Renewable Diesel Maker Neste Targets Carbon Neutral Production

(Photo Credit: Neste)

by | Mar 13, 2020

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Renewable Diesel Maker Neste Targets Carbon Neutral Production

(Photo Credit: Neste)

Renewable diesel and jet fuel company Neste plans to reach carbon neutral production by 2035. The energy company said this week that it has identified more than 50 different measures to lower greenhouse gas emissions in production.

Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Neste makes renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, renewable fuels for the aviation and plastics industries, and also refines oil products. Last year the company had revenues around $17.47 billion.

“Emission reduction is a fundamental requirement and an enormous challenge in our industry,” said Neste president and CEO Peter Vanacker. “Together with our partners, we are actively looking into new technologies and solutions to make this transformation happen.”

For Neste, the new production goal covers Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Actions that that the company is taking to get there include:

  • Focusing on energy efficiency to optimize the use of fuel gas, electricity, hydrogen, and steam in production.
  • Increasing the use of renewable electricity at production sites. For example, Neste agreed to start using wind power in Finland.
  • Increasing the weight of greenhouse gas emissions in the investment calculations and business case evaluation.
  • Exploring new, lower-emission production methods such as utilizing biogas or electrolysis for hydrogen production.
  • Starting a project for GHG emission reductions at the Porvoo production site focused on carbon capture and storage.
  • Identifying reliable compensation models for the remaining part that cannot be achieved by emission reductions.

The company’s Porvoo refinery, located in the Kilpilahti industrial area of Finland, has four production lines and more than 40 process units. Neste says that improvements in the turnaround at the refinery this year should decrease production emissions by more than 100 metric kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

Neste added that its new commitment is in line with Finland’s own target for reaching carbon neutrality by 2035 — and ahead of the European Union target for 2050. Earlier this year JetBlue announced plans to use Neste MY Renewable Jet Fuel produced from 100% renewable raw materials. Neste also delivered renewable jet fuel to the Zurich Airport during the World Economic Forum in January.

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