Imagine turning woody waste into high-quality fuel using the machinery already sitting in today's oil refineries. Instead of building expensive new factories from scratch, this method tweaks existing equipment to process bio-oils. It's like upgrading an old oven to bake a new kind of bread without buying a whole new kitchen.
Biofuel adoption is stalled by the massive investment costs of building new refineries and the technical difficulty of processing complex woody biomass feedstocks.
A technical pathway and toolbox for co-processing bio-oils in existing refineries, including a TRL7 FCC process for aviation and a TRL6 hydrotreating process for marine fuels.
If you are a refinery operator dealing with high investment costs for green transitions — this project developed a co-processing method that reduces CAPEX by 50% and OPEX by 45%. It allows you to produce aviation and marine biofuels using your current infrastructure.
If you are an airline dealing with strict emission targets and fuel shortages — this project developed a TRL7 FCC co-processing pathway. This ensures a scalable supply of certified aviation biofuels derived from woody biomass.
If you are a ship owner dealing with the need for low-carbon marine fuels — this project developed a hydrotreating process (TRL6) to transform bio-oils into marine fuels. This provides a certified, sustainable alternative to heavy fuel oils.
The project aims for a significant cost reduction, specifically targeting a 50% reduction in CAPEX and a 45% reduction in OPEX compared to standalone units.
Testing is occurring at three scales: lab-scale, pilot-scale, and demo-scale. Pilot testing is near completion with a 100-litre product batch, and a larger demo unit is currently being commissioned.
Based on available project data, the project delivers a comprehensive toolbox of models, standards, and exploitation pathways for replication in other refineries.
The process uses co-processing technologies like Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) and hydrotreating, allowing bio-oils to be processed within existing European refinery setups.
The project envisions a scale-up from a dozen units in 2030 to several hundred pyrolysis units feeding over 90 refineries by 2050.
The consortium is heavily industry-weighted (57%), featuring 8 industrial partners and 3 SMEs across 8 European countries. This strong industrial presence, combined with 6 research-focused entities (4 research centers, 2 universities), indicates a high priority on commercial viability and practical refinery integration rather than pure academic research.
Contact SINTEF AS in Norway for technical integration details.
Contact us to access the refinery integration toolbox and TRL7 validation data.
