2.6 OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY AND BIOFUEL AVAILABILITY

2.6 OUR COMMITMENT

TO SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY AND BIOFUEL AVAILABILITY

Transport-related emissions represent a significant share of the overall volume of CO2 emissions. Reducing transport emissions can be achieved by promoting more sustainable forms of mobility. The first, most pressing action is to cut road travel, where possible. The second is to reduce CO2 emissions related to the production of fuels.

The European Union has provided guidelines to promote sustainability in the mobility sector with its Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which has set a target of a 14% share of renewables for fuels by 2030 (European average). The second edition of the RED is moving towards a revision (RED3), and will certainly reinforce the guidelines on reducing emissions in order to make the greatest possible contribution to the target of -55% set for 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050.

TWO ACTIONS

Thanks also to Red II legislation in Europe and new regulations in the United States, a new concept of biofuels is taking shape, with the accent on reIn the transport sector, the scenario CUT ROAD TRAVEL ducing CO2 emissions and the avoidwill be very changeWHERE POSSIBLE ance of conflict with able. Over the com- food production. In ing years, we should REDUCE practice, this new expect to see major CO2 EMISSIONS line is evolving the changes in the RELATED TO THE bio concept into a range and type of PRODUCTION OF FUELS concept of “low raw materials and carbon intensity”. fuel production technologies, distribution infrastructure and in the A low-carbon fuel is one that drastypes of vehicles, lifestyles and tically reduces CO2 emissions. Secbehaviours. ond-generation fuels are produced from waste biomass, and have a significantly lower carbon intensity than all others, as they do not com VARIOUS FACTORS WILL INFLUENCE CHANGES pete with food production. This is IN SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS the important switch that is taking place in the biofuels market: the lower the carbon intensity, the more ELECTRIFICATION is not the only possible option, partly becau- these products have a value on the se renewable sources are, by their nature, limited. For certain market, because they make a greattransport sectors, different solutions will need to be found. er contribution to decarbonization.

HYDROGEN MOBILITY is the most popular trend, but its concrete development will require considerable time and economic resources.

ORGANIC RAW MATERIALS for the production of biofuels are limited in quantity but second-generation ones are even more so, as they are territorially fragmented and must not compete with farming for the food industry.

THE BIO-ECONOMY must therefore begin to look more closely at circularity, and begin to change the way it views waste, not only agricultural and forestry biomass.

In each of these areas, TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT is of key importance for the energy transition. The implementation of innovative technologies to produce 2G low-carbon biofuels is one of the core businesses of NextChem. NextChem has developed various biofuel technologies, to produce renewable diesel (HVO) and second-generation ethanol (2G). One estimate of the capacity needed to meet both the European and the US targets refers to hundreds of plants in Europe and the Americas, to produce billions of tonnes of low carbon fuels each year.

RENEWABLE DIESEL

Renewable diesel is a hydrocarbon product made from waste vegetable oils or fats from the food industry. These waste oils are then transformed into a molecule that is identical to the diesel used in car engines. It is the fastest-growing segment in the biofuel industry, and is creating enormous economic value for industrial players. However, small and medium-sized enterprises which only have restricted or regional access to FOGs (Fats, Oils and Greases) are not capitalizing on the value of their feedstock which is thus left to the large downstream operators. These include ethanol manufacturers, renderers and other FOG recyclers. NextChem’s offer is economically attractive, and allows these industrial players to participate in the sec-

ond-generation renewable fuel

market. For example, co-housing our technology at ethanol plants used to process non-edible residual oil in order to obtain renewable diesel makes these operations more profitable, and diversifies the business.

NextChem is working with Saola Energy to license a technology for the production of renewable diesel from residual vegetable oils and fats, and which is suitable for small plants to integrate with existing sites, and also for large production sites. NextChem and Saola Energy have combined their know-how and experience to develop a solution for the turnkey market. NextChem is the licensor of the combined technology, and provides clients with engineering, procurement, construction and training services to ensure full success in the use of this technology. The technology patented by Saola Energy consists of a hydro-treatment phase followed by isomerization to produce high-quality re-

newable diesel made from residual oils and

greases. The technology can process a wide range of raw materials and is ideal for realizing the full economic value of low-carbon fuels, considering the incentives currently available under the various regulations. The integration of our technology with existing plants (bio-refineries) allows economic optimization by exploiting by-products.

