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A CHF 100 million renewable fuel plant for Switzerland

A CHF 100 million renewable fuel plant for Switzerland

Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss company Helvoil AG will build a plant for the production of fuel made from used food oils and animal waste fats. The first such recycling project in Switzerland will cost CHF 100 million. The plant is expected to create up to 40 new jobs.

A CHF 100 million renewable fuel plant for Switzerland

Switzerland is building the first plant for HVO, an eco-friendly fuel for cars and airplanes (Source: Pixabay).

Administrative support

The plant is to be built on a plot of 20,000 square meters, including a warehouse, in an industrial site of Monthey in Lower Valais by 2024. The canton is expected to approve the building application by the end of this year. The presentation of the project was held in the presence of Valais State Councilor Christoph Darbellay, head of the Department of National Economy and Education.

The construction phase may last 18 months. Accordingly, the factory would start operation in mid-2024 and produce 100,000 tons of fuel annually. This amount would be sufficient to refuel all Swiss diesel cars twice a year or to operate 100 % of the goods transit traffic through Switzerland, said Luca Schenk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Helvoil AG.

Eco-friendly fuel

The used cooking oil and fat from animal carcasses are converted into hydrocarbons employing a catalytic reaction with the addition of hydrogen. This fuel called Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) could be used for road traffic and, in principle, also for air traffic. No ethically problematic raw materials such as palm, soy, or rapeseed oil are used in the process.

The company claims that “Helvoil HVO” complies with all major fuel standards and can be added to road traffic in any ratio throughout the year or even refueled pure. No modifications to engines or the storage or distribution infrastructure are required, even for pure use.

Novelty for Switzerland

Currently, Switzerland consumes 150,000 tons of vegetable oil annually. Helvoil aims to recycle 20 percent or 30,000 tons. Half of this comes from large kitchens such as burgers or kebab restaurants, the other from collection points for private households. The rest has to be imported from neighboring France, Italy, and Germany, Schenk explained.

Currently, Switzerland imports all the HVO fuel it uses. According to figures from the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, this amounted to 50,000 tons in 2020. According to Schenk, the Monthey plant should help improve Switzerland’s self-sufficiency in renewable fuels for road transport and lower CO2 emissions by up to 90 percent.

The commissioning of the plant requires an investment of around 100 million Swiss francs. The sum is fully financed by the UBS Clean Energy Infrastructure Switzerland 2 fund – i.e. indirectly by institutional investors from Switzerland. The fund invests primarily in Swiss companies active in the growth areas of sustainable energy production, energy efficiency, or in various areas of utility infrastructure.

Text: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ

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