Neste to up sustainable aviation fuel production

Leading renewable fuel producer Neste on Thursday announced that it will modify its existing renewables production capacity in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to enable production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), said an official press release.

Currently the refinery produces mainly Neste MY Renewable Diesel™. The modifications to the refinery, an investment of approximately EUR 190 million, will enable Neste to optionally produce up to 500,000 tons of SAF per annum as part of the existing capacity.

Neste expects the project to be completed in the second half of 2023. This extends Neste’s growing footprint in the Netherlands and demonstrates the shared sustainability ambitions of Neste, the Dutch government, and the Port of Rotterdam in particular.

Together with the company’s ongoing Singapore refinery expansion, Neste will have the capacity to produce 1.5 million tons of sustainable aviation fuel annually by the end of 2023. Currently Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel annual production capacity is 100,000 tons. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™, in neat form and over the life cycle, reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 80%* compared to fossil jet fuel.

According to Neste's CEO Peter Vanacker, there is a growing need and urgency to act on aviation-related emissions as the aviation industry is likely to resume on a growth trajectory after its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company is also aiming at creating readiness for a final investment decision by the Board of Directors for a new world-scale renewable products refinery project in Rotterdam towards the end of 2021 or early 2022.