SGP BioEnergy has reported the addition of green hydrogen production to the largest planned advanced bio refinery in the world, allowing the facility to operate with net-zero emissions. In May, SGP BioEnergy stated the plan for Biorefinería Ciudad Dorada (Golden City Biorefinery), located in Colon and Balboa, Panama.
Facility construction is on schedule for Phase 1 production to begin in 2025, with all land rights secured to allow for the ground-breaking of physical construction in 2023. Once fully operational the biorefinery will produce 180,000 barrels per day (2.6 billion gallons per year) of biofuel and 405,000 metric tons of green hydrogen annually.
Randy Delbert Letang, CEO of SGP BioEnergy, said: “This facility is truly a model of the future of the energy transition. We will not only produce the fuel that will decarbonise transportation but do so in a way that is also decarbonising the manufacturing process itself. It is the first time both advanced biofuels and green hydrogen will be produced together at this scale, and we are excited to be bringing this innovation to Panama.”
Multiple partners are working together to make the refinery a reality and many of them joined SGP BioEnergy on Thursday, October 14, to conduct the ground-breaking. Attendees included Gustavo Cienfuegos from engineering firm Topsoe, Yasser Williams from Corporacion CSN, Federico Alfaro the SA minister of commerce and industries of Panama, and Panama’s secretary of energy Dr. Jorge Rivera Staff.
Minister Alfaro said: “It is exciting to see the progress on this facility that will bring more than 1,000 jobs to Panama.”
Secretary Staff said: “The addition of green hydrogen to this facility is further evidence of Panama’s role as a source of innovation and real solutions to address climate change.”
In the months preceding October, SGP BioEnergy has convened political and industry leaders to ensure this massive project stays on schedule and can meet the growing demand for advanced biofuels to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel, as well as Renewable Diesel for ground transportation and lower carbon marine fuel.
In addition to establishing these foundational elements, SGP BioEnergy has worked with Topsoe to incorporate its HydroFlex™ and H2 Bridge™ technologies to produce green hydrogen from the waste carbon and renewable fuels by-products produced during the refining process.
The HydroFlex™ technology is Topsoe’s proprietary technology for taking a wide range of biofuel feedstocks including soy, camelina, canola/rapeseed, and hazelnut and refining them into advanced biofuels. The H2 Bridge™ technology captures waste propane and carbon off gas from the refining process, converts them into green hydrogen and provides that back to the refining facility to power facility operations.
Henrik Rasmussen, managing director for The Americas, Topsoe, said: “We have seen great success with the HydroFlex™ and H2 Bridge™ technologies in renewable fuels applications for other plants. We are excited to bring these proven technologies together for what will be the largest renewable fuels plant in South America to not only produce a product that decarbonises transportation but to produce it in a way that decarbonises the manufacturing process as well. It is a true model for a low carbon energy future.”
To finance the project, SGP BioEnergy partnered with Goldman Sachs to identify investors that shared the company’s vision for a better energy mix that includes renewable biofuel. The country of Panama was an ideal partner to support the financial potential of the project given its free zones, commitment to clean energy innovation and global platform to transport the fuels all over the world.
The production of renewable energy at a large scale is necessary now more than ever. All over the globe decarbonisation, corporate commitments, and regulatory initiatives are taking place and the existing Panama free zones offer a unique opportunity to develop a scalable, logistically superior, and flexible way of collecting, processing and distributing sustainable biomass feedstocks into renewable products. It also provides a global platform to transport the fuels all over the world to customers committed to decarbonising their operations.
For more information sgpbioenergy.com
