Total Starts Up the La Mède Biorefinery
July 03 2019 - 3:25AM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) has started up production
at the La Mède biorefinery in southeastern France, with the first
batches of biofuel coming off the line. It is the final step in
converting a former oil refinery into a new energies complex.
Launched in 2015, the project represents a capital expenditure of
€275 million.
The La Mède complex now encompasses:
- A biorefinery with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of
biofuel per year.
- An 8-megawatt solar farm that can supply 13,000
people.
- A unit to produce 50,000 cubic meters per year of
AdBlue®, an additive that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions from
trucks.
- A logistics and storage hub with a capacity of 1.3
million cubic meters per year.
- A training center offering real facilities and able to
host 2,500 learners a year.
Together, these new activities have maintained 250 direct
jobs at La Mède.
As part of the site transformation, 65% of the orders to remodel
the complex were awarded to local businesses, representing 800 jobs
and €140 million in revenue. Total also invested €5 million in the
economic development of the Fos-Etang de Berre region, notably by
supporting initiatives to create jobs, attract industrial projects
and support contractors. That’s five times as much as a typical
revitalization agreement.
The biorefinery can produce 500,000 tonnes of hydrotreated
vegetable oil (HVO), a premium biofuel. La Mède will produce
both biodiesel and biojet fuel for the aviation industry. It was
specifically designed to process all types of oil. Its biofuels
will be made:
- 60 to 70% from 100% sustainable vegetable oils
(rapeseed, palm, sunflower, etc.).
- 30 to 40% from treated waste (animal fats, cooking oil,
residues, etc.) to promote a circular economy.
As part of an agreement with the Government in May 2018, Total
has pledged to process no more than 300,000 tonnes of palm oil per
year — less than 50% of the total volume of raw materials needed —
and at least 50,000 tonnes of French-grown rapeseed, creating
another market for domestic agriculture.
All the oils processed will be certified sustainable to
European Union standards. In addition, as part of its palm oil
procurement process, Total is taking an extra step by
introducing strengthened control of sustainability and respect for
Human Rights (see below).
“I’d like to thank the teams for all their hard work these last
four years to convert our La Mède refinery,” said Bernard Pinatel,
President, Refining & Chemicals. “Biofuels are fully renewable
and an immediately available solution to cut carbon emissions from
ground and air transportation. When produced from sustainable raw
materials, as at La Mède, they emit over 50% less carbon than
fossil fuels. Our biorefinery will allow us to make biofuels in
France that were previously imported.”
********
Total’s Feedstock Sustainability
Commitments
- 100% of the oils processed at La Mède are certified
sustainable to European Union standards.
- The sustainability of the oils processed by the La Mède
biorefinery is guaranteed by International Sustainability &
Carbon Certification (ISCC)-type certification, recognized by the
European Union.
- Certification is awarded subject to
compliance with sustainability and traceability criteria for oils
throughout the value chain, from source to refinery:
- A reduction in carbon emissions of at least 50% compared to
fossil-derived fuels. - No deforestation. - Farming methods that
preserve biodiversity. - Respect for human rights.
- These criteria were strengthened in
2019 as part of the revision of the Renewable Energy
Directive (RED2) covering transportation. In particular, the
European Union caps for each Member State the consumption of palm
oil biofuels at the 2019 level. It also requires the consumption of
palm oil-based biofuels to be progressively reduced between 2024
and 2030, unless the palm oil comes from:
- An increase in the yield of plantations of small independent
producers (<2 hectares); - Or an increase in the yield of
plantations (>2 hectares), capable of demonstrating that this
increase results from the new requirements of the European
directive; - Or abandoned land (ie not exploited for 5 years) or
heavily degraded land.
- As part of its palm oil procurement process, Total has added
its own tighter controls and auditing of sustainability and respect
for human rights to certification.
- Selecting responsible suppliers and
limiting their number, so that improvement plans can be
jointly drafted and verifiably deployed.
- Requiring suppliers to join the
RSPO1, agreeing to help the sector improve its use of
sustainable palm oil.
- Requiring suppliers to sign Total’s
Fundamental Principles of Purchasing and Code of
Conduct.
- Suppliers commit to the following principles and agree to be
audited by Total in the following areas: respect for human rights
in the workplace; protecting health, security and safety;
environmental protection; preventing corruption, conflicts of
interest and fraud; compliance with antitrust law; and promoting
economic and social development.
- Creating a dedicated sustainability
team and implementing a program to
have an outside expert assess the human rights compliance of
each shortlisted supplier.
Total transparently publishes the list of
mills from which its palm oil is sourced on the La Mède
complex website for each delivery.
Total’s Involvement in Second-Generation Biofuel
R&D
- Total is working to develop second-generation, or advanced,
biofuels, which pose availability, collection and technology
hurdles to overcome.
- These fuels will supplement, rather than replace,
first-generation biofuels in helping to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Today, 97% of the biofuels produced worldwide are
first-generation.
- In the last decade, Total has spent more
than €500 million on advanced biofuel R&D.
- Total is examining different biomass conversion pathways, such
as thermochemical, biotechnology and algae.
- Total is working in its own laboratories and via R&D
partnerships with manufacturers, start-ups, universities and
private laboratories, including BioTfueL, Novogy and Renmatix.
* * * * *
About Total
Total is a major energy player that produces and markets
fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000
employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more
affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible.
Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the
responsible energy major.
* * * * *
Cautionary note
This press release, from which no legal consequences may be
drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which
TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate
legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or
omissions. In this document, the terms “Total”, “Total Group” and
Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the words “we”,
“us” and “our” may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general
or to those who work for them.
This document may contain forward-looking information and
statements that are based on a number of economic data and
assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory
environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are
subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of
its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends
contained in this document whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
1 The RSPO label refers to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm
Oil, an organization created in 2004 by producers, manufacturers
and NGOs to promote responsible, sustainable palm oil
production.
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