Biofuels

Shell aims to be a significant and profitable supplier of sustainable low-carbon fuels to help decarbonise harder-to-abate sectors including aviation, marine and commercial road transport.

We supply low-carbon fuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol, renewable natural gas (also known as RNG, biogas or biomethane), renewable diesel (also known as hydro-treated vegetable oil or HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel to help lower the carbon emissions from transport.

These fuels can be blended with existing fuels — such as diesel, petrol and aviation fuel — and do not require costly investment in new infrastructure, which means they are a practical option for reducing transport emissions.

Shell is one of the world’s largest traders and blenders of biofuels. In 2023, around 9.7 billion litres of biofuels went into Shell’s petrol and diesel worldwide, compared with 9.5 billion litres in 2022. This included around 3.4 billion litres through our joint venture Raízen (Shell interest 44%, not Shell-operated) in Brazil, compared with about 3 billion litres in 2022.

Raízen is one of the world’s biggest bioethanol producers, producing some of the lowest carbon intensity biofuels available today. In 2023, Raízen produced around 3.1 billion litres of ethanol from sugar cane and 30 million litres of second-generation cellulosic ethanol made from inedible agricultural waste. Raízen also commissioned in 2023 the first of eight world-scale advanced biofuel plants which it aims to build in Brazil.

To support our biofuel production capacity, we are also investing in new feedstocks. We have invested in agroforestry company Investancia Group. Investancia is reforesting degraded cattle land in Paraguay with pongamia oil trees and native trees to provide sustainable feedstock for biofuels, along with additional protein for animal feed markets. Pongomia oil is non-edible and of low carbon intensity. It can be grown on marginal land and does not require land use change.

Sustainability of biofuels

We purchase biocomponents to produce biofuels, blend into fuels and/or to trade. Certain biofuel feedstocks are considered higher risk with regard to human rights, biodiversity or the release of carbon into the atmosphere. To help mitigate these risks, the palm oil derivatives and waste, sugar cane and South American soy feedstock we purchase are certified as sustainable under credible sustainability standards like the Round Table on Responsible Soy Association, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, and Bonsucro, or credits are purchased where direct certification is not available. Forestry products and residue feedstock are certified by credible forest management certification bodies. We have also committed not to use crude palm oil or palm oil derivatives in any of our biofuel refineries.

Read more about biofuels at www.shell.com/biofuels and about our approach to the sustainable sourcing of biocomponents at www.shell.com/sourcing-biocomponents.

Sustainable aviation fuel

We continue to take steps to help increase production and supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In 2023, we announced a multi-year agreement to buy sustainable aviation fuel from Montana Renewables, the largest SAF producer in North America, and worked together on building blending and distribution capabilities to deliver SAF to customers. We also signed an agreement to supply SAF to Emirates airline at Dubai International Airport, the first time that SAF has been used in the airport’s fuelling system.

Also in 2023, Bank of America, Google, Yokagawa and many other companies joined Avelia, a blockchain-powered book-and-claim programme for business travel that we launched in 2022 with partners to help aggregate demand for SAF.

Read more about SAF at www.shell.com/business-customers/aviation/the-future-of-energy/sustainable-aviation-fuel.

Renewable natural gas and bioLNG

We produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from agricultural residues and manure. RNG can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions when replacing its fossil-fuel equivalent. It can be used instead of natural gas (as renewable compressed natural gas or bioLNG) in vehicles and shipping.

Shell is increasing bioLNG production capacity and building a network of bioLNG refuelling sites in Europe. In 2023, we completed the acquisition of one of Europe’s largest RNG producers, Nature Energy of Denmark. Together with its partners, Nature Energy owns and operates 13 biogas plants in Denmark and one in the Netherlands. The acquisition supports our ambition to build an integrated RNG value chain on a global scale. We are also building a bioLNG liquefaction plant at our Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Germany, which is expected to start production in 2024.

In the USA, we have RNG production facilities ramping up in Idaho and Kansas and in operation in Oregon.