Shell has launched into sustainable aviation fuels with Sheffield's ITM Power securing a huge order for hydrogen support.
The oil major has announced plans to massively increase the size of the electrolysis plant provided by the South Yorkshire business at its Rhineland Refinery, as it turns to greening up aviation.
It comes just weeks after it dropped out of plans to build a plant on the South Humber Bank, with British Airways partnering Velocys.
The hydrogen specialist - coincidentally working closely with Orsted in northern Lincolnshire to produce offshore wind-generated green electricity - is playing a significant role in the refining sector.
ITM will again partner with Linde on the Rhineland project, having secured a similar sale to the Leuna Chemical Complex, also in Germany, in January.
In an alert to the stock market, chief executive Graham Cooley said he was “pleased to note the announcement by Shell”.
The 10 fold increase is subject to finalising contracts and securing some matching funding, but it is envisaged that construction will begin next year.
Shell’s refinery director, Dr Marco Richrath, said: “The Rheinland Refinery is the engine and heart of Shell's activities in Germany and will play a key role in providing the products that are increasingly different from our current crude oil-dominated range and that will increasingly convert to regenerative solutions such as synthetic and biofuels as well as green hydrogen.
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Described as a bio power-to-liquid plant, it is seen as reducing CO2 emissions by more than 80 per cent in the production of kerosene and raw gasoline compared to conventional products. In addition to green electricity, wood residues are to be used as biomass for production.
Commissioning is anticipated by the end of 2025. The capacity would initially be around 100,000 tonnes per year.
Dr Fabian Ziegler, chief executive of Shell Deutschland Oil, said: “We will only be able to maintain mobility in the future if it is made more sustainable and road users can significantly reduce emissions on the road, on water and in the air. To make this possible, the location's product portfolio will and must change significantly. "
In South Yorkshire the company has just launched a huge new state-of-the-art factory from which it intends to deliver electrolysis equipment at scale as fuel-switching accelerates in the journey to Net Zero.