Advanced BioFuels USA

(Shell) Shell would like to manufacture sustainable aviation fuels in the Wesseling section of the Rheinland refinery. To this end, the company wants to set up a first commercial Bio-PTL (Power-to-Liquid) plant. The synthetically produced kerosene is intended to help reduce the airlines’ CO 2 footprint. In addition, the capacity of the PEM hydrogen electrolysis plant, which Shell is currently completing in the Wesseling section together with ITM Power, is to be increased tenfold from the current 10 megawatts to 100 megawatts.

Godorf / Wesseling – partners of this additional 100 MW electrolysis – Refhyne II – are ITM Power, ITM Linde Electrolysis GmbH (ILE) and Linde. Construction of this facility could start in 2022.

Shell and its partners apply for funding from the EU and Germany for both projects. A final investment decision for both projects is still pending.

Both projects are integral parts of the planned transformation of the site into the “Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rhineland” including an Energy Campus, for which the company is currently looking for partners.

“The Rhineland Raffinerie is the engine and heart of Shell’s activities in Germany and will play a key role in providing the products that are increasingly different from our current crude oil-dominated range and that will increasingly convert to regenerative solutions such as synthetic and biofuels as well as green hydrogen” , explains refinery director Dr. Marco Richrath.

Synthetic fuels are seen as a beacon of hope for drastically reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions , especially in aviation, in the coming decades. The PTL plant should make a contribution to this: it would reduce CO 2 emissions by more than 80% in the production of kerosene and raw gasoline (naphtha) compared to conventional products. In addition to green electricity, wood residues will be used as biomass for production. The start of construction of the PTL system could be in 2023 and commissioning at the end of 2025. The capacity would initially be around 100,000 tons per year.

Shell in Germany wants to reorganize its business as the energy transition progresses. To this end, Shell has drawn up a corresponding plan as to how the company in Germany could reduce or offset its own greenhouse gas emissions and those that arise when customers use Shell products by over a third within a decade. The refinery plays a key role in this.

Dr. Fabian Ziegler, CEO of Shell Deutschland Oil, explains: “We will only be able to maintain mobility in the future if it is made more sustainable and road users can significantly reduce emissions on the road, on water and in the air. To make this possible, the location’s product portfolio will and must change significantly. ”

As a partner to business, politics and society in the Rheinische Revier, Shell would like to promote its change. The cooperation should range from services to material and energetic integration to joint venture systems. An Energy Campus is also to be built in Wesseling, on which companies, start-ups, research institutions and other players from the energy transition are to promote innovative ideas together with Shell. READ MORE

Shell’s Rhineland refinery to produce SAF (Biofuels International)