The company has made the final investment decision to build a SAF/HVO facility along with two facilities for green hydrogen that will be used in the production of biofuels.
The investments for the SAF/HVO production facility will amount to €560 million. The plant will have a production capacity of 250 kt/year of SAF and HVO, as well as by-products like bio-naphtha and bio-LPG, which are used in the chemical industry. The high flexibility of the installation allows adjusting the product mix according to market demand and the available feedstock mix. The plant will have an annual consumption of approximately 11 kt of hydrogen, most of which will be provided by the two new green hydrogen production units.
The investment in the two green hydrogen units is estimated at approximately €190 million, with up to €50 million coming from European funds, through the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (NPRR). OMV Petrom and the Romanian Ministry of Energy signed the financing contracts at the beginning of this year.
The two units will have a total capacity of 55 MW, with an estimated annual green hydrogen production of around 8 kt. Integrating green hydrogen into sustainable fuels like SAF and renewable diesel will result in at least a 70% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to conventional fuels.
Petrobrazi is the first refinery in Romania certified to produce SAF and HVO through the co-processing of biological raw materials.
In order to ensure access to a safe source of raw materials to produce biofuels, OMV Petrom has acquired a 50% stake in Respiră Verde, a leader in the collection of used cooking oil in Romania. The company collects up to 10 kt of used edible oil per year from economic agents in fields such as the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants) and retail.
Radu Căprău, OMV Petrom Executive Board Member responsible for Refining and Marketing, commented: “Together with electro-mobility, biofuels are the answer to low carbon transport, and we expect a gradual increase in demand for these products. Thanks to the investments we announced today, we will be able to replace imports with biofuels produced here in Romania. For our customers, this means product certainty and less carbon emissions. We want to continue to be our customers’ first choice in the future by offering them the products they need.”
