Neste and Rolls-Royce Building a Strategic Partnership to Accelerate the Shift from Fossil to Renewable Fuels

(Neste) Neste and Rolls-Royce have agreed to build a strategic partnership on accelerating the use of renewable diesel as a lower-emission solution for diesel engines. Both parties share a common vision of renewable fuels playing a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in off-highway applications, such as construction and power generation.

The key focus in the collaboration will be on promoting the use of more sustainable fuels in applications based on the existing internal combustion engine technology, accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels, and increasing knowledge sharing on renewable diesel and the benefits it provides to its users.

Under the mtu brand, Rolls-Royce sells high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land and rail vehicles, military vehicles, and the oil and gas industry, as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for safety-critical applications, continuous power generation, combined heat and power, and microgrids.

“Through our 'Net Zero at Power Systems' sustainability program, we have committed to realigning our mtu product portfolio so that by 2030, sustainable fuels and new mtu technologies will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent compared to 2019. This near-term target plays an important role in the Rolls-Royce Group’s Net Zero ambition by 2050 at the latest. Our collaboration with Neste, the world's leading producer of renewable diesel, will help us achieve our goals and those of our customers”, says Tobias Ostermaier, President Stationary Power Solutions from the Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems.

“With Neste MY Renewable Diesel the GHG emissions can be reduced by as much as 75-95%* when emissions over the fuel's life cycle are compared with fossil diesel. Companies can reduce their climate emissions significantly in an instant by just changing the fuel,'' says Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President Innovations at Neste.

Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ is produced from 100% renewable raw materials. It is a drop-in fuel, not requiring any modifications to the existing vehicles, energy systems or fuel distribution infrastructures.

“Since May 2022, Rolls-Royce has approved mtu engines for power generation for renewable diesel and other fuels meeting the EN15940 standard specifications. The tests we have done show additionally an up to 90% greenhouse gas reduction, up to 80% less particulate emissions and an average of 8% nitrogen oxides reduction. All our tests confirmed full performance levels without modifications to the engines”, outlines Michael Stipa, Vice President Stationary Strategy, Business Development and Product Management at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

Rolls-Royce is gradually releasing its main mtu engine series for more sustainable fuels such as renewable diesel, also known as HVO or HVO100, and e-diesel also in other applications such as rail, marine and the construction industry.

“Both Neste and Rolls-Royce are aiming to reach their climate targets and to support the customers on their sustainability journey. Collaboration truly plays a key role when aiming for a significant sustainability impact, says Mats Hultman, Head of OEM Partnerships at Neste.

Neste’s current production capacity for renewable products globally is at 3.3 million tons annually. Neste’s ongoing production capacity project at its Singapore refinery and the joint venture with Marathon Petroleum in Martinez, CA, will increase the total production capacity of renewable products to 5.5 million tons by the end of 2023, and make Neste the only global provider of renewable fuels and renewable feedstock for polymers and chemicals with a production footprint on three continents. When completed, Neste’s Rotterdam refinery expansion project will further increase the company’s total production capacity of renewable products to 6.8 million tons by the end of 2026.

*) The GHG emission reduction percentage varies depending on the region-specific legislation that provides the methodology for the calculations (e.g. EU RED II 2018/2001/EU for Europe and US California LCFS for the US), and the raw material mix used to manufacture the product for each market.

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. We refine waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. We are the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel and developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. We aim at helping customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with our renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. Our ambition is to make the Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. We are introducing renewable and recycled raw materials such as liquefied waste plastic as refinery raw materials. We have committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and we will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040. We also have set high standards for biodiversity, human rights and supply chain. We have consistently been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2021, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 15.1 billion. Read more: neste.com

The business unit Power Systems of the British technology group Rolls-Royce plc, headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, employs around 9,000 people. Under the mtu brand, the company sells high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land and rail vehicles, military vehicles, and the oil and gas industry, as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for safety-critical applications, continuous power generation, combined heat and power, and microgrids.

mtu systems power the most modern yachts, the strongest tugboats and the biggest land vehicles and provide energy for the world’s most important mission-critical applications. It is the strategic mission of Rolls-Royce Power Systems with its mtu product and solutions brand to rise to today's challenges in the field of propulsion and energy systems by developing sustainable, climate-neutral solutions.

Rolls-Royce Power Systems has committed to cutting the greenhouse gas emissions of its new products by 35% until 2030 compared to 2019. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is pursuing a multi-pillar strategy to reduce emissions: in addition to using sustainable fuels, it is building on new technologies such as fuel cell systems. These will be used in energy supply from 2025 onwards and will become relevant for mobile applications as well. Rolls-Royce Power System’s development engineers are also already working on hydrogen and methanol engines as well as concepts for decentralised power-to-X plants. Other sustainable solutions such as battery storage, hybrid systems for ships and trains or microgrids for decentralised, environmentally friendly energy supply are already part of the mtu product portfolio. READ MORE