Low- and Zero-Carbon Products

The scale-up of zero-carbon and renewable energy product sales while reducing fossil fuel sales is central to reducing the carbon footprint of our energy supply. Zero-carbon and renewable energy products include biofuels, electricity, waste heat, and new energy products such as geothermal heat.

In our Energy division, the Low Carbon Business (LCB) team has been working on expanding our photovoltaic asset base. Based on our subsurface knowledge, capabilities, and asset base, we have also been exploring carbon capture and storage solutions. We collaborate with industry and research partners on these activities in line with applicable regulatory and legal requirements. We are also investigating solutions for subsurface energy storage, e.g., with hydrogen, and looking at options to explore and commercially develop geothermal energy potential in the countries where we operate. These projects are mainly in the R&D or initial investment phase.

In F&F, we are contributing to the creation of a sustainable energy system by identifying and maturing solutions, with a strong focus on markets that are hard to electrify using batteries and customer segments such as heavy road transport or air travel. What these markets have in common is that they need an energy-dense yet climate-friendly fuel with the lowest possible downtime. Our portfolio focuses on waste-based and advanced biofuels, hydrogen, and e-fuels, as these offer the potential to utilize synergies with existing refinery assets and competences for a feasible scale-up and roll-out of green technologies.

The successful implementation of all these projects will reduce our absolute emissions, create green, innovative products and services for society, and provide a key differentiator for OMV.

Management and Due Diligence Processes

OMV has defined sustainability criteria that influence which projects and technologies are selected for investment. For all investments and M&A activities, it should be ensured that all climate-related risks are identified, assessed, and evaluated. This will include the assessment of the actual and forecast carbon footprint of the respective investment and M&A. Projects that contribute positively to the achievement of OMV’s climate targets are preferred for investment (for more details, see Sustainability Governance). All project ideas selected for maturing need to demonstrate a feasible trajectory from pilot and demo stage to full industrial scale in the medium term.

Responsible Biofuels Sourcing

All biofuels purchased by OMV in 2023 and used for blending meet the requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001. Since 2013, the ISCC EU certificate issued for OMV Downstream GmbH has been renewed on an annual basis. OMV Petrom, OMV Hungary, OMV Czech Republic, OMV Germany, and OMV Slovakia are also certified according to the ISCC EU standard.

Biofuel Volumes¹ 2023 figure estimated as both Austria and Germany data are based on year-to-date actuals plus a forecast for the remaining months each year, given that the annual deadline for closing all biofuel balances of a given year is not before the publication of the Sustainability Report.

In megaliters

OMV purchases biofuels mainly from European producers and excludes palm oil as a feedstock. International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards require that no deforestation took place from January 2008 onward for any feedstock that is used for biodiesel generation. Since July 2021, OMV has also complied with the Austrian legal requirement not to use palm-oil-based biofuels for target fulfillment. In 2023, of all biofuels placed on the market by OMV, only around 0.3% were based on palm oil. The main feedstocks used are used cooking oil (30%), rapeseed oil (29%), and corn (13%).

OMV plans to use vegetable oils and used cooking oil as well as other potential waste and advanced feedstock to produce biofuels using our Co-Processing technology. Co-Processing involves introducing biogenic feedstock during the fuel refining process instead of the conventional method of blending biogenic components into fuel after production. This concept allows OMV’s existing refineries to produce transportation fuels from various types of biogenic feedstock.

In 2016 and 2017, OMV successfully conducted the first field trials of Co-Processing at the Schwechat refinery using rapeseed oil, and obtained certification in accordance with the REDcert standard, an EU-recognized system for the certification of sustainable biomass. In 2020, another field trial was successfully completed at the Petrobrazi refinery. OMV continues to implement the Co-Processing technology and in 2024, the Company aims to start the co-processing of sustainable feedstock in Schwechat. It is important to note that no palm oil will be co-processed. The project will start with a mix of vegetable oils (rapeseed oil and sunflower oil). It may include some other waste and residue or advanced streams like used cooking oil or cashew nutshell liquid in future (2024–2025). In December 2020, OMV committed to investing EUR 200 mn in the construction of the Co-Processing unit at the Schwechat refinery. Utilizing this process will lead to an annual reduction of OMV’s carbon footprint of up to 360 kt CO₂, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of around 200,000 cars driving an average of 12,000 km per year.

