Communicator

Técnicas Reunidas / March 10, 2025 -- In a significant step toward Europe's energy transition goals, Técnicas Reunidas and Siemens Energy have been selected to carry out the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the La Robla Green project, set to become one of Europe's largest renewable methanol production facilities. The ambitious initiative is located in La Robla, a municipality in the province of León, Spain.

The project is spearheaded by Spanish company Reolum, which specializes in innovative energy transition solutions. The planned facility will produce 140,000 tons per year of green methanol (e-methanol) by combining renewable hydrogen with biogenic carbon captured from a biomass cogeneration plant. This approach ensures a sustainable production process with significantly reduced carbon emissions compared to conventional methanol production methods.

Green methanol is gaining prominence as a key alternative fuel for decarbonizing sectors with traditionally high emissions, such as maritime transport and aviation. It can be used directly as fuel or serve as feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), providing a crucial pathway toward achieving Europe's climate neutrality targets.

The La Robla Green project brings together the expertise of several global leaders in decarbonization technologies. Siemens Energy will lead the development of the renewable hydrogen unit, while Técnicas Reunidas will oversee biogenic carbon capture and e-methanol production units. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will provide advanced CO₂ capture technology, and Johnson Matthey will supply its proprietary eMERALD™ technology, enabling direct hydrogenation of captured CO₂ into methanol.

This collaborative effort aligns with Técnicas Reunidas' broader decarbonization strategy known as TRACK, aimed at accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. The project recently received substantial financial backing from the Spanish government: €180 million from NextGenerationEU funds allocated by the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge. This funding supports Spain's H2 Valles Program initiative to establish major renewable hydrogen clusters across various regions including Aragon, Andalusia, Castile and León, Catalonia, and Galicia.

With this investment and collaboration among industry leaders, La Robla Green positions itself as a landmark project in Europe's renewable energy landscape. It is expected to significantly contribute to regional economic growth while advancing Spain's leadership in green technologies and sustainable fuels.

#greenhydrogen #emethanol #sustainablefuels #sustainableaviationfuel #saf #carboncapture #co2capture #sustainability

After halting work on biofuel plant in Rotterdam, 🇳🇱 The Netherlands, and booking a $1bn write down, Shell has also pulled out of e-SAF project planned with state-owned 🇸🇪 Swedish power utility company Vattenfall.

“Vattenfall and Shell have decided to pause their collaboration in the HySkies electrofuel project while Vattenfall continues the search for new partners,” said Vattenfall in a statement.

The joint project, with the planned capex of €780m ($845m), was launched in 2021 with initial plans to produce 82,000 tonnes of e-SAF and 9,000 tonnes of renewable diesel per annum. The project envisaged the use of hydrogen from 200MW electrolysis plant, biogenic CO2 captured from a waste-to-energy plant and sustainable ethanol as feedstocks at the site.

It was due to begin operations in March of 2027.

On the other hand, the company said that it will also not avail financial support via the EU Innovation Fund, considering it is infeasible for the project to succeed within the framework of that agreement and aiming to free up funds for others to use in their ambitions to decarbonise.

Vattenfall-Shell e-SAF project was awarded €80.2mn ($87mn) grant in January 2023.

#saf #hefa #hefa -spk #aviationfuel #renewablediesel #sustainableaviationfuel #shell #vattenfall #electrolysis #hydrogen #greenhydrogen #carboncapture #ccu #ethanol #bioethanol

Source: Fayaz Hussain, 8^th July 2024, SAF Investor