Spanish integrated energy firm Repsol has begun production from a new 250,000 t/yr waste-based advanced biofuels plant in Spain's southern port of Cartagena.
The plant will produce renewable diesel, biojet, bionaphtha and biopropane from 300,000 t/yr of organic waste such as used cooking oil or agri-food waste. Repsol has invested around $340mn in US agribusiness Bunge Global's Iberian subsidiary to secure feedstock required for its biofuels production.
The Cartagena plant was originally scheduled to start up in the first half of 2023 and had an initial budget of €200mn ($216mn), but Repsol has spent closer to €250mn. The new plant will be joined by a second €120mn facility in Puertollano in 2025, which will have the capacity to produce 240,000 t/yr of renewable fuels. Repsol also plans to replicate this model in a third industrial centre in Spain before 2030.
It is the first large-scale production plant of its kind in the Iberian peninsula, and Repsol estimates the fuel will avoid 900,000 t/yr of CO2 emissions. The firm aims to produce 1.5mn-1.7mn t/yr of renewable fuel by 2027 and 2.7mn t/yr by 2030. It plans to invest €5.5bn-6.8bn in 2024-27 to maintain its renewable fuel facilities. At present, Repsol supplies 100pc renewable fuel at around 140 locations in Spain and Portugal. It aims to reach 600 by the end of this year and 1,900 by 2027.
