Executive Vice President of oil and gas company MOL Downstream Gabriel Szabo said that MOL Group has been a biofuel user by purchasing more than 500,000 tons of biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) for blending. With this investment, the group started to produce sustainable diesel for the first time and thus became biofuel producers. MOL announced that it has started the production of biofuel at its Danube refinery, through a process of mixing bio feedstock with fossil materials.
During co-processing at the Danube refinery, bio-feedstock is processed together with the fossil material in the production of diesel fuel. Vegetable oils, used cooking oils and animal fats can also be used for this purpose. As a result, the produced gasoil is going to be partly renewable, without any quality changes compared to fully crude-oil based diesel. The main advantage of this method is that biodiesel type of components can be still blended in maximum 7 volume % in line with the diesel standard, so the process after all is able to further increase the bio-share of the gasoil.
One of the main goals of the European Union and MOL Group is to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. MOL started co-processing as an R&D project in 2012, based on the research results of Pannon University. The trial operation of the new process started in March 2020 and has been operating regularly since May. The produced bio-component has significantly higher CO2 saving potential than other type of biofuels produced from the same feedstock. This project means up to 200,000 tons of annual CO2 emission reduction, it’s equal like a city of 200.000 inhabitants would use only solar energy for heating. Still the target is to extend the feedstock portfolio in the direction of waste and residues to achieve even better CO2 saving of the product.
One of the cornerstones of MOL Group 2030+ Strategy is to play a key role in shaping the low-carbon circular economy with investments in new businesses such as waste integration and utilization, recycling, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), advanced biofuels and potentially hydrogen-related opportunities. In the next five years, MOL will spend USD 1bn on new, low-carbon and sustainable projects to become a key player in CEE in the circular economy and to get closer to its net-zero CO2 emitter goal by 2050. MOL aims to transform its Downstream segment into a highly efficient, sustainable, chemicals-focused leading industry player.
