Groundbreaking ceremony held for major SAF, renewable diesel project in Malaysia

Photo: Eni

Pengerang Biorefinery, a joint venture between Petronas, Enilive and Euglena, marked a key milestone with a groundbreaking ceremony for the development of the new biorefinery in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia. 

The biorefinery will have the capacity to process up to 650,000 metric tons of renewable feedstock annually to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel and bionaphtha.  

Feedstocks for the biorefinery will include wastes such as used vegetable oils and animal fats, and residues from the processing of vegetable oils.  

The new facility is scheduled to begin operations by the second half of 2028. 

Pengerang Biorefinery is a demonstration of a shared commitment by Petronas, Enilive and Euglena to meet the growing needs for more competitive and accessible cleaner-energy solutions, Eni stated.  

“The groundbreaking of the Pengerang Biorefinery reflects the collective efforts to drive decarbonization and advance the energy transition in the region,” said Datuk Sazali Hamzah, Petronas' executive vice president and CEO of downstream. “Leveraging the synergy and strength of our partnership, the new biorefinery is one of Petronas’ key initiatives to deliver on our energy-transition strategy through a holistic biobased value chain and an expanded suite of cleaner-energy solutions. This is in lockstep with Petronas’ larger aspiration to become an integrated energy leader in the next decade, serving the world’s energy needs, safely, reliably and sustainably.” 

Enilive CEO Stefano Ballista added, “The Pengerang biorefinery, made possible by the strategic partnership with Petronas and Euglena, will enable acceleration of the decarbonization of transportation, and reaffirms Enilive’s commitment towards sustainable products. With Enilive’s biorefineries that are already operational in Italy and in the United States of America, and with new plants under construction in Italy and South Korea, the new biorefinery in Pengerang is a further and relevant step forward towards the achievement of a production capacity over 5 million tons per year and over 2 million tons of SAF by 2030, supporting the growing need for more sustainable mobility.” 

Euglena’s founder and president, Mitsuru Izumo, said, “I am truly excited as we mark the groundbreaking ceremony with Petronas and Enilive, and begin full-scale construction of the biorefinery. Since the inception of this project, we have continued to evolve in response to the rapidly changing energy landscape, and now we are stepping into the next stage toward the planned commencement of operations in 2028. This project represents a global endeavor and a powerful step toward decarbonization and a more sustainable future, through enhanced clean-energy supply capacity, particularly across the ASEAN region and beyond. In our continued efforts to expand decarbonization solutions in response to climate change, we will continue to invest in research and development of microalgae and advance our efforts toward the commercialization of algal biofuel. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all our partners and stakeholders who have supported this project.”  

Located strategically within the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor, the biorefinery’s geographical advantage and access to major international shipping lanes will enhance its capability to meet the demands for biofuels and efficiently serve the markets, especially across the Asian region.