Mr Emilio Mayoral, who manages the unit, said his colleagues were in the early days of brewing fuels for trucks and airplanes from what was formerly garbage. “It's quite flexible," he said. "We are currently using used cooking oil, but we can use other waste."
Repsol says these alternative fuels will cut emissions by up to 90 per cent compared with the petroleum-based products they will replace. The new fuels emit some carbon dioxide (CO2) when used, but they are produced from plants and other organisms that absorbed CO2 during their lifetimes, which is factored into the emissions calculation.
As an added benefit, these new biofuel products perform as well as their fossil fuel counterparts, even in cold northern European weather that creates problems for some fuels, Mr Mayoral said.
Madrid-based Repsol is one of Europe's largest energy companies, with 26,000 employees and more than 4,500 service stations as well as investments in renewable energy such as wind and solar power. Repsol reported income of €1.6 billion (S$2.3 billion) for the first half of 2024.
Energy companies like Repsolare betting that advanced biofuels like the ones being made at the Cartagena plant will play an important role in transportation well into the future. They figure that airplanes and heavy trucks as well as a significant portion of the passenger car fleet will continue to be powered by liquid fuels like diesel and jet fuel, despite growth in the market for electric vehicles.
Tightening regulations on emissions, they calculate, will force greater use of fuels that emit less CO2. Both energy companies and their customers consider biofuels
which can make use of large Energy companies like Repsol parts of existing infrastructure like petrol station pumps and storage tanks to be a practical and relatively inexpensive solution for navigating this technological and regulatory gauntlet.
Esta historia es de la edición September 03, 2024 de The Straits Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 03, 2024 de The Straits Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Mbappe could be stripped of captaincy
PARIS France captain Kylian Mbappe is facing criticism in his home country for skipping Les Bleus' Nations League games against Israel and Belgium while being available to play for his club Real Madrid.
STEWING OVER 'WORST' DEFEAT
Spurs boss slams unacceptable second half’ at Brighton, conceding thrice in 18 minutes
CHRISTIAN IS ROOKIE CHAMP
S’pore driver heads to Eurocup-3’s final round with chance of being overall winner
TENNIS STARS PICK 'SECOND FAMILY'
New coaching partnerships help top players refresh, improve their games
Scepticism over Chinese stocks remains despite world-beating rally
Global fund managers waiting for Beijing to back up stimulus pledges with real money
US scientists win Nobel Prize in medicine for work on microRNA
Duo lauded for discovering new principle of gene regulation for multicellular organisms
Hurricane Milton strengthening as it heads towards Florida
FLORIDA Hurricane Milton is intensifying on its path towards Florida possibly reaching Category 4 power and may spark the largest evacuation in seven years as it aims for the state's Gulf Coast and Tampa.
Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves with race on razor's edge
US presidential candidates scramble for votes in 7 swing states vital to poll victory
China military drills expected soon after Taiwan national day
China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the island to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials say.
Gaza war deadliest conflict for journalists: Observers
Israel refutes claim by advocacy group that it directly targeted 32 media workers