Chemical giant OMV plans hundreds of millions of factories in the port of Antwerp (Antwerp)

OMV has advanced plans to build a refinery in Kallo, where waste streams such as used cooking oil and other vegetable or animal fats from the food and agricultural sector can be converted into sustainable aviation fuel.

The project, BioHy, would have the capacity to refine 300,000 tons of organic waste streams annually. Firstly, sustainable aviation fuel can be made from it (sustainable aviation fuel or SAF), but also biodiesel and other renewable raw materials for the chemical industry. Although OMV itself does not communicate an amount, it would be a major new project for the port of Antwerp.

“It is not a small project,” says Robert Malina, environmental economist at Hasselt University and expert in sustainable aviation fuels. “For such a new installation, you can easily end up with an investment of several hundreds of millions of euros.”

Permit

OMV founded the Belgian company OMV Renewable Fuels and Feedstock in 2023 and has already raised a starting capital of 20 million euros for its BioHy factory. The permit application is ongoing and the Waaslandhaven has already approved a leasehold that allows OMV to use a piece of land next to the site of the subsidiary Borealis in Kallo until 2069.

“The final investment decision depends on obtaining a final permit and prior approval by the OMV board of directors,” says spokesperson Peter Gräve from Vienna. “The decision is currently scheduled for 2025.”