TotalEnergies partners with SARIA to supply feedstock for SAF

TotalEnergies, a global energy leader based in Paris, France,  has reached an agreement to develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production on the Grandpuits (Seine-et-Marne) zero-crude platform with SARIA A/S GmbH & Co. KG, a family-owned company with global operations based in Selm, Germany.

SARIA is a leader in the European market for the collection and valorization of organic materials into sustainable products.

The agreement is a major step in securing feedstock supply in the form used cooking oils and animal fats, which are eligible to produce sustainable aviation fuel, enabling SAF production capacity at Grandpuits  to reach 210,000 tons per year, 25% higher than foreseen in the initial project announcement in 2020. 

Commissioned in 1966,  the Grandpuits-Bailly-Carrois refinery was for a long time the only refinery in the Paris region. In September 2020, TotalEnergies launched a project to convert the site, in line with its strategy to become carbon neutral by 2050. This zero-crude project, with a total investment of more than EUR500 million (USD), is based on the development of several future-oriented activities in the field of biomass, renewable energies, and the circular economy: chemical recycling of plastic waste, production of biosourced and biodegradable bioplastics, production of biofuels for the aviation sector, construction of a solar farm and electricity storage by batteries. The start-up of these new units will begin in 2022, and they should all be operational by 2025.

Under this agreement, TotalEnergies will take 50% of a production activity of SARIA, that will supply animal fat esters to Grandpuits. SARIA will take an equivalent stake in the biofuels business of the Grandpuits biorefinery, which will remain operated by TotalEnergies. SARIA will also directly supply used cooking oils.

“I am delighted to conclude this strategic partnership with SARIA, which reinforces the conversion of the Grandpuits refinery into a zero-crude platform oriented towards SAF. This is a major milestone in our ambition to become one of the leaders in sustainable aviation fuels,” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, TotalEnergies. 

“SAF is the most efficient solution to immediately reduce CO2 emissions from air travel, and its development is fully in line with the company’s climate ambition to get to net zero by 2050, together with society.”

The project is subject to the legal process for notifying and consulting TotalEnergies’ employee representatives and the approval of regulatory authorities.