2023 Actions

The following key activities were carried out across the Group in 2023:

Geothermal Energy

OMV and Wien Energie are joining forces to deliver the heating transition. In a joint venture called “deeep,” the two companies are working closely to make deep geothermal energy a reality in the greater Vienna area. The aim is to develop deep geothermal plants with an output of up to 200 MW, thereby generating climate-neutral district heating for the equivalent of up to 200,000 Viennese households. The partners are also planning to implement up to seven deep geothermal plants in Vienna as part of drilling programs. The first deep geothermal plant is to be realized together by the partners in the joint venture. The plant will generate up to 20 MW of climate-neutral district heating – in combination with heat pumps from Wien Energie. The aim is to supply up to 20,000 Viennese households with district heating from this plant. Approval procedures are currently underway and drilling is due to start toward the end of 2024. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2027. Making the project part of the joint venture allows the partners to glean valuable insights and data for follow-up projects, enabling Wien Energie and OMV to realize the further expansion of geothermal energy in Vienna more quickly and efficiently.

OMV acquired a 6.5% stake in Canadian privately owned Eavor Technologies Inc. for the amount of EUR 34 mn. Eavor is the leading closed-loop geothermal energy solution developer worldwide. In addition, OMV and Eavor have entered into a commercial agreement to pursue large-scale deployments of Eavor-Loop™ technology in Europe and beyond. The commercial agreement establishes OMV as a key partner with preferred licensing terms, access to services, and development support. OMV’s initial focus will be on the deployment of Eavor-Loop™ in Austria and Germany. Eavor’s technology is based on a closed-loop system, installed in deep subsurface rock, whereby a working fluid is circulated between surface and deep subsurface rock in a closed loop and therefore heated up. The technology reduces the geological and hence operational risk significantly compared to normal hydrothermal systems with similar energy output. As Eavor-Loop™ is truly scalable and applicable in various types of geological structures, it will enable OMV to offer heat solutions for district heating networks outside of the normal hydrothermal areas and therefore complement its existing portfolio of hydrothermal projects.

OMV is constantly evaluating and maturing further opportunities and projects with regards to open- and closed-loop geothermal.

Renewable Energy

OMV Petrom and Complexul Energetic (CE) Oltenia will begin the construction of four solar parks, which will provide a combined capacity of approximately 450 MW. The total investment required for the establishment of these four photovoltaic parks exceeds EUR 400 mn, with 70% of the funding coming from the Modernization Fund. The PV parks will be built in Ișalnița, Tismana, Roșia and Rovinari, on the sites of the former mining operations managed by CE Oltenia. Based on current estimates, the PV parks should supply electricity to the national energy system from 2024 onward. In addition, OMV Petrom has signed an agreement to acquire a number of projects for the construction of solar parks in Teleorman county. The projects will go into the execution phase by the second quarter of 2024 and, with a total power output of 710 MW, will supply enough power for 280,000 Romanian households annually.

Glycerin2Propanol

After seven years of successful development within OMV, the implementation of the Glycerin2Propanol pilot plant at the Schwechat refinery site marks a significant step toward advancing the technology maturity (barrel/hour scale; TRL 6–7). In October 2023, important milestones were reached with the delivery of the last modules and placement on the foundation. The final assembly of the Glycerin2Propanol plant is now underway, with only a few stages left before mechanical completion. The OMV-patented technology will produce propanol from low-value material crude glycerin by the end of Q1 2024. The plant will use a catalyst, or reaction accelerator, developed in-house by OMV to transform the biogenic waste-based crude glycerin into a so-called advanced bioalcohol (propanol). In doing so, the plant will generate what are known as advanced biofuels, which are not in competition with foodstuffs and which, when added to gasoline, reduce its carbon footprint.

