News Post
Total reopens La Mède Refinery as Biofuel producer from vegetable oils
In 2015, French energy company Total shut down its La Mêde oil refinery in southeastern France and began repurposing it to produce biofuels. Now, after an investment of €275 million, that facility has begun producing its first batch of hydrotreated vegetable oil, otherwise known as HVO, a premium biofuel suitable for diesel engines in vehicles and for powering the jet engines of commercial aircraft.
The HVO technology selected is French, developed by IFP Énergies nouvelles and marketed by its affiliate Axens. It produces a sustainable and high-quality biofuel, similar in nature to fossil fuels and therefore has no adverse effect on engines. The biorefinery was designed to produce biofuels from various types of oils, including vegetable oils certified sustainable according to E.U. criteria as well as used oils, residual oils and animal fats.
The La Mède facility has an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons of biofuels made from 60 to 70% sustainable vegetable oils such as rapeseed, palm, and sunflower, according to Renewable Energy magazine. The new La Mède complex includes an 8 megawatt solar farm, a logistics and storage hub with a capacity of 1.3 million cubic meters, and a training center able to host 2,500 learners a year. Taken together, all these efforts and investments will provide employment to 250 workers.
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