Neste plans to open new algae production plant in Spain

The company considers Spain to be the most suitable country due to its location, research experience and utilisation of this resource

Finnish renewable raw materials producer Neste has earmarked Spain as the perfect country for the construction of its new algae pilot production plant. Specialising in the production of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and raw materials for a diversity of uses in the chemical and polymer industries, the new factory will allow the company to put its more than 15 years’ experience in algae research and development to good use. During this time, the company has conducted numerous laboratory and field experiments.

The future pilot plant will boost the growth of the Finnish company's global raw material pool. The new facility will develop algae cultivation and processing with the aim of demonstrating its validity for use in industry. Although the project is still in the planning phase and no final investment decision has yet been taken, Neste's announcement strongly suggests that Spain will indeed be the chosen location.

Advanced research
Executive vice president of innovation at Neste Lars Peter Lindfors highlighted work on the diversification of the company's product portfolio “with new types of scalable and sustainable raw materials”, and explained, “The pilot in Spain will lay the foundation for advanced research and commercialisation of algae and related technologies. Furthermore, novel raw materials support our growth and transformation, enabling Neste to offer lower-emission solutions for the growing global demand”.

For Neste, the choice of Spain is down to several factors, such as local experience with algae, a favourable environment, location and the solid infrastructure in the surrounding area. The company invests most of its annual R&D investment in research, development and testing of future raw materials, as well as the technologies required for their use in renewable and circular solutions.

Oil dependency
Algae can play an important role in reducing the dependency on oil and fighting against climate change. According to Lindfors, “The future for algae is driven by sustainability as it offers a high biomass yield and opportunity to be developed on non-arable lands, and in cultivation with a possibility to utilise seawater. Due to its great capacity for generating savings in greenhouse gas emissions, EU and US regulations support algae as a low-emission feedstock for renewable fuels, polymers and chemicals”.

Algae is just one of the fields being studied by Neste in the development of sustainable raw materials. The company works with lignocellulosic residues and waste, municipal solid waste, renewable hydrogen and Power-to-X, which uses renewable electricity to convert carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals. It is in addition working on developing chemical recycling to combat the challenges of plastic waste.

Photo: Neste