The Energy to Sustain the Future

(EXAME) ... Anabela Antunes, Director of Operations at PRIO, believes that the energy transition in Portugal could accelerate if the country increases the contribution of biofuels to mobility. “But the development of the energy mix will depend a lot on market needs and the most economically viable offers for the energy transition.”

Today we are moving towards a more sustainable world on the technological, regulatory and social fronts, because they cannot be separated. In the near future, the production of electricity from renewable sources will gain even more strength. Liquid biofuels, produced from waste, will scale and renewable gases such as hydrogen and biomethane will be a reality within the next 10 years. In addition, synthetic fuels will also be part of the portfolio of the future, because if we want to eliminate fossil fuels, the reuse of all waste and an intense focus on the circular economy may not be enough to decarbonize the entire transport sector, especially the sea and the air. Therefore, it will be necessary to think about all the forms of energy available to meet the needs of the future.

I also believe that the production of delocalized energy, essentially for self-consumption, will grow significantly. But the development of this entire energy mix will depend a lot on the needs of the market and the most viable offers. in economic terms, for the energy transition.

At PRIO we believe that we can accelerate the energy transition in mobility if we increase the contribution of advanced biofuels. We know that heavy vehicles are less electrifiable than light vehicles and that it is possible to immediately migrate to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, because there are many vehicles capable of receiving mixtures richer in biofuels. In addition, its use increases the circular economy of the energy sector in Portugal.

Despite advances in the energy transition in the country, there are still several obstacles to overcome. At the regulatory level, it is necessary to accelerate all approvals of new biofuels, without neglecting, however, the safety and quality of what is offered to users. It is also necessary to promote policies that encourage companies and society to increasingly use environmentally friendly biofuels. Political, local and central power must set an example, betting on new forms of energy, without preference for any type of technology. Thus, what we envision for the future is an energy sector in turmoil. Both biofuels and richer blends will be a reality, along with electric vehicles and those powered by synthetic fuels.

We produce advanced biofuels from more sustainable waste, such as those from the treatment of used cooking oil. They emit around 80% less CO2 than traditional diesel. With heavy vehicles in mind, we developed ZeroDiesel, a 100% sustainable liquid fuel, which allows for 84% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. We have also developed green fuel for ships, the PRIO EcoBunkers, which, like the PRIO EcoDiesel, is composed of 15% sustainable biodiesel. The company also provides green electricity through its charging stations for electric vehicles. For the future, it aims to offer more solutions, such as biomethane, bioethanol, green hydrogen and others that may arise.

At our biofuels plant in Aveiro, we are the largest producer of biofuels in Portugal, such as biodiesel from residual raw materials. It was initially built to work with virgin vegetable oils, but PRIO later invested in transforming it into a treatment and processing unit for used cooking oils for the production of biofuels. The success of the project is due to the fantastic team that works with us, committed to doing better every day and constantly looking for new solutions.

In addition to investing in residual raw materials for the production of sustainable biofuels, the company annually organizes the PRIO Jump Start, a program to accelerate start-ups in the area of the circular economy, such as the EcoBean project, which takes advantage of waste coffee to obtain oil for the production of biodiesel and uses the remaining part for the production of briquettes for barbecue and fireplaces.

We are currently working with several partners on a research & development project for the use of cellulosic and forestry residues for the production of another biofuel, bioethanol. The circular economy prioritizes recycling, reuse and renewal. This is what we seek to do at PRIO. As we want the world to be more sustainable, we are involved, in a committed way, in the transformation process that is taking place to reach this goal. READ MORE