Neste slams Biofuel Watch report saying it doesn’t use palm oil in aviation biofuel

In Finland, Biofuel Watch published a report “Neste: The Finnish company preparing to put palm oil in aircraft fuel tanks” on 9 January 2019. The report suggests that Neste is looking to palm oil as a key raw material for the expansion of its aviation fuel production, and that the firm cannot guarantee the sustainability of the palm oil it uses.

Neste is not using palm oil as a raw material for renewable aviation fuel. As stated consistently in previous communications, Neste utilizes a diverse portfolio of raw materials with an ever expanding focus on waste and residue as sources of feedstock for our renewable products. Waste and residue fats and oils account for nearly 80% of the renewable raw materials used annually.

“Our main R&D focus is on finding new, even lower quality wastes and residues. We are currently even exploring ways to start utilizing liquified waste plastic as raw material,” Neste said in a statement.

“Our announcement in December 2018 to invest in building additional production capacity at our Singapore refinery does not change our approach to raw materials; we will continue focusing on waste and residue raw materials. The project in Singapore will also include additional capacity to pre-treat waste and residue raw materials.”