Spain-based energy company Repsol has brought online a new renewable fuel production unit at its Puertollano industrial complex, increasing the company’s renewable fuel manufacturing capacity on the Iberian Peninsula.
The newly launched facility can produce 200,000 mt/year of renewable diesel derived from used cooking oil and waste from the agri-food sector. Combined with Repsol’s Cartagena renewable fuel plant, the company now has total renewable fuel production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.
Repsol said the fuel can be used in existing diesel engines and distributed through current fuel supply infrastructure, including for marine applications.
The project involved converting an existing refinery unit that previously processed fossil feedstocks into a renewable fuel production facility. Repsol invested €130 million in the development.
According to the company, lifecycle emissions from the renewable diesel could be up to 98% lower than conventional mineral diesel when combined with renewable hydrogen used in the production process.
The renewable hydrogen will be generated at the Puertollano complex using biogas produced from waste streams, replacing natural gas traditionally used for hydrogen production. Repsol said it invested an additional €16 million to integrate the renewable hydrogen system.
Antonio Lorenzo, director of Repsol’s Puertollano Industrial Complex, described the start-up as part of the company’s wider push to transform its industrial operations around circular economy principles and lower-carbon fuel production.
Repsol has been expanding its renewable fuel activities as part of its transport decarbonisation strategy, including production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the same industrial site.
