Cielo provides update on its Alberta project that produces renewable fuel from wood byproducts

Cielo Waste Solutions, a renewable fuel company leveraging environmental technology to produce renewable fuel from wood byproducts, has shared an update on its project in Carseland, Alta.

Once completed, it will be Cielo’s first commercial by-product-to-fuels facility designed to convert wood by-products into what it called “low carbon intensity renewable Bio-SynDiesel fuel.” The Carseland Project will be situated adjacent to an existing synthetic fuel facility owned and operated by Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels, which uses technology developed by Expander Energy.

The Bio-SynDiesel fuel produced at the Carseland Project will meet current specifications for RD100 Renewable Diesel fuel that is compatible with today’s existing diesel engines, it said in a press release. It noted that its fuel uses wood and agricultural byproducts or municipal solid waste (MSW) and does not rely on food competitive feedstock.

“With three cornerstone agreements in place, Cielo has been able to ramp up the definition, scope and scale of the Carseland Project, allowing our team to confidently move forward with the engineering, regulatory permit applications and early procurement activities needed to make a final investment decision in the coming months,” said Ryan Jackson, Cielo’s CEO. “We are in a strong position to leverage the market-ready technology and early mover advantage.”

Recent progress and milestones

The engineering and technical teams at Expander continue to make progress and expect to be in a position to submit a new permit application to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas in the coming weeks, according to Cielo.

Several existing commercial and business agreements underpin the progress that has been achieved to date. These agreements are noted below and were acquired under the terms of the acquisition transaction with Expander, completed and announced in November 2023.

• Biomass feedstock: Cielo has secured a long-term contract with an established local biomass supply company, ECCO Recycling & Energy Corporation. This contract provides Cielo with an ongoing supply of the requisite biomass feedstock for the Carseland Project.
• Site location: As a core component of the Carseland Project, and as previously disclosed, Cielo has secured approval for a long-term lease on a parcel of land totaling 25 acres, situated immediately adjacent to the existing and operational RMCFI synthetic fuel facility in Carseland. This enables Cielo to leverage existing infrastructure and operational capabilities to accelerate commercial production of its Bio-SynDiesel fuel.
• Syngas processing agreement: The transaction with Expander allowed Cielo to secure a long-term syngas processing agreement with RMCFI. Through this agreement, Bio-Syngas produced at the Carseland Project will be converted into 8.2 million litres per year of renewable Bio-SynDiesel fuel at the existing, operational and adjacent synthetic fuel facility.