Neste Oil Investing in Research on Alternative Feedstocks for NExBTL

18 October 2007

In a statement detailing its view on palm oil as a biofuel feedstock, Neste Oil said that while palm oil is in the near term among the most widely and commercially available vegetable oil feedstocks, the company is investing in R&D to explore alternative feedstocks including waste wood and non-food plant oils for its NExBTL process.

NExBTL is a high-pressure hydrogenation process that converts fatty acids to hydrocarbon chains with chemical properties very similar to diesel hydrocarbons. (Earlier post.) The result is a renewable diesel that is distinct from biodiesel.

Neste Oil was the first oil company to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and says that it commits fully to sustainable sourcing of feedstocks for the production of the NExBTL renewable diesel. The RSPO has more than 270 members, representing all phases of production and civil society—including many NGOs with critical interests in rainforest conservation and protecting the habitat of threatened species including orangutan populations.

Neste Oil stated that innovation and technology can help ensure that increased demand for vegetable oil does not require rain forest devastation. The company asserted that the current output per hectare could be doubled by improving yield through better farming techniques. Furthermore, Neste Oil is looking at ways in which idle land can be used to produce vegetable oil. It is estimated that in Southeast Asia alone there is over 20 million hectares of non-rain forest land suitable for sustainable palm oil production currently not in use.