Finland's Neste flags need for new materials in rush for sustainable jet fuel
Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/finlands-neste-q4-earnings-beat-forecast-2023-02-08/
Finnish refiner Neste on February 8, 2023 posted strong revenue and profit growth in its renewable fuels business even as its Chief Executive flagged the long-term need for new raw materials amid growing European demand for sustainable jet fuel. The company has bet heavily on renewable fuels but is competing in a crowded space as fossil fuel majors enter the green fuel market, pushing up costs for used cooking oil and discarded animal fat. Finnish refiner Neste (NESTE.HE) on Wednesday posted strong revenue and profit growth in its renewable fuels business even as its Chief Executive flagged the long-term need for new raw materials amid growing European demand for sustainable jet fuel. The company has bet heavily on renewable fuels but is competing in a crowded space as fossil fuel majors enter the green fuel market, pushing up costs for used cooking oil and discarded animal fat. Chief Executive Matti Lehmus said 20 to 30 million tonnes of it is being reused, while new materials and processing technologies were being studied to enable long-term growth. He said the joint venture to produce renewable diesel with U.S.-based Marathon Petroleum Corp in Martinez, California would start production this quar with an initial output of 750,000 tonnes, half of it being Neste's. "The facility is targeting to reach full Phase I capacity by the end of the first quar of 2023," Lehmus said on converting Marathon's refinery to renewable diesel production. The company's share will grow to more than a million tonnes by the end of 2023, he said, adding it will account for nearly 20% of Neste's total renewables capacity.