HOLBORN Europa Raffinerie GMBH has signed an agreement with Topsoe AS for the provision of technology for a grassroots renewable fuels production facility to be built within the company's existing 5 million tonnes per year refinery in Hamburg, Germany.
As part of the mid-August deal, Topsoe will license its proprietary Hydroflex technology, enabling it to process waste and residual feedstocks into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel, the service provider said.
Lars Bergmann, managing director of HOLBORN's Hamburg refinery, says HOLBORN's choice of Hydroflex, which can convert a variety of organic fats, oils and greases into drop-in renewable jet and diesel fuels that meet all global specifications for these fuels, was essential to handle the specific feedstock requirements of the planned complex.
Holborn said the plans to build the power station were part of its wider programme to reduce emissions and increase the supply of sustainable fuels such as renewable diesel and SAF, and were in line with its commitment to support the energy transition and the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
Holborn previously confirmed that its planned hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO, biodiesel) complex is designed to produce 220,000 tonnes per year of high-quality HVO (or green diesel) and SAF using unspecified biomass-based waste and residual feedstocks sourced from the agriculture industry ( OGJ Online, June 20, 2024 ).
This latest contract for the proposed development follows HOLBORN's signing of a contract in June 2024 to provide joint engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the complex to Rome-based Maire SPA subsidiaries KT-Kinetics Technology SPA and NextChem SPA. Maire's scope of delivery also includes a planned pre-treatment unit for renewable feedstocks, as well as infrastructure to connect the new HVO plant to existing refining operations.
“This project is an important step in Holborn's long-term transformation process as it seeks to replace crude oil with alternative raw materials as part of its growth strategy. Along the way, we are focusing on renewable and circular solutions,” Bergmann said when first announcing the project in June.
The HVO complex, which includes a pretreatment plant and connection infrastructure to conventional refining facilities, is expected to begin operations in early 2027.
