Europe-based low-carbon fuel technology company XFuel has secured a €4.1 million grant from Catalonia’s Nuclear Transition Fund to support development of a new low-carbon marine fuel production facility in the Spanish region.
The funding programme is managed by Catalan regional agency ACCIÓ and is aimed at supporting economic regeneration in areas expected to be affected by the future closure of the Ascó and Vandellós nuclear power plants.
XFuel said the planned modular production facility will process 16,000 mt/year of marine waste oils into around 14,000 mt/year of low-carbon marine gas oil.
The company added that the plant will be located near the ports of Tarragona, Barcelona, Sagunto and Valencia, helping reduce emissions linked to feedstock transport and fuel distribution.
According to XFuel, the project is expected to create 35 jobs.
The company said the grant was the second-largest awarded under the programme and achieved the highest evaluation score among applicants despite competition from larger industrial firms.
At the centre of the project is XFuel’s proprietary Chemical Liquid Refining (CLR) technology, which converts waste hydrocarbon liquids into drop-in transport fuels suitable for sectors including shipping.
XFuel said the fuels produced through the process can be used in existing engines and infrastructure without modification, offering ship operators a lower-carbon fuel option as environmental regulations tighten.
Nicholas Ball, CEO and co-founder of XFuel, said the project would serve as a flagship demonstration of waste-derived low-carbon fuel production for the maritime sector.
