Maire subsidiary awarded EPC contract for renewable diesel, SAF complex in Germany

Photo: Holborn Europa Raffinerie GmbH

Maire announced June 18 that its subsidiary KT-Kinetics Technology, leveraging the technological know-how of its other subsidiary NextChem, has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Holborn Europa Raffinerie GmbH to develop a renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) complex inside the existing Holborn refinery in Hamburg, Germany.

Once completed, the plant will produce approximately 220,000 tons (approximately 73 million gallons) per year of high-quality renewable diesel and SAF using waste and residues feedstocks, including biomass and residues of the agribusiness industry, as well as low-carbon hydrogen.

The plant is expected to be operational in early 2027, including pretreatment and hydroprocessing units, and the interconnecting infrastructure with the existing facilities.

The award has a value of around $400 million.

“This important success confirms the pivotal role of Maire Group in the energy transition, and its ability to take on the decarbonization challenges in hard-to-abate sectors, by leveraging its unparalleled technological portfolio and know-how integrated by world-class engineering and execution capabilities,” said Maire CEO Alessandro Bernini.

Renewable diesel, also known as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), is a fuel made from waste and residue feedstocks and is processed to have the same chemical properties of fossil-based diesel with the advantage of decreasing reliance on petroleum and reducing environmental impacts.

It is used worldwide as a drop-in biofuel in diesel vehicles with no engine modifications.

Furthermore, renewable diesel can drastically abate greenhouse-gas emissions compared to fossil-based diesel, meeting the sustainability criteria of the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).