In Portugal, European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €430 m loan for the construction of two key projects aimed at transforming Galp’s Sines Refinery, making a crucial contribution for the decarbonization of heavy-duty road transport and aviation.
Galp is developing the Biofuels unit, already at a construction stage, in partnership with Japan’s Mitsui, as part of a total €400 m investment, of which €250 m is provided by the EIB. This unit will convert vegetable oils and residual fats into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel of biological origin (HVO) with identical characteristics to the fossil-based fuels used in regular combustion engines.
This unit, set to begin production in 2026, will have the capacity to produce up to 270 ktpa of renewable fuels, enough for Portugal to comply with the European Union mandate for this type of fuels in aviation. SAF is essential for air transportation – responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions – to begin its decarbonization journey.
In parallel, Galp is building in the same site a 100 MW electrolyser, a €250 m investment of which the EIB will finance €180 m. It is set to produce up to 15 ktpa of green hydrogen when it goes online next year, becoming one of the first operational units of its size in Europe.
