Spain's Cepsa to Expand into Second-Generation Biodiesel

The firm will begin making the fuel with palm oil, animal fats and other residues at its recently expanded La Rabida plant in Huelva in July and will subsequently begin manufacturing it in its Gibraltar-San Roque (Cadiz) site in November.

Cepsa is looking to expand into next-generation biofuels obtained from algae and other “innovative” sources. It is also looking to make biofuel from vegetable biomass and forest residues with a high content of cellulose and lignum.

The company currently sells biodiesel blends of B-10, B-15, B-20 and B-30 in gas stations across Spain and hopes to expand this network in coming months.

Cepsa operates two facilities with the capacity to make 450,000 tons of biodiesel a year and has another bioETBE facility that supplies 60,0000 tons of bioethanol a year.

The company's announcement comes as Spain's biofuel industry has asked that the government help curb “illegal” biofuel imports, which it says are undermining the industry’s profitability and future growth.