Neste breaks ground on world's first Bio LPG facility in Rotterdam

Neste Corporation
Press Release
8 September 2015 at 4 pm (EET)

Neste breaks ground on world's first Bio LPG facility in Rotterdam

The ground-breaking ceremony held today at Neste's renewable product refinery in Rotterdam marks the beginning of construction for the world's first Bio LPG production facility. The EUR 60 million facility will start production of Bio LPG in the end of 2016. SHV Energy will market and sell Bio LPG to be produced at Neste's Rotterdam refinery.

Bio LPG will enable users of existing fossil fuels to reduce their carbon footprint without any modifications to existing gas applications technology. Bio LPG can be used within a full range of existing LPG applications, from transport and commercial heating to retail leisure cylinders.

"Today is the start of the building phase of our project to make a new renewable product, Bio LPG, a reality. For us it represents an important step in implementing our renewable product strategy. We have developed an innovative renewable product family based on our NEXBTL production technology. Bio LPG is the latest addition to our list of renewable products," says Ms Kaisa Hietala, Executive Vice President of Renewable Products at Neste.

"I am happy to say that the cooperation with SHV Energy has been seamless. It ensures that customers in Europe will be able to use this new renewable product and enjoy its environmental benefits and other unique properties," continues Ms Hietala.

"Bio LPG is a wonderful addition to our product portfolio, and our customers can benefit from it," says Fulco van Lede, Management Board Member of SHV Energy. "Bio LPG can be used within a full range of existing LPG applications, from transport and commercial heating to retail leisure cylinders, demonstrating the versatility of the fuel without having to change conventional equipment. This provides our customers with an even cleaner rural energy alternative to the high-carbon fuels many are dependent on in off-grid areas."

The new facility will have a production capacity of 40,000 tonnes per year of Bio LPG for the European market. SHV Energy will be the exclusive distributor, supplying the 160,000 tonnes over four years.

The new fuel is already being recognized by policy makers as an effective method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting sustainability targets. The UK Department for Transport has issued Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs) for Bio LPG under their Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) accreditation, and SHV Energy is working with customers and policy makers in France, Germany, the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, and Ireland on similar schemes.

Neste's Rotterdam refinery primarily produces premium-quality NEXBTL renewable diesel from various waste, residues and vegetable oils. The EUR 60 million investment to produce and store Bio LPG in Rotterdam was announced in fall 2014. The new unit will purify and separate Bio LPG from the sidestream gases produced by the refinery. Technology, engineering and project management company Neste Jacobs has designed the Bio LPG production process.

Neste Corporation

Kaisa Lipponen
Director, Corporate Communications

Further information:

Neste: Ms Kaisa Hietala, Executive Vice President, Renewable Products, tel. + 358 50 458 4128
SHV Energy: Mr Joppe Hendriks, Manager, Corporate Communications & Sustainability, tel.  +31629099153.

Neste in brief

Neste is a forerunner in oil refining and renewable solutions. We offer our customers cleaner traffic solutions and industrial products based on cutting-edge research. We are the leading producer of renewable diesel in the world, with an annual production volume of more than 2 million tons. We are also the world's largest producer of renewable fuels from waste and residues. Our sustainable practices have received recognition in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Global 100 list of the world's most sustainable companies. In 2014, our revenue amounted to EUR 15 billion. Neste shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. Cleaner traffic, energy and life are moved forward by 5,000 professionals. Learn more at neste.com

About SHV Energy

As part of SHV Holdings N.V., SHV Energy belongs to a family owned Dutch organisation that has supplied energy to businesses and consumers for over 100 years. Well-known brand names include Primagaz, Calor Gas, Liquigas, Gaspol and Ipragaz.  SHV Energy operates in more than 20 countries. Globally, SHV Energy employs 15,000 people, has a turnover of over €6 billion and provides decentralised energy sources LPG, LNG and biomass to tens of millions of customers. Learn more at SHV Energy.com