EXOLUM NWE: Future Fuel: Exolum’s Agile Advance in a Changing Market
As the fuel mix evolves and mandates tighten, Exolum is transforming its Northwest Europe infrastructure to handle not just today’s energy—but tomorrow’s. From SAF blending to HVO storage, the company is investing early and partnering smartly to stay ahead of demand. NWE Commercial Lead, Gorka Penalva speaks to Energy Focus about Exolum’s growing logistics and infrastructure expertise.
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The energy landscape in Northwest Europe is in flux. Traditional fuels are still moving in large volumes, but the conversation today is dominated by questions about what comes next. Sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogenated vegetable oil, bioethanol—new molecules are emerging and mandates are looming. And while demand builds, infrastructure lags behind. Terminals and pipelines, built to handle fossil fuels, are not always ready for the chemistry of tomorrow.
This is the challenge facing energy logistics companies across the continent: stay still and risk irrelevance, or evolve at pace, recalibrating infrastructure to suit a market still in the making. For Exolum, one of Europe’s most established players, the choice has been clear.
The Madrid-headquartered business, with a strong presence in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands through its Northwest Europe (NWE) division, is betting big on readiness. Not readiness for a single product or a single trend, but readiness for anything.
“Things are going very well,” Gorka Penalva, Commercial Lead of Exolum NWE tells Energy Focus, when asked how the business has progressed since 2024. “We’re having a good year, and we see a lot of situations that are very favourable for us, and that is not always the case. There is so much movement in the market, and that helps our business.”
And that movement, while rapid, plays to Exolum’s strengths. The company’s structure means that despite the volatility in fuel types and supply sources, the model is designed for stability. “Our type of business is very consistent,” Penalva explains.
“90% of our business is long-term and that means that global turmoil does impact us but it’s small compared to what is in the background such as hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVOs), ethanols etc. All those things that are coming through are new business for us and that will continue.”
Traders may worry about upstream availability, but Exolum occupies the other end of the supply chain—where fuel ends up, not where it originates. “We know the destination because we are the destination. Wherever the product comes from, it will come,” Penalva says. “That makes us slightly more shielded.”
But in a world of fast-moving change, even stability requires adaptability.
A SAF-CENTRIC WORLD
In 2024, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was already high on the agenda. In 2025, it’s taken centre stage. “SAF is a game changer,” says Penalva. “We are working with a few customers to plan SAF for the UK, but we are also looking at opening new import hubs. We want to use our connection to the pipeline with our terminal system so that customers can bring in the SPC and blend here in the UK.”
SAF, unlike fossil jet fuel, often arrives in its synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK or SPC) form and must be blended locally. Few facilities in the UK currently allow that blending process to happen. Most SAF arrives pre-blended, shipped from abroad. “There are not many places that you can bring SAF and blend here,” Penalva points out. “Blending SAF is not an easy operation.”
That makes Exolum’s offer both rare and essential. The company is talking not just to one or two potential partners, but to many. “There are many customers looking for logistics to import SAF,” says Penalva. “The net balance for the next five or ten years, while there is some growing local production, will require a lot of UK imports.”
That kind of foresight, he says, separates Exolum from the field. “We are trying to take a step forward and be proactive so that people know who we are, they know our capabilities, and they know we are prepared to work with them on infrastructure solutions.”
The intention is not to own or trade the fuel, but to provide the platform. “We would like to carry on in the same way we are with mineral fuel. We don’t want to own the molecule – we are an infrastructure company, and the product risk is too high,” he explains. “We are looking at offering infrastructure to customers with the idea that a customer would come in and bring SAF and we would blend before sending the product off through our network and to whichever airport requires the product.”
The vision is one of a collaborative hub—something modelled on the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region, scaled for the UK. “I like to think of it as a hub where we have various SAF customers and they have the mineral, and so can blend any kind of SAF,” Penalva says. “That structure of terminal system, where people are working with each other, brings a lot of efficiencies which drives down cost and CO2 emissions through the reduction of barging, shipping, and trucking because we can access port directly to pipeline.”
PREPARING TANKS, BACKING PROJECTS
Beyond SAF, the company is moving fast to respond to rising demand for HVO and other low-carbon fuels. At Eastham in the UK, tanks are being prepared for HVO. Elsewhere in the NWE network, similar conversions are underway.
“This is just one example of where we are moving away from the traditional investment methodology to a much more proactive one,” Peñalva says, “and one that allows us to add value for customers.”
While NWE plays a pivotal role in this infrastructure evolution, it’s also supported by Exolum’s wider operations. The business has taken on several flagship investments across Europe—an over €50 million aviation upgrade at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, a €200 million network modernisation at Paris Charles de Gaulle, and a massive €300 million partnership with MOEVE in Huelva to build new port infrastructure fit for the energy transition.
“Paris is going really well and that was a great business to develop – it’s a highlight for us,” says Penalva. “Huelva is a strong project that is going well. Bilbao is another project which we are very keen to move to FEED post FID. Generally, we are looking to our partners to see interest in the market for the storage there. It’s something we are betting on because we certainly see the market there.”
He continues, “It shows how Exolum has to change, and I’m sure most of our competitors are doing the same. We used to live in a world where we could sit and people would come and ask for a tank. Now… it is not our business to make a call on the market, but we do have to dip our toes and ensure the market understands that we are ready to make investments.”
That willingness to get involved early, he suggests, is what sets the company apart. “We are prepared to partner with other companies on these big investments, and that is what separates us.”
STAYING FAST, STAYING AGILE
One year ago, Penalva said that agility was becoming a defining trait for Exolum. That remains the case—if anything, the company has become even nimbler in its operations.
“We see how we are getting quicker – we are not exactly where we want to be, but we are getting better,” he says. “We get our responses out to the market a lot earlier than we did before. Our mindset is to be ready for anything and to always work in an agile way.”
Much of that speed comes from a more flexible internal culture. “We bring working groups together quickly and we focus on a certain activity, and then getting answers very quickly,” he says. “It is so critical for the customers to understand what they are looking at, and if we can tell someone a project will take three months but give them that answer in two weeks, that is useful.”
The shift is both cultural and structural, supported by Exolum’s leadership in Madrid. “We have worked hard to be in this situation,” Penalva reflects. “We have worked in the right way, with the right methodology, and we have great support from management in Madrid. We have changed mindset at the right time and in the right direction, and that has helped us to adapt to different situations.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Exolum’s goals for the coming years are rooted in expansion—but not growth for growth’s sake. The company is clear about its role: to offer infrastructure that allows others to decarbonise. That means listening to markets, forming partnerships, and staying flexible.
“We want to grow. We want to study and take opportunities in the UK. We are ready for anything that comes up,” says Penalva. “We understand the market, and we see positivity. We are part of a JV in the USA and that allows us to understand that market better. In Spain, we are a true industry leader and innovator.”
With SAF infrastructure tight, import volumes rising, and the 2030 emissions targets looming ever larger, Exolum’s investment strategy seems not only smart, but essential. As Penalva puts it: “Ultimately, when you look at any infrastructure project, nothing is going to be ready before 2030 because of all the planning. It simply cannot be done overnight.”
Fortunately, Exolum is not waiting until the last minute. It is building now, preparing now, and investing now—ensuring that when the fuel mix changes, the infrastructure won’t be the bottleneck.