85 per cent less CO2 emissions than fossil paraffin
Amsterdam-based company SkyNRG is to scale up its production of sustainable paraffin substantially. From 2022, a factory in Delfzijl, Groningen, is to produce 100,000 tonnes of sustainable paraffin and biopropane. SkyNRG will use residual and waste streams such as frying fat as raw material for the sustainable paraffin. After production, the paraffin will go by ship to Schiphol Airport.
The market for sustainable paraffin will be considerably upgraded with the new plant. Currently, one plant in Los Angeles supplies 5,000 tonnes of sustainable paraffin annually. According to SkyNRG, the fuel reduces CO2 emissions by 85 per cent compared to fossil paraffin, which is petroleum-based.
"We are the first to make this step on this scale and hope it may serve as an example," said Maarten van Dijk, executive director at SkyNRG.
KLM as biggest customer
The main buyer of the sustainable paraffin will be KLM. The airline already purchases sustainable paraffin on flights from Los Angeles to Amsterdam. From the factory in Delfzijl, KLM will purchase 75,000 tonnes of sustainable paraffin per year from 2022. This will save the airline over 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, KLM president and CEO Pieter Elbers says. According to Elbers, that CO2 reduction is equivalent to the paraffin consumption of 1,000 KLM flights from Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro.
Hydrogen plant Delfzijl
Chemical group Nouryon and gas transporter Gasunie have Delfzijl in mind as a location for a large hydrogen plant. The plant will use an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen. The planned electrolyser will have a capacity of 20 megawatts. However, following the announcement by SkyNRG and KLM, Gasunie and Nouryon are making plans to expand the electrolyser to a capacity of 60 megawatts. An investment decision on the plant is expected in early 2020, according to both parties; clarity on the expansion to 60 megawatts will follow later that year.
