By Giulia Petroni

OMV AG said Thursday that it plans to invest around 30 million euros ($36.2 million) to build a pilot plant that produces second-generation biofuels at its Schwechat Refinery in Austria.

The Austrian oil-and-gas company said the plant, which will become part of the existing value chain at the refinery, will use a catalyst to produce propanol from glycerin.

"A typical refining process will see the waste-based substance glycerin turned into bio-alcohol, which when added to gasoline reduces its CO2 footprint," it said.

The plant's capacity will be 1.25 million liters of propanol per year, leading to a carbon-dioxide reduction of around 1,800 metric tons, according to OMV. It is expected to be operational in 2023.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-04-21 0437ET