bp has begun producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from used cooking oil in co-processing process with crude oil at its plant in Lingen, Germany. This is the first industrial production facility in Germany to use this process for SAF production based on biomass waste and residues.

Fats, Oils and Greases (FOG) co-processing is one of nine ASTM-approved conversion processes for SAF production. SAF production through refinery co-processing (ASTM D1655, Annex A1) is limited to a 5% insertion rate at the refinery.

In the process used in Lingen, the used cooking oil is processed together with crude oil in the existing plants; the final product (SAF) has the same properties as conventional kerosene.

The process used in Lingen for the production of SAF is unique in Germany. Co-processing allows us to continue to operate the existing plant with some modifications and extensions.

—Arno Appel, board member of BP Europa SE and head of the refinery in Lingen

For the start of SAF production, bp built a new unloading point at the Lingen site, upgraded a tank for the storage of biogenic raw materials and connected it to the previously extensively maintained hydrocracker plant.

Although this technology is made possible in the current EU legal framework, the products obtained in co-processing have not yet been approved in Germany to offset the greenhouse gas quota obligation and are therefore exported to other countries that allow crediting.

bp began producing renewable diesel via co-processing at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington state in 2018.

In 2020, bp and Ørsted signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to work together to develop a project for industrial-scale production of green hydrogen at Lingen via the electrolysis of water using renewable power. (Earlier post.)