Pengerang Biorefinery Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture between PETRONAS, Enilive S.p.A, and Euglena Co., Ltd, has marked a major milestone with the groundbreaking ceremony for its new biorefinery project in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia.
The facility will have a processing capacity of up to 650,000 tonnes of renewable feedstock per year and will produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and bio-naphtha. Feedstocks will include used vegetable oils, animal fats, and residues from vegetable oil processing. Operations are expected to commence in the second half of 2028, according to schedule.
The Pengerang Biorefinery reflects the shared commitment of PETRONAS, Enilive, and Euglena to expand the availability of competitive and accessible cleaner energy solutions across the region.
Datuk Sazali Hamzah, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Downstream at PETRONAS, stated:
“The groundbreaking of the Pengerang Biorefinery reflects our collective efforts to drive decarbonisation and advance the energy transition in the region. Leveraging the strengths of our partnership, this biorefinery forms a key part of PETRONAS’ holistic bio-based value chain strategy and reinforces our aspiration to be an integrated energy leader—delivering safe, reliable, and sustainable energy solutions for the world.”
Stefano Ballista, Chief Executive Officer of Enilive, added:
“This strategic partnership with PETRONAS and Euglena accelerates the decarbonisation of transportation and reinforces Enilive’s commitment to sustainable products. With operational biorefineries in Italy and the United States, and additional plants under construction in Italy and South Korea, the Pengerang biorefinery represents another key step toward achieving over 5 million tonnes of total production capacity and more than 2 million tonnes of SAF annually by 2030.”
Mitsuru Izumo, Founder and President of Euglena, remarked:
“We are thrilled to begin full-scale construction of the Pengerang biorefinery with PETRONAS and Enilive. This project is a major global step toward decarbonisation and a sustainable future through enhanced clean energy capacity across ASEAN and beyond. As we advance, Euglena will continue investing in microalgae R&D and pursue the commercialisation of algal biofuel.”
Strategically located within the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Johor, the biorefinery will benefit from direct access to major international shipping routes, enabling efficient biofuel distribution across Asia.
The groundbreaking ceremony was officiated by Yang Berhormat Tuan Lee Ting Han, Chairman of the Johor State Committee for Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs, and Human Resources. He was joined by Yang Berhormat Dato’ Ramlee A. Rahman, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Permodalan Darul Ta’zim, and Yang Berhormat Puan Fauziah Misri, Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri, Penawar, alongside Datuk Sazali Hamzah, Stefano Ballista, and Mitsuru Izumo.