A commercial-scale plant converting household waste into low cost, zero carbon transportation fuels, claimed to be the first of its kind in the world, has been completed.
Fulcrum BioEnergy’s Sierra BioFuels Plant, located east of Reno, Nevada, has the capacity to convert 175,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) into around 11 million gallons of zero carbon syncrude annually.
That will be upgraded to transportation fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel and renewable gas – dubbed ‘Fulcrum Fuel’, which has been patented and fully certified as a drop-in fuel for use in planes, cars and trucks.
The company’s ongoing growth programme will be particularly focused on decarbonising air travel by supplying the airline industry with its zero carbon SAF.
With the completion of construction, start-up and commissioning on the plant has started and fuel production is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2021.
Eric Pryor, President and CEO of Fulcrum said: “Completing construction is a monumental milestone not only for Fulcrum and our dedicated team who have worked tirelessly to make Sierra a reality but also for our shared commitment to the environment and our local communities.
“Fulcrum Fuel produced at Sierra will divert hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from a local landfill every year, while also helping our customers achieve their net zero carbon emissions goals. We couldn’t be more proud to bring the world’s first waste-to-fuels plant online in the coming months.”
