Sustainable fuels technology company Velocys has appointed engineering contractor Worley to manage the delivery of its fully integrated technology package.
Worley will act a partner in the development of pre-feasibility, feasibility and front-end engineering design (FEED) packages for all of Velocys’ projects. This will enable Velocys to ‘leverage synergies’ across multiple projects and locations.
The technology package converts waste feedstocks into sustainable aviation and road transport fuels. Velocys has now selected all technology suppliers for its Bayou Fuels woody-biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi in the US. The same package will be used for the Altalto Immingham project in the UK.
Following extensive due diligence and engineering assessment, Velocys selected licensors to create an integrated technology solution comprising five process steps, each of which has already been demonstrated at commercial scale on similar feedstocks.
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- Gasification: ThermoChem Recovery International (TRI)
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- Syngas partial oxidation and cooling: Arvos Schmidtsche-Schack (SCS), with Linde’s Hot Oxygen Burner Technology
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- Syngas clean-up and conditioning: Air Liquide Engineering & Construction
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- Fischer-Tropsch (FT) hydrocarbon synthesis: Velocys
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- Product upgrading: Haldor Topsoe
The combination of these technologies is expected to enable the processing of different solid feedstocks, as well as sufficient flexibility to allow production of multiple products, including synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) and diesel.
Velocys also recently concluded an integrated piloting programme that culminated in the production of SPK, diesel and naphtha from representative FT liquids.
Commenting on the appointment, Paul Seaton, president of E&C services for Europe and Central Asia at Worley, said: “We are pleased to have been selected as the global engineering partner for these sustainable fuels projects. As a major player in the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, energy transition projects are already a fast-growing part of our business. Worley is determined to work with Velocys to find solutions for a lower carbon world.”
Velocys’ CEO Henrik Wareborn added: “We are delighted to have appointed Worley as our engineering contractor and to partner with our selected technology providers, who bring complementary skills and command excellent reputations. Our unique combination of proven technologies allows Velocys to offer a robust process solution that will be vital to the decarbonisation of challenging sectors and the achievement of net zero targets.”
Licensors respond
Daniel A. Burciaga, TRI CEO, said: “TRI is extremely pleased to be part of the world-class technical team that Velocys has assembled for these important and exciting projects. Having already worked closely with Velocys to integrate our system with their FT technology unit and demonstrated that over a long duration run at our process demonstration facility, we are very confident about the robust commercial applications of this powerful configuration.”
Todd Skare, Linde CTO, commented: “Linde is pleased to have been selected by Velocys to supply its proprietary Hot Oxygen Burner (HOB) Technology. Our commercially proven partial oxidation technology will be used to increase the quality and yield of syngas generation. Our HOB technology is widely recognised in the industry for its ability to handle a wide range of variation in both raw syngas and fuel compositions thus helping our customers ensure a reliable waste to fuels process.”
Michael Schoetz, head of sales and tendering at Arvos Schmidtsche Schack Düsseldorf, said: “We are excited to get the opportunity to apply our 50 years of experience from Gasification in the emerging renewable field. SCS will apply our knowledge to reduce risk and increase availability in the first process block, the complete Gasification Island.”
Dominique Rouge, vice-president of sales and technology at Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, added: “Air Liquide Engineering & Construction is pleased to bring its extensive experience and world renowned and referenced Lurgi™ capture-ready syngas conditioning technology to the project, supporting the new generation of sustainable fuels and the transition to clean energies.”
Johan Mogensen, vice-president of Haldor Topsoe, concluded: “We are very proud to be part of this project together with Velocys. Haldor Topsoe is determined to be a driving force in the global push towards renewable fuels. This project is a notable addition to our extensive portfolio in the area.”
