Cepsa reorganizes its Research Center to lead the energy transition

Friday, July 1, 2022

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Innovation

Global

The center has incorporated Avelino Corma as a scientific advisor, founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology and winner of the Prince of Asturias Award for Research
The Research Center will have four main areas: Energy Transition, Science, Advanced Analytics, and Operational Excellence, helping to make Cepsa a leader in the energy transition
The company plans to increase its investment in research by more than 50% by 2030 to accompany its new Positive Motion strategy

Cepsa is committed to innovations that will drive its new Positive Motion strategy, with the aim of leading the energy transition and becoming the benchmark company in sustainable mobility, green hydrogen, and biofuels in Spain and Portugal. To this end, the company has reorganized its Research Center into four major divisions that will not only focus on making progress in the creation of new, more sustainable fuels, but also on detecting market needs and trends that will help make the company more efficient and decarbonized.

Thus, the new areas that have been created are: Energy Transition, to research projects related to green hydrogen, advanced biofuels, decarbonization, and the circular economy; Science, as a cross-cutting area that includes digitalization, chemistry, and catalysis; Advanced Analytics, for the development of state-of-the-art analytical methods; and Operational Excellence, which encompasses business-oriented projects to improve process efficiency.

A specific decarbonization team has been put together within the Energy Transition area, focused on promoting the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Another team is also focusing on studying and valorizing waste in order to produce advanced biofuels, asphalts, and chemical products, through the recycling of plastics, urban solid waste, used oils, or animal fats for non-food use, among others. This team will strengthen research efforts in advanced biofuels to decarbonize air transport.

Avelino Corma’s incorporation as scientific advisor

To help drive these changes, Cepsa recently hired Professor Avelino Corma as a scientific advisor. This prestigious researcher is the founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology, a joint research center of excellence that belongs to the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The scientist is internationally recognized, especially for his work on applying solid acid and bifunctional catalysts to petroleum refining, sustainable processes, biofuels and fine chemistry. This work led him to win the Prince of Asturias Award for Research in 2014.

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“Innovation is the quickest way to achieve the ambitious goals we have set in terms of energy transition. Through the new organization of our Research Center and the collaboration of experts such as Avelino Corma, we are further strengthening this commitment to accelerating the transformation of our business and the decarbonization of our activities and those of our customers, to move together towards a more sustainable energy model.”

José Manuel Martínez - Cepsa’s Director of Technology, Projects and Services

Commitment to innovation

The company expects to increase investment in its Research Center by more than 50% by 2030 as part of the new Positive Motion strategy. In the last five years, Cepsa has invested more than 350 million euros in different R&D&I projects aimed at seeking new energy solutions and sustainable improvements.

The reorganization of its R&D area reinforces Cepsa's aim to become a benchmark in the clean energy sector and a leader in sustainable mobility. As part of its new strategic plan, Positive Motion, the company is developing an ecosystem focused on accelerating the decarbonization of industrial customers and air and maritime transport, as well as its own transport, through the production of green molecules, mainly renewable hydrogen and biofuels. Cepsa aspires to be the leading biofuel producer in Spain and Portugal by 2030 and produce 2.5 million tons annually, with a particular focus on the sustainability of air traffic by producing 800,000 tons of SAF every year.

The company has established an ambitious roadmap to cut its emissions, placing it among the benchmark companies in its sector. Specifically, by 2030, it will reduce its CO₂ emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 55% compared to 2019 and aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. As for Scope 3, the carbon intensity of its products will be between 15 and 20% lower by 2030. Cepsa wants to go beyond net zero, making a positive impact and adding value to the communities where it is present.

Cepsa members at the Research Centre, from left to right: Rafael Larraz, R&D Director, Carlos Barrasa, Clean Energies Director, Joana Frontela, Research Centre Director, Avelino Corma, Scientific Advisor, and José Manuel Martínez, Technology, Projects and Services Director

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Cepsa reorganizes its Research Center to lead the energy transition

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