The Fuel for Thought Podcast

The world’s first podcast about renewables for the refinery industry launches season four.

This time, Sylvain Verdier and Mikala Grubb from Topsoe look into some of the most pressing topics in renewables and the refining industry, including legislation in both the EU and North America where they deep dive into 'Fit for 55', 'RePowerEU', and the 'Inflation Reduction Act'. They also speak with an European energy and chemicals company about their journey and discuss future marine fuels.

Together with a series of key industry players, experts, and influencers they discuss some of the challenges facing refineries, so you can benchmark your business, learn more about what is driving our industry and where it is heading.

Listen to season 4 of
The Fuel for Thought Podcast:

Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 SAF Specials

Episode 1:

Renewable fuels are powering ahead: are you ready to follow?

Welcome to season four of The Fuel for Thought Podcast. Since the last season the global renewable fuel industry has seen a surge in projects and Mikala and Sylvain are kicking off the new season with a discussion of what changes the industry has been through, and where it is headed. In this episode, they will share their thoughts on the current trends in the global renewable fuel market, touching on everything from legislation to hot topics – and much more.

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Episode 2:

Will the new North American renewable legislation start another gold rush?

North America have recently seen the implementation of highly ambitious initiatives to support the production of renewable fuels, especially for the road and aviation sectors. The Inflation Reduction Act, the potential change of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in California and the Canadian Clean Fuel Regulations are game changers for renewable fuels.

In this episode, Sylvain talks to Tammy Klein from Future Fuels Strategies and Fred Ghatala from Advanced Biofuels Canada about the new mandates, incentives and greenhouse gas (GHG) savings targets being implemented at both state, province and federal levels. There’s a lot to cover in a short time, so let’s get started!

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Episode 3:

Deep dive into the decarbonization strategy of a European refinery.

European refineries are under pressure to decrease their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to produce high amounts of renewable fuels for transport and as feed for the PetChem sector. This is not a trivial challenge. But some refineries have implemented ambitious sustainability strategies in order to answer this call.

In this episode, Sylvain talks to Michael Kraussler and Ventsislav Mishev from energy and chemicals company OMV about their decarbonization journey – past, present and future. They look at the overall plans and targets, as well as details of key projects.

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Episode 4:

Is new European legislation the seismic change the industry has been waiting for? Part I

On July 14, 2021, the European Commission launched its largest regulatory initiative as part of the Green Deal: The Fit for 55 package. Some called it a seismic change. The proposed directives will basically affect the way Europe deal with energy, resources and transport until 2050. Since then, the RePowerEU program was also announced, and this adds another layer of complexity. The intricacy of all these initiatives is almost impossible to grasp.

In this episode, Sylvain talks to Adriana Guerenabarrena from Hydrogen Denmark and Ian Moore from Advisian about the philosophy and goals of “Fit for 55” and “RePower EU”, and share some insights. Let’s jump right in!

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Episode 5:

Is new European legislation the seismic change the industry has been waiting for? Part II

In the episode 4 we started the conversation about Fit for 55 – what are the goals and philosophy behind the legislation.

In this episode, Sylvain continues this conversation with Adriana Guerenabarrena from Hydrogen Denmark and Ian Moore from Advisian. They will deep-dive into the future role of biofuels, eFuels and what these initiatives will mean for road transport, aviation, marine and also the industry in general.

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Episode 6:

Can ammonia and methanol revolutionize the maritime world?

Maritime transport is the last to start its decarbonization transition. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and some key industry players are paving the way to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But which fuels could be used to do so, when both the road and aviation segments are also on the same journey?

In this episode, Sylvain will be talking to Anders Erlandson from the Technical University of Denmark and Nikolaj Knudsen from Topsoe about the future role of ammonia and methanol as marine fuels.

There is a lot to talk about, so make sure you’ve got your notebook ready.

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