Energy firm Shell announced that it has decided not to restart construction of its biofuel facility at Rotterdam, saying the project would not be competitive in today’s market.

After reviewing market dynamics and the cost of completion, Shell concluded the project would not deliver the competitiveness needed to supply affordable low-carbon products, it said in an announcement on Wednesday.

“As we evaluated market dynamics and the cost of completion, it became clear that the project would be insufficiently competitive to meet our customers’ need for affordable, low-carbon products,” Machteld de Haan, Renewables and Energy Solutions President at Shell, said.

“This was a difficult decision, but the right one, as we prioritise our capital towards those projects that deliver both the needs of our customers and value for our shareholders”

Construction of the Rotterdam biofuels plant began in 2022 and was paused in 2024. The facility had been expected to produce around 820,000 mt/year of biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).