Repsol has acquired a minority stake in the Canadian company, Enerkem – a technological world leader in the production of renewable fuels and chemical products through the gasification of non-recyclable waste. This investment allows the Spanish multi-energy company to step up the development of decarbonisation projects through the deployment of Enerkem’s technology in its existing industrial facilities and future plants.
Repsol has subscribed €54 million to Enerkem’s share capital. It will contribute an additional €68 million through the subscription of convertible notes which could allow Repsol to increase its stake in accordance with a number of financial variables over the coming years. This makes Repsol a strategic shareholder in the company to accelerate the adoption and deployment of Enerkem’s technology and to develop new industrial projects in Spain and other locations.
The Spanish multi-energy company is already partnering with Enerkem and Agbar to build the Ecoplanta Molecular Solutions waste recovery plant in El Morell (Tarragona), Spain, scheduled to be operational in 2026. Using Enerkem’s gasification technology, the plant will have the capacity to process some 400,000 tpy of non-recyclable solid waste to produce 240,000 t of methanol that can be used for low-carbon fuels and chemicals and recover 70 percent of the carbon present in the non-recyclable materials. Based on the European Commission’s Innovation Fund methodology, the project will achieve 3.4 million t CO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions over the first 10 years of operation. As such, the Ecoplanta project is aligned with the EU’s decarbonisation and climate change mitigation goals.
Among more than 300 projects submitted by major European industrial groups, Ecoplanta Molecular Solutions is one of seven projects selected for financial support from the European Commission’s Innovation Fund for large-scale projects. The final grant agreement was signed at an event in Brussels, Belgium, recently.
In 2019, Repsol was the first oil and gas company to set a goal of achieving zero net emissions by 2050. It is transforming its industrial complexes into multi-energy hubs capable of transforming waste and other renewable raw materials into products with low, zero, or even negative-carbon footprints. The company is investing in circular economy, energy efficiency, renewable hydrogen, and CCU technologies as the main strategic pillars to achieve this. It has had a circular economy strategy in place since 2016, which applies throughout the company’s value chain, from obtaining raw materials to marketing products and services.
Repsol’s Industrial Business aims to make a decisive contribution to a decarbonised and circular economy and is committed to the efficiency of its industrial processes. Repsol is the leading low-carbon fuel producer in the Iberian Peninsula. Its commitment is to produce 2 million tpy of low-carbon fuels by 2030 and thus mitigate more than 7 million t of CO2.
Its chemical products are used to manufacture everyday objects that improve people’s quality of life, wellbeing, and safety. Its wide range of chemical products extends from base petrochemicals to derivatives, including a wide range of polyolefins, all of which are 100 percent recyclable. Repsol’s target is to recycle the equivalent of 20 percent of its polyolefins production by 2030.
The company has six large industrial facilities in the Iberian Peninsula where its efficient fuels and differentiated high value-added products are developed.
For more information visit www.repsol.com
