Saudi Arabia inaugurates first waste-to-biofuel plant

KSA inaugurated the kingdom’s first biofuel production plant in the country’s eastern province of Al Jubail, according to Al Riyadh and a company statement released last week. The production facility — operated by KSA’s The Biofuel Company — is wholly financed by Saudi investors, with financial backing from Aramco’s VC outfit Waed Ventures.

The details: The plant — which became operational in October — converts reclaimed cooking and palm oil into carbon-neutral biodiesel and has a yearly production capacity totalling some 4.2 mn liters of B100 biodiesel, the news outlet notes. The refinery’s green fuel would be earmarked for the local market, and any excess biodiesel output would be exported to the European market.

Where are they getting the oil from? KSA-based restaurants and corporations including Aramco would supply the plant with used oils, the news outlet quotes Al Hussein as saying, adding that the plant would capitalize on KSA’s ban on the export of waste materials to source the second-hand oil it needs.

Plans for another biofuel plant in Jeddah: KSA is looking to launch another biodiesel production facility in Jeddah to up its national production capacity in line with its 2060 carbon neutrality target, Al Hussein said, noting that the country wastes some 15k liters of oils on a monthly basis that can be converted into biofuels.