aimed to produce around 2M tonnes/year of SAF by 2025 and have at least 10% of its global aviation fuel sales comprising SAF by 2030, S&P Global wrote.
Shell had also been investing in technologies to increase SAF production as the industry targets net-zero emissions by 2050, such as a start-up that aimed to produce SAF from ethanol, the report said.
The suspension of Shell’s biofuel projects came against a backdrop of slower SAF take-up in Asia, with few Asian airlines taking steps to adopt the greener fuel, according to market sources quoted by S&P Global.
