Repsol has today (29 January) announced that it is to invest in a project to transform urban waste into renewable fuels and circular products.
Located in Tarragona, Spain, Repsol says the facility — which is expected to receive an investment of over €800 million— will become the first plant in Europe to produce renewable and circular methanol from waste through gasification.
The technology, developed by Enerkem – a technology company in which Repsol is a partner – gives a second life to waste that would otherwise end up in landfills or be incinerated.
The new plant will have the capacity to process up to 400,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per year and turn them into 240,000 tonnes of renewable fuels and circular products. The renewable methanol originates from organic waste, while the circular products come from non-organic waste, such as non-recyclable plastics.
Scheduled for 2029, the start-up of the plant is expected to result in the creation of 340 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, as well as some 2,800 jobs during the construction phase. The Ecoplant will be integrated into Repsol’s industrial complex in Tarragona.
‘The Ecoplanta has been selected by the European Union, from among more than 300 projects, to receive funding from the Innovation Fund program, due to its high potential for reducing emissions and its innovative nature and for being unique in Europe,’ Repsol said in a statement today. ‘According to the European Commission, the Ecoplanta will reduce the equivalent of 3.4 million tonnes of CO2 in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the first ten years of operation.’
Repsol aims to produce between 1.5 and 1.7 million tonnes annually in 2027 and up to 2.7 million tonnes per year in 2030 (including renewable hydrogen and biomethane). The company also aims to manufacture up to 105,000 tonnes of circular products per year in 2027 and 200,000 tonnes by 2030.
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