SHV Energy, GTI Energy partner on renewable propane process

The process will employ a novel technology for producing renewable propane and butane from bioethanol, delivering the propane and butane as the primary products, according to the companies.

Together with Drochaid Research Services, a contract research organization with expertise in catalyst design, synthesis, characterization and testing, SHV Energy developed a pathway to a renewable propane production process. The research identified a viable way to successfully convert bioethanol into renewable propane, using a wide range of globally available waste, bio-based and recycled carbon feedstock. The process also yields a valuable co-product of aromatic molecules, a key component in sustainable aviation fuels.

“We are excited to partner with two world-leading research and development organizations, Drochaid Research and GTI Energy, to validate this pathway for on-purpose renewable propane production,” says Bram Gräber, CEO of SHV Energy, in a press release. “This pioneering work, led by our Sustainable Fuels Director Rebecca Groen and her team, supports our ambition of developing innovative, game-changing energy solutions to benefit millions of customers around the world.”

The partnership with GTI Energy will focus on scaling up the catalytic process in order to launch a pilot plant and, ultimately, a commercial-level renewable propane plant, SHV Energy says. Its goal is to contribute to a supply of over 5 million tons of renewable LPG annually through multiple plants.

The initiative supports SHV Energy’s earlier investments, including its partnership with LanzaTech, to employ its carbon capture and transformation technology to bring renewable propane and other sustainable fuels to the market via existing and novel pathways.

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