Neste Oil expands its renewable raw material base with jathropha and camelina oils

Neste Oil will expand the raw material base used to produce NExBTL renewable fuel with jatropha and camelina oils. By introducing these new raw materials in its feedstock base, Neste Oil increases the proportion of non-food materials and raw materials that can be grown on cultivation areas less suited for food plants in its raw material procurement.

For the moment, only limited volumes of jatropha and camelina oils are procured to produce NExBTL. In addition to these new raw materials, Neste Oil continues to use palm oil and its by-products stearin and palm oil fatty acid distillate (PFAD), rapeseed oil, as well as waste animal fat from the food industry as NExBTL renewable fuels’ raw materials. As a result of the continuous feedstock base expansion, the proportion of crude palm oil is expected to be less than 50% of the total bio-based raw materials used in the production of Neste Oil’s renewable fuel in 2011.

NExBTL renewable fuel can be produced by hydrotreating a variety of bio-based raw materials, such as vegetable oils and waste fats. About 80% of the company’s R&D costs totaling over 40 million euros annually are directed to researching renewable raw materials. In the beginning of 2011, Neste Oil announced its aims to increase the proportion of different by-products and waste stream materials, such as palm fatty acid distillate and waste animal fat, in its raw material procurement. The waste and side streams are expected to form approximately 40% of the total raw material procurement in 2011.

Neste Oil continues researching the entirely new raw materials, such as microbes, algae and wood-based bio mass. In summer 2001, the company announced its participation in international research projects related to algae in the Netherlands and Australia. In addition, Neste Oil continues the research related to introducing the currently available raw materials, such as soy bean oil, waste oils from the fish processing industry, used cooking oils, and tall oil, to its raw material base.

Neste Oil procures only renewable raw materials that are fully traceable back to their source and comply with the EU’s stringent sustainability criteria.

New raw materials in brief

Jatropha is a perennial shrub or a tree. The jatropha family consists of around 150 plant varieties, all of which contain seeds with high oil content. Most jatropha plants are toxic and unsuitable for human consumption. Jatropha typically grows on poor land, including sandy soil, hay and shrub lands in savanna climate. Thus its cultivation does not threaten areas of forests. Jatropha can be cultivated in areas that are unsuitable for normal cultivation of food crops or are classified as wasteland. Jatropha is also used to prevent erosion and desertification.

Camelina as a plant is related to oilseed rape and grows best in the northern temperate zone, also in Finland. Camelina can be grown in fallow lands, and it is suitable for rotational cropping, for example, with wheat. Therefore the impact of its cultivation on the land use of food crops is minimal. Camelina’s seed pressing waste (about 70% of the harvest) is an excellent feed for animals. It is also a good source for Omega-3 fatty acids, and it is also suitable for cooking. The use as food is partly limited due to camelina’s smaller oil yields per hectare compared to other oil crops, as well as its characteristically strong taste and smell caused by components that are expensive to remove from the oil, which altogether make camelina oil somewhat more expensive than many other vegetable oils.

Neste Oil in brief

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels. The company produces a comprehensive range of major petroleum products and is the world’s leading supplier of renewable diesel. The company had net sales of EUR 11.9 billion in 2010 and employs around 5,000 people. Neste Oil’s share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

Neste Oil has been selected into the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and is also featured in the Ethibel Excellence investment register. The company is included in The Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable corporations. Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) has ranked Neste Oil as the best performer in the oil & gas sector. Further information: www.nesteoil.com.