Dutch tank storage company Vopak has announced the opening of 16 new tanks to store waste-based feedstocks used in biofuel for aviation and other industries.
According to the company, the new tanks will have a total capacity of 64,000 cubic feet at the Vlaardingen terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. The move is in line with Vopak’s strategic goal to accelerate its portfolio investments towards new energies and sustainable feedstocks.
The new tanks are also expected to help support the increasing demand for energy from renewable sources in Europe. Vopak’s Vlaardingen terminal has a long-term commercial agreement with energy firm Shell to store feedstocks for Shell's new biorefinery in Rotterdam.
Vopak says the terminal is strategically located in the Port of Rotterdam and is well-connected for logistics via trains, trucks, barges, and vessels. The terminal has extensive experience in storing products such as used cooking oil and tallow, it adds.
The company started repurposing part of the terminal in 2021 to accommodate waste-based feedstocks that aid the energy transition. Vopak has invested roughly €90 million (about $98M U.S., at current exchange rates) in new infrastructure, introducing modern assets that further diversify the Vlaardingen portfolio.
Vopak aims to allocate €1 billion in growth capital to accelerate its portfolio investments towards new energies and sustainable feedstocks by 2030. This is 50 percent of the company’s growth capital allocation till 2030.
The company notes that its focus on infrastructure solutions for low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, sustainable feedstocks, ammonia, and CO2 will contribute positively to the transition within key industrial clusters and shape the energy hubs of the future.
