News item | 16-11-2023 | 15:20
International energy company bp wants to accelerate sustainability in the Netherlands at the bp Rotterdam Refinery over the next six years through a tailor-made approach. By 2030, the company wants the CO2reduce emissions by 1.2 megatons. This means a reduction of 60% compared to 2020 and 0.2 megatons more than what the company must legally comply with in 2030 according to the Climate Agreement. In addition, bp is committed to cleaner air. The declaration of intent between the government, the province and bp was signed today at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) in The Hague. It is the tenth completed Expression of Principles (EoP) within the Dutch tailor-made approach to date.
The declaration of intent is an important step towards reaching concrete and binding customized agreements between the government and bp Rotterdam Refinery to reduce CO faster2 emissions and contribute to a sustainable economy and a healthy living environment.
Making production process more sustainable
bp’s refinery in Rotterdam is one of the largest in Western Europe and provides approximately 2,000 jobs in the region and another 12,000 indirectly. At this location the company produces fuels for road traffic, aviation and shipping, as well as lubricants for industry. To achieve the intended CO2To achieve this reduction, a number of routes are being investigated.
Bp Rotterdam Refinery will build a hydrogen factory where the company will produce blue hydrogen to use as a sustainable fuel. The hydrogen is mainly made from residual gases from the refining process. Bp will capture its own residual gases as well as collect them from other companies. In addition to its own fuel use, the company will soon supply that part of the blue hydrogen that is produced with residual gases from others back to those companies. The current burners are being renovated to be able to use hydrogen. This will reduce nitrogen emissions from this part of the company by 20-30% in 2030, contributing to clean air and healthy nature.
The CO2 released during the production of this hydrogen is captured and stored in empty gas fields in the North Sea. Bp Rotterdam Refinery sees Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as an intermediate step in the accelerated sustainability of the refinery in 2030. Ultimately, the company wants to produce green, renewable hydrogen for use in the refining processes in Rotterdam. Green electricity is then used to produce this green, renewable hydrogen, for example from offshore wind.
Further sustainability steps
In addition to the use of hydrogen in the production process, the company is investigating a number of other options to accelerate sustainability. For example, the company will increasingly blend sustainable hydrogen and biofuels into all gasoline and diesel that the company produces, so that the company also contributes to the reduction of CO2-emissions from road traffic and (inland) shipping. This CO2reduction can amount to 0.27 Mton in the Netherlands and abroad.
bp Rotterdam Refinery is also investigating how it can further contribute to the sustainability of road traffic, for example by rolling out approximately 200 electric fast charging points at its own filling stations and by offering biodiesel and hydrogen for freight traffic.
Bp Rotterdam Refinery recognizes the potential of the circular economy. In this light, the company will therefore investigate how the production of ‘lower carbon’ products can increase in the next phase.
Finally, the company is examining whether it is possible to produce sustainable biofuel for aviation in Rotterdam, for example from vegetable oils and fats.
Next steps for a customized approach
This declaration of intent is an important step towards a binding tailor-made agreement between the government and bp. In the next phase, the government will work with BP to investigate what the bottlenecks are for making the company more sustainable and how the government can play a role in removing them. This concerns, for example, accelerating the granting of permits for sustainability projects and the timely installation of the necessary CO2-pipelines for CCS and the strengthening and expansion of electricity connections. Research is also being started to gain insight into options for reducing nitrogen. The government does this in close collaboration with regional and local governments, the business community and grid operators.
The eventual sustainability projects of bp Rotterdam Refinery will be developed into concrete plans. These plans are assessed by an independent advisory committee, after which they are recorded in a Joint Letter of Intent. The ambition is to reach this phase in the third quarter of 2024. Finally, the agreements are made binding.