NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) – The government of Panama and energy companies, including SGP BioEnergy, announced Tuesday that they will add green hydrogen production to an advanced biorefinery in development.
The facility plans to refine 180,000 barrels a day of biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and generate 405,000 metric tons of green hydrogen annually. Producing green hydrogen will allow the facility to operate with net-zero emissions, SGP BioEnergy said in a news release.
The airline industry is harder to decarbonize than other types of transportation, so a massive ramp-up in SAF output will be needed for aviation to reach net-zero emissions.
SGP BioEnergy first announced the plan for the facility, located in Colon and Balboa, Panama, in May.
Construction is set to begin in 2023. For the project, SGP BioEnergy will work with Topsoe Sustainable Aviation Fuel to produce green hydrogen from waste carbon and renewable fuels by-products produced during refining, the release said.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Andrea Ricci