Page 167 - CW E-Magazine (4-3-2025)

News from Abroad

“This investment is another proof
of BASF’s strong commitment to
its Ludwigshafen site. By building
advanced production facilities, we are
driving the transformation of the site
and enhancing our competitiveness
in a global market environment,”
said Dr. Katja Scharpwinkel, member
of the Board of Executive Directors
and Director of the Ludwigshafen
site. “We are investing in an efficient,
Verbund-integrated and future-oriented
production process because it is our
priority to remain a reliable supplier
of alcoholates to our customers in the
future,” added Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva,
President of the Monomers division at
BASF. The new plant in Ludwigshafen com- Among other uses, alcoholates serve
plements BASF’s recently completed as catalysts and reactants in various
BASF is a leading supplier of expansion of its sodium methylate industries, mainly for biodiesel and in
alcoholates for various applications. production in Guaratinguetá, Brazil. pharma, or agricultural applications.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
OMV Petrom starts work on sustainable fuels unit

at Romanian refinery

OMV Petrom, Romanian integrated characteristics similar to those of con-
oil company, majorly owned by ventional kerosene and diesel. The use
Austria’s energy giant OMV, has started of these fuels allows for a significant
construction of a sustainable aviation reduction in CO emissions compared
2
fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (or to traditional fossil fuels (for example,
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, HVO) unit by at least 65% in the case of SAF and
at the Petrobrazi refinery in Romania. HVO).

Th facility will position OMV The flexibility of the new facility
Petrom as the first major producer in sectors where electrification is diffi- allows for adjustment of the type of
of sustainable fuels in the Southeast cult to implement, such as aviation. Bet- raw materials used (used oil, animal
Europe, with a capacity of 250-ktpa. It ween 2022 and 2030, we are allocating fats) and the mix of finished products
will enable OMV Petrom to integrate 35% of our investment budget towards (SAF and HVO, as well as bio-naphtha
the production of SAF and HVO with projects that support the energy transi- and bio-LPG), depending on market
the existing infrastructure for fuel pro- tion, in Romania and the region,” said requirements and the availability of
duction, storage, and distribution. The Ms. Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV feedstock.
project entails a total investment of Petrom.
€750-mn, of which €560-mn are allo- In addition to the development
cated for the construction of the SAF/ SAF and HVO are manufactured of sustainable fuel production, OMV
HVO unit, and €190-mn for two green by processing renewable raw mate- Petrom is expanding its network of
hydrogen production facilities. rials, such as used vegetable oils and charging points for electric vehicles,
animal fats. Through advanced refin- aiming for over 5,000 units by 2030 in
“Sustainable fuels are essential to ing processes using green hydrogen, Romania, compared to approximately
decarbonise transportation, especially these materials are transformed to have 900 currently.

Chemical Weekly March 4, 2025 167

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