Finnish firm Neste Oil opened the world's biggest renewable diesel plant in Singapore recently, taking advantage of massive palm oil production in nearby Malaysia and Indonesia.

Clean diesel produced from the S$986 million plant using feedstocks such as palm oil and animal fat will be marketed in Europe, Canada and the United States, which already have legislation in place supporting biofuels.

With an annual capacity of 800,000 metric tonnes, the Singapore facility is the biggest renewable diesel plant in the world. The plant produces Neste Oil's patented NExBTL renewable diesel, which the company says is the cleanest diesel fuel in the world, although it is more expensive than conventional diesel.

NExBTL can be used in all diesel engines and significantly reduces exhaust emissions compared with regular diesel. About 45 per cent of the facility's feedstock is currently palm oil from neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, while the rest comes from other by-products of the palm oil production process and waste animal fat from Australia and New Zealand.

The palm oil industry in both Malaysia and Indonesia has come under pressure from environmental campaigners who believe it causes deforestation and threatens species such as orangutans and rhinos. Neste Oil said that its Singapore plant had obtained an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certificate from Germany, guaranteeing that it has met tough environment standards.

Neste Oil has earmarked 80 per cent of its research and development for finding ways to produce clean diesel from other feedstocks like algae and microbes. Algae will not compete for fresh water or land because production plants can be built on wasteland and the algae can be grown in seawater.

1 Tuas South Lane
 
Tel: +65 66312300

Infusion stands for 'introduction, the act of introducing a new element'. Infusion is the brainchild of 36 year old Steffen Englund, a Norwegian-Danish PR Professional who was the Press Advisor to the Minister of Social Affairs. Steffen grew up in a family of restaurateurs across Norway and Denmark. Married to an Indonesian and residing in Singapore, Steffen was inspired to open the first Scandinavian restaurant. The idea is to provide the Scandinavian community here a relaxed venue for dining, hosting events or simply unwinding with a scotch.

There are no gimmicks or fads - just pure Scandinavian cuisine. Carefully planned, the menu is designed by the talented and renowned Danish Chef Carlsen. All ingredients are of the highest quality, imported and prepared to express simplicity, purity, freshness and flavours. Nordic cuisine has been making a comeback in recent years driven by aficionados who demand gastronomic quality cuisine and a healthy lifestyle. Nordic food is an everyday cuisine, credited with high nutritional value of omega 3 and is rich in antioxidants.

Also, the need to emphasise natural flavours is now gaining more importance in a modern cuisine. Our dishes are simple, pure and finely flavoured whether you order an assortment of herrings, wild Norwegian salmon or cold-water Greenland shrimps. We let the ingredients speak for themselves.

Block 16A Dempsey Road

Tel: +65 64796188 or email: [email protected]