While glycerin is a waste/by-product of the production of biodiesel and the manufacture of detergents and soaps, it is also considered an advanced biobased feedstock under the European Union’s RED III Renewable Energy Directive. This means that the feedstock is not part of the food chain and does not compete for land use for food. The propanol produced in this way will then be used as an advanced bioadditive for gasoline. It can also be used as a sustainable feedstock for the chemicals market to replace fossil-fuel-based propanol. OMV is set to invest around EUR 30 mn in the scale-up of this project, of which around EUR 8 mn will be funded through the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft; FFG) and the COVID-19 premium. The capacity of the pilot plant will be 1.25 mn l of propanol per year. This will lead to a CO₂ reduction of around 1,800 t annually. A total of 1.2 l of crude glycerin is needed to produce 1 l of propanol. Under moderate temperature and pressure, 1 barrel (159 liters) of propanol will be produced per hour in an energy-efficient process. The long-term plan is to commercialize the technology to produce around 125 mn l of propanol per year and reduce CO₂ emissions by around 180 kt. The Glycerin2Propanol pilot plant will be located at the Schwechat refinery alongside the ReOil®^® plant so that both units can take advantage of a combined operator station, exploiting the synergy of a shared operator concept. In addition to this unique in-house development, we also partner with technology providers to develop viable business projects for transforming biomass from agriculture, municipalities, the paper industry, or wood processing into bioliquids to be used for greener fuels and chemicals.

Project commissioning is scheduled for March 2024 after finalizing integration with IT systems and preparing operation manuals.

Hydrogen

Together with our partner Kommunalkredit Austria AG, in February 2021, we announced a joint investment in the construction of Austria’s largest electrolysis plant at our Schwechat refinery. Construction work started on this project in August 2022. Total investment will be around EUR 25 mn, with OMV and Kommunalkredit each bearing half the cost. The plant is expected to go live in the first half of 2024. The 10 MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis system will produce up to 1,500 t of green hydrogen per year. The green hydrogen will be used to hydrogenate biobased and fossil fuels, substituting gray hydrogen in the refinery. This would reduce OMV’s carbon footprint by up to 15 kta of fossil CO₂. On global wind day on June 15, 2023, a new milestone was accomplished where the first wind turbine assigned to OMV in Dürnkrut, Weinviertel was inaugurated. This wind turbine was built and is operated by our partner, the W.E.B. energy company. The wind turbine has a capacity of 5.6 MW and generates 13.7 GWh of electricity per year, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of 4,000 households. It will cover about 20% of the renewable energy needed for the 10 MW electrolysis plant in Schwechat.

Sustainable Aviation Fuels

With the innovative aviation fuel known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), we’re driving the transition to a climate-friendly future. Because by also processing waste food oil from around the region, CO₂ emissions can be cut by more than 80% compared with conventional kerosene products. SAF is thus a viable alternative and already in use today.

OMV has initiated a broad investment portfolio to produce sustainable fuels such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Mandated blending targets for both road fuels (HVO) and the aviation sector (SAF) are planned, with financial penalties for non-compliance. OMV is aiming to produce both SAF and HVO in a flexible product yield range, depending on market needs. Investments in new units and unit revamps are under development for the refineries in Austria, Romania, and Germany, as well as in new assets beyond the current refineries.

Another focus topic is the hard to electrify area of e-fuels, another core building block of OMV’s SAF portfolio, which shows great potential for enabling climate-friendly air travel. While in theory the concept is simple, i.e., hydrogen produced with renewable electricity is combined with CO₂, the production technology is still in the demonstration phase and requires further research and development for the required industrial scaling.

