Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday announced a temporary pause on construction of a biofuels plant in the Netherlands designed to produce sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, according to a news release from Shell Nederland Raffinaderij B.V., a Shell subsidiary.

Shell announced in September 2021 plans to build a 820,000-ton-per-year plant at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The company said in a statement the decision to pause construction was made to "address project delivery and ensure future competitiveness given current market conditions."

Once completed the plant is believed to be one of the largest biofuels facilities in Europe.

Shell said the pause in construction would help to "control costs and optimize project sequencing." The plant was expected to launch production in 2024.

"Temporarily pausing on-site construction now will allow us to assess the most commercial way forward for the project," said Huibert Vigeveno, Shell's downstream, renewables and energy solutions director.

"We are committed to our target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, with low-carbon fuels as a key part of Shell's strategy to help us and our customers profitably decarbonize. And we will continue to use shareholder capital in a measured and disciplined way, delivering more value with less emissions."

The facility is designed to produce sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel made from waste.

Shell is one of the world's largest energy traders and blenders of biofuels. Through its Raizen joint venture in Brazil, Shell is the largest producer of second-generation ethanol and the leading sugarcane ethanol producer in the world.

Shell announced at a capital markets day event in June 2023, that it planned to invest $10 billion to $15 billion from 2023 to 2025 to support the development of low-carbon energy solutions including e-mobility, low-carbon fuels, renewable power generation, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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