PARS Termināl is scrutinising the construction of a production plant in the Latvian capital seaport, set to supply 93 thousand tonnes of hydrotreated vegetable oil and 87kt of sustainable aviation fuel per year.
The €120-million investment, the completion of which is estimated to take 20 months, will be located in Kundziņsala in the Port of Riga. It will have the capacity to process 236kt/year of feedstock (mainly vegetable oils).
"The new plant is a step in the modernisation of our business. With Ukrainian partners, we will ensure economic independence from foreign supplies, thus shortening logistics chains and obtaining high value added products that are currently only imported in the Baltics. This would also benefit our aviation sector, and the Latvian national airline AirBaltic would be a direct beneficiary, with immediate, significant economic benefits, especially looking beyond 2030, when at least 20% of aviation fuel will have to be renewable," Armands Sadauskis, Owner of PARS Termināl, commented.
Latvia's Minister for Climate and Energy, Kaspars Melnis, also said, "Sustainable thinking, by creating a new, long-term demand renewable fuel production facility in the Freeport of Riga, is an economically forward-looking way to increase Latvia's influence as a sustainable energy producer in the Baltics in the context of declining transit cargo volumes in the region. The renewable fuel plant will strengthen energy independence, create 120 highly skilled jobs, while providing Latvian farmers with stable demand for energy-intensive crops and helping Latvia to meet its climate neutrality goals."
Ansis Zeltiņš, the Port of Riga's CEO, highlighted, "The implementation of industrial projects, especially in the segment of green energy production, which has high added value and high demand, is one of the cornerstones of the future development of the Port of Riga. The PARS Termināl project is an excellent example of how the Port of Riga can become a modern and sustainable platform for industrial projects."
Photo: Port of Riga