The ecoplant of Repsol, Suez and the Canadian Enerkem on El Morell (Tarragonès) will receive 106 million of the european fund for innovation. The facility, with a total planned investment of around 300 million, is intended for the conversion of waste into new low-carbon chemicals.
Within the framework of the Ecoplanta Molecular Recycling Solutions joint venture, the new factory will process some 400,000 tonnes of rnon-recyclable urban solid waste from nearby municipalities and will produce around 220,000 tons of methanol annually. This methanol arising from the conversion process will be used as raw material to produce circular materials or advanced biofuels. This will help to avoid the emission of some 200,000 tons of CO2 each year and reduce the waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill, according to the estimates of the companies that carry out the project. This alliance is one more step in Repsol’s ambitious goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
This injection of resources from Europe is part of the 1.1 billion of the innovation fund approved this Tuesday by the European Commission for a total of seven projects. In addition to the innovative installation of El Morell, there are six others within the field of sustainability that have deserved resources from this European fund in Belgium, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, Holland and Norway. Projects range from hydrogen production facilities to carbon capture, storage and renewable energy.
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The El Morell plant is the first of its kind to be built in the Iberian Peninsula. It will be managed by Repsol and Suez, while Enerkem will be the key technology partner. The plant is scheduled to come online in late 2025.
The project was selected for the European Union Innovation Fund, which supports highly innovative technologies and large flagship projects in Europe to achieve significant emission reductions.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com