Bp has expanded its investment in bio-energy as bp ventures committed $10 million, leading the Series B investment round in WasteFuel. This California-based biofuels company will use proven, scalable technologies to convert bio-based municipal and agricultural waste into lower carbon fuels, such as bio-methanol.
Solid waste production totals about two billion metric tonnes annually and is expected to increase to 3.4 billion metric tonnes by 2050. WasteFuel's deployment of anaerobic digestion and methanol production technologies will convert municipal and agricultural waste into viable lower-emission alternatives to traditional fuels, like bio-methanol.
In hard-to-abate sectors, such as shipping, bio-methanol has the potential to play a significant role in decarbonisation. Maritime transport represents around 90 percent of trade worldwide, producing three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. To reach net zero, some of the biggest companies in the shipping industry are converting to methanol-ready ships. Bp is working to establish supplies of lower-carbon alternative fuels for the shipping sector and will use its trading expertise to bring WasteFuel's bio-methanol to market.
WasteFuel projects will help with the growing volumes of global waste whilst advancing the development of lower carbon solutions for hard-to-abate sectors. Achieving decarbonisation in shipping will require a step-change, and biofuels have a crucial role in helping the industry to decarbonise. We look forward to working together on WasteFuel's subsequent growth and market development stage.
WasteFuel plans to develop multiple bio-methanol plants worldwide with local strategic partners, including waste companies. It expects its first project will be in Dubai, and the company has a pipeline of additional projects to develop. Bp and WasteFuel have entered a memorandum of understanding for bp to offtake the produced bio-methanol and to work together to help optimise and improve bio-methanol production.
Gareth Burns, vice president of bp ventures, said that WasteFuel projects could help with the growing volumes of global waste whilst advancing the development of lower carbon solutions for hard-to-abate sectors.
"Achieving decarbonisation in shipping will require a step-change, and biofuels have a key role in helping the industry to decarbonise. We look forward to working together on WasteFuel's next growth and market development stage," said Burns.
Bioenergy is one of bp's five transition growth engines, in which the company plans to invest heavily through this decade. The transition growth engines, including convenience, electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, renewables, and power, will help drive bp's transition to an integrated energy company and deliver the company's net zero ambition.
Philipp Schoelzel, vice president of next-generation biofuels in bp, said that working with WasteFuel would allow bp to offtake bio-methanol and help optimise production, which could support decarbonising shipping.
"Bp aims to produce more biofuels, delivering around 100,000 barrels per day by 2030 to help decarbonise transport. Investments like this are important as we strive to reach net zero and help our customers decarbonise, too," said Schoelzel.
Trevor Neilson, co-founder, chairman and CEO of WasteFuel, added that bp's investment was a significant milestone for WasteFuel as it would help the company scale bio-methanol production to decarbonise the shipping sector.
"As companies reliant on shipping work to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential that we dramatically expand the availability of these fuels," said Neilson.
