Decarbonisation Technology - February 2023

Insights from Shell Rheinland’s transition to net zero

Key insights and important lessons for refiners as they look to address their CO2 emissions and determine their decarbonisation plans

Jörg Dehmel Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland

W hen a refiner is defining its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for which it is responsible, only a minority are from the site’s operations. A majority come from the use of those products by the end customer, for example, for mobility or heating. A refiner can only address those emissions by transforming its entire asset. In my role as transformation manager at Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland – the former Rheinland refinery – I have first-hand experience of the size of this challenge, and I would like to share some insights that could help others on their energy transition journeys. There are no quick wins. You must change decarbonisation plans, it is likely to face a daunting realisation: of all the

your feeds: move away from crude oil towards renewable and circular sources such as solar and wind energy, plastic waste and biomass. And you must change your product portfolio: your diversified product slate will likely need to include renewable-energy-derived hydrogen, biofuels, and sustainable aviation fuel, for example. But it can be done, and two of the keys are integration and collaboration. Shell Rheinland today Change is happening quickly at Rheinland, and observers are often surprised at the progress we have made already. For example, we have been providing green hydrogen since 2021 when, together with our partners, we built Europe’s largest electrolyser,

PTL for aviation

Green hydrogen Re f hyne I 10MW Re f hyne II 100MW

Green h ydrogen for industry

Fed into electrical grid

Green h ydrogen for road transport

Oshore wind and solar power generation

Electrolysis

Figure 1 Through the Refhyne projects, Shell is scaling up green hydrogen production for road transport, industry, and aviation