Euglena Co., Ltd. (Tokyo), Petroliam Nasional Berhad of Malaysia (Petronas), and Enilive SpA of Italy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eni SpA, fave made a final investment decision for a project (hereinafter “the Project”) to construct and operate a biofuel production plant in Malaysia. The Commercial Plant is planned to be constructed within PETRONAS’s oil and petrochemical complex, Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC), located in Johor, Malaysia. The partners will establish a joint venture in Malaysia, with PETRONAS Mobility Lestari Sdn Bhd (PMLSB), a subsidiary of PETRONAS, and Enilive as the largest shareholders, to construct and operate the commercial plant.
The commercial plant is scheduled to begin operation by the second half of 2028 and will produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and next-generation biodiesel fuel (Renewable Diesel or Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO)). Taking advantage of the strengths of each partner, the plant will meet the growing demand for biofuels in the global aviation and transportation industries.
Construction of the commercial plant is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2024, and once completed, it will have a feedstock processing capacity of approximately 650,000 tons per year to produce SAF, HVO, and bio-naphtha.
The planned feedstocks will be waste and residue-based materials, such as used vegetable oil, animal fats and oils, waste from vegetable oil processing, and in the future, biomass materials such as algae oil derived from microalgae. By utilizing the facilities and utilities owned by PETRONAS’ PIC, as well as taking advantage of the company’s strategic location close to feedstock sources and easy access to major international shipping routes, it will be possible to meet the demand for biofuels from all over the world.
The new commercial plant will be custom designed to combine the processing capacity of a wide range of raw materials through the Ecofining technology and pre-treatment equipment jointly developed by Eni and Honeywell UOP, with manufacturing facilities that can flexibly control and maximize the production of SAF and HVO.