OMV is leading a project consortium together with industrial partners like BASF and thyssenkrupp Uhde, and academia (e.g., the German Aerospace Centre DLR and ASG Analytik-Service Gesellschaft) to develop a process to produce SAF based on methanol (M2SAF project). In addition to catalyst development, process development, plant integration, and the design of a demo plant, the project also includes techno-economic and -ecological analysis, as well as accompanying support for the certification and analysis of the new aviation fuels. The project is also targeting the production of a 100% drop-in capable SAF and enabling a process route with high selectivity and minimal additional CO₂ emissions, and with a high degree of inte­grability into existing brownfield or greenfield installations. The starting point of the process is sustainably produced methanol, either from CO₂ and hydrogen or from biogenic feedstock. The development project started in August 2022 for an initial period of 2.5 years and is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV).

OMV was already delivering SAFs to Air France-KLM, Ryanair, and Associated Energy Group, LLC (AEG Fuels) at Vienna airport in 2023. Additional Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for the intended offtake of SAFs were signed with Air France-KLM and Ryanair in 2023. Volumes covered by MoUs between 2023 and 2030 are: up to 160,000 t for Ryanair, up to 155,000 t for Wizz Air, up to 200,000 t for Air France-KLM, and more than 800,000 t for the Lufthansa Group.

Retail 2023

Mobility is changing fast – countries in the EU have released climate and energy strategies, aiming for a carbon-free energy sector by 2050. The vision addresses all energy sectors; mobility is being presented as a flagship sector to showcase sustainable development. To adapt to these trends, OMV is developing an EV fast-charging network.

OMV is investing over EUR 400 mn in delivering superior EV charging services for drivers and businesses. Our objective is to offer at least 2,000 e-charging points at highway and transit route filling stations, plus around 17,000 office wall-box charging points by 2030. The implementation includes the installation of charging points in Austria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary to offer high-power chargers, with the majority featuring a charging capacity between 150 kW and 300 kW. In 2023, an additional 272 charging points were installed.

Retail 2023

Outlook

• In the coming years, we will focus on implementing the investment projects mentioned (e.g., Glycerin2Propanol). In Q3 2024 and subsequently to commissioning and start-up, vigorous test runs will be conducted according to a dedicated parameter matrix to further optimize the operating window of the Glycerin2Propanol process, and data will be gathered in parallel for subsequent industrial scale commercialization. Moreover, ISCC EU certification is planned for the Glycerin2Propanol pilot plant.
• In addition, we will mature project ideas in the areas of advanced biofuels and e-fuels. By 2030, we aim to produce and market at least 700 kta of sustainable aviation fuels. OMV will also expand its capabilities to take advantage of the growth in electric vehicle charging. By investing more than EUR 400 mn by 2030, OMV will offer more than 2,000 electric charging points at highway and transit route filling stations, plus around 17,000 office wall-box charging points. In addition, following the MoU signed by the OMV Group and Austrian Post in 2021 for the use of green hydrogen in heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), the first use of green hydrogen is expected in 2023 at the latest. By 2030, 2,000 HGVs will be powered by green hydrogen fuel cells.
• For the Glycerin2Propanol project, the factory acceptance test was completed in Q2 2023 and the pilot plant modules have been transported to the Schwechat refinery for reassembly, loop checks, and final commissioning by the end of 2024’s first quarter. In parallel and as a precondition for the bulk chemical market, the propanol from OMV’s biobased process has been registered at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – OMV being the first company to register propanol produced from a renewable basis. Looking to the future, collaborative R&D efforts have begun to transform the propanol into sustainable aviation fuel.
• Investments of approximately EUR 5 bn have been planned between now and 2030 to build the Low Carbon Business (LCB) in our Energy division, with a focus on geothermal energy, CCS, and renewable power. The investments are expected to ramp up after 2024. The LCB team has been working on expanding our renewables asset base with a focus on captive use within the OMV Group. Furthermore, we are looking at opportunities and projects to explore and commercially develop the geothermal energy potential via open- and closed-loop systems. For CCS, we are working on further license applications and opportunities.