'We are technologically ready to produce biodiesel of vegetable origin as well as sustainable aviation fuel'.

MOL Group has reached a milestone toward producing diesel fuel containing Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at its Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

MOL Group said in a media release that the quality of the products has been verified by radioisotope analysis by the independent specialist laboratory of Isotoptech Zrt, confirming the right ratio of HVO. The production test confirmed that MOL Group is technologically ready for the production of alternative synthetic fuels, it said.

The company added that the HVO was produced using oil from cashew nut shells and the bio component produced this way was processed together with crude oil. MOL Group said it has been using co-processing at the Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta for years. The process reduces the emissions of traditional fuels by mixing plant residues, as the bio and fossil components are processed simultaneously directly during production, it said.

The Bratislava Refinery carried out another production experiment, resulting in the creation of SAF through co-processing as well. In this instance, the company derived value from waste by utilizing partially refined cooking oil alongside conventional raw materials. The experiment demonstrated that the production unit at the Bratislava Refinery, used for manufacturing standard aviation kerosene, is also capable of producing SAF, the company said.

“We are technologically ready to produce biodiesel of vegetable origin as well as sustainable aviation fuel. This could open a new chapter in the sustainable efforts of MOL Group: we offer our customers an increasing variety and quantity of fuels, thus contributing to the smart energy transition as well”, Csaba Zsótér, Senior Vice President for Fuels at MOL Group, said.

"The fact that Slovnaft has passed this test is a confirmation of our position as an important player in the CEE region. The competence in chemical production that we have acquired over the long history of the company must be preserved and developed in line with where the company is moving and what kind of future we want to create", Gabriel Szabó, Vice Chairman of the Slovnaft Management Board and Vice President Downstream of the MOL Group, added.

Slovnaft and the MOL Group are collaborating with the Technical University of Kosice's Faculty of Aeronautics to test SAF.

Under EU environmental targets, SAF is to comprise 2 percent of total aviation fuel consumption by all EU-originating flights this year, increasing to 6 percent by 2030, 20 percent by 2035, and 70 percent by 2050, MOL Group noted.