Neste Launches a Strategic Study on Transitioning its Porvoo Refinery to a Renewable & Circular Site

Building on its capability of proactive transformation, Neste launches a strategic study on transitioning its refinery in Porvoo, Finland to non-crude oil refining and into a globally leading renewable and circular solutions site.

Through co-processing and retrofitting of units, and benefiting from available refining assets, experience, and know-how, Neste targets to significantly grow its renewables and circular production in Porvoo long term. The transformation under study would start with the co-processing of both renewable and circular feedstock and could continue with retrofits of existing units at a later stage, with a long-term capacity potential of 2 to 4 million tonnes per year. The targeted transformation would lead to a discontinuation of crude oil refining in Porvoo in the mid-2030s. Neste will also continue to actively study opportunities for green hydrogen at its Porvoo refinery. These developments would significantly contribute to the realization of Neste’s climate commitments, and make Neste a global frontrunner in the transformation of the fossil fuel industry.

“Neste’s growth strategy is centered on renewable and circular solutions. We continue to set our ambition level high, launching this study on the long-term transformation path for our Porvoo refinery and targeting to ultimately replace crude oil with alternative feedstocks. The Porvoo site provides a flexible and large-scale base that can grow into a major site for our renewables and circular business,” says Matti Lehmus, President and CEO of Neste.

Transformation of such scale would create the need for significant investments over the coming decade. Separate investment decisions would be taken as the planning proceeds. As the time span of the plan is more than a decade, it would be built on modularity and flexibility and could be adjusted to reflect variations in the pace of change in both the renewable and circular businesses as well as in traditional refining. Independently of the planned transition, Neste will continue to provide access to fossil fuel products for its customers.

Neste in brief

Neste creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. We refine waste, residues, and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. We are the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel and developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. We aim at helping customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with our renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. Our ambition is to make the Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. We are introducing renewable and recycled raw materials such as liquefied waste plastic as refinery raw materials. We have committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and we will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040. We also have set high standards for biodiversity, human rights, and supply chain. We have consistently been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2021, Neste’s revenue stood at EUR 15.1 billion. Read more: neste.com