Discover more about the Renewable Diesel

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ETHANOL 2G

NextChem is also working on the re-

use of waste from forestry and

farming, and of ligneocellulosic feedstock in general. The planet is full of many types of unused feedstock, which in some cases are sent for incineration, resulting in pollution. All too often, unfortunately, agricultural residues such as straw, palm, sugarcane, soft and hard wood, corn or sorghum are left on the fields and burned, when in fact they make excellent green feedstock for biofuels. 2G ethanol is a low-carbon product that comes from these types of feedstock, it does not compete with food and is used in the blending of gasoline; it is already on the market, mainly in the United States and Latin America.

Discover more about the 2G Ethanol

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NextChem is the only company in the world to have validated industrial technology that uses agricultural and

forestry waste as feedstock

for 2G Ethanol. NextChem has signed a partnership with GranBio, a Brazilian industrial biotechnology firm, with the aim of acquiring global leadership of the sector by licensing GranBio 2G ethanol technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol. GranBio 2G ethanol technology

converts non-food biomass into renewable,

low-carbon biofuels. NextChem will license the technology worldwide. This alliance will combine GranBio’s expertise in 2G biofuels with NextChem’s engineering, EPC expertise and the Maire Tecnimont Group’s global presence, in order to offer integrated services ranging from feasibility studies through to supply chain integration and the construction of production plants all over the world.

The technology developed by GranBio to produce 2G Ethanol has already been implemented at the site in São Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas, Brazil, which is the first in the southern hemisphere dedicated to cellulosic ethanol.

LOW-CARBON FUELS FROM CHEMICAL RECOVERY OF WASTE

One way of producing fuels with a smaller carbon footprint is to take advantage of a carbon source that is commonly available in waste. Low-carbon fuels can therefore also be obtained from the chemical conversion of waste, even plastic waste. One of the technologies developed by NextChem enables the conversion of the carbon and hydrogen contained in plastic and dry waste into a syngas, which then serves as a basis for producing low carbon combustibles and fuels such as circular hydrogen, methanol and ethanol.

Today, the marine transport sector relies on fuel oil, which emits a vast amount of CO2 and which in the future can be replaced by methanol (a much simpler molecule) from waste.Circular hydrogen can also be made from waste. One kilo of hydrogen produced in the conventional way, from methane gas, generates 10 kilos of CO2; producing it with our technology of chemical waste recycling, the emission of CO2 reaches 1 kg; the cost of production is slightly higher than with conventional hydrogen, and much lower than for electrolyte hydrogen.

PARTNERSHIP WITH JFE

NextChem and the JFE Engineering Corporation have signed an agreement to jointly develop the production of low-carbon chemicals, including hydrogen and fertilizers.

The alliance allows the integrated use of the plant technologies of the JFE Group and the Maire Tecnimont Group for the realization of Waste to Chemicals projects, from the technical and economic feasibility analysis through to turnkey construction, also including the training of highly-skilled personnel training at JFE’s sites in Japan. Using JFE’s experience, NextChem has developed an integrated Waste to Chemicals technology which it can license worldwide.

Discover more about the Waste to Chemicals technology

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PARTNERSHIP WITH LANZATECH

NextChem has signed an agreement with the American company LanzaTech, which specializes in carbon recovery, to license the “Waste to Ethanol” process line.

The agreement means that NextChem has added the production of circular ethanol to the technological platforms for the production of circular hydrogen and methanol from plastic and dry waste (currently in engineering design).

With LanzaTech’s syngas fermentation technology,

ethanol is produced by bacteria, transforming the circular gas obtained from the chemical conversion

of waste at low temperature and low pressure and improving the sustainability of the entire process. NextChem will exclusively license this technology for Italy with targeted agreements for foreign markets.

The circular ethanol produced from this process can be mixed with gasoline, replacing fossil components, with a lower carbon footprint. When produced from dry waste containing non-fossil fractions (e.g. wood), 40% of circular ethanol can be regarded as “advanced”, according to the European Renewable Energy Directive.