Fulcrum BioEnergy to build its first waste-to-fuels plant in the U.K.

Fulcrum BioEnergy has chosen a site in England’s northwest to build its first waste-to-fuels plant in the country.

The company is a pioneer in the production of low-carbon, transportation fuels from municipal solid waste.

“The U.K. has a rich history in aviation-related innovation, and we are proud to be able to continue to support the industry with the introduction of our low-carbon, waste-to-jet fuel platform,” Jim Macias, president and chief executive officer of Fulcrum, said. “Launching our first U.K. project at Stanlow, in collaboration with Essar, brings tremendous benefits in terms of plant operability, efficiency of feedstock and fuel product logistics. On-site storage via Stanlow Terminals Limited and direct access to airport pipelines, make this an attractive site for our project. Fulcrum’s innovative and patented waste-to-fuels process will help reduce the impacts from climate change, boost the economy by supplying low-carbon, drop in transportation fuel as well as bringing high-paying jobs and investment to the North West of England.”

“We are excited to have been chosen to host Fulcrum’s first UK biorefinery,” Stein Ivar Bye, chief executive officer at Essar Oil U.K., said “Stanlow and the surrounding area is transitioning toward a low-carbon energy cluster for the U.K., and the advanced fuel that will be produced from this plant will position Stanlow as the U.K.’s leading sustainable aviation fuel hub. We look forward to supporting Fulcrum with its development and to increase our involvement in the project.”

Construction on Fulcrum NorthPoint, subject to planning permission and financing, is expected to begin in late 2023 and will take approximately 18-24 months to complete. Fulcrum NorthPoint will convert several hundred thousand tons of pre-processed waste, which would otherwise be destined for incineration or the landfill, into approximately 30 million gallons of low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel annually. The biorefinery will utilize Fulcrum’s proprietary waste-to-fuel process, which will help contribute to the U.K.’s net zero ambitions while generating hundreds of jobs in the region during construction and operations of the project.

Fulcrum NorthPoint will lead the way to a cleaner and more sustainable future in the North West of England and change the way aviation fuel is made to help decarbonize the U.K. Using SAF derived from residual, domestic household and commercial waste, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced significantly on a lifecycle basis when compared to fuels produced from conventional crude oil.

Fulcrum’s first commercial project, the Sierra BioFuels Plant located outside of Reno, Nev., is in late-stage construction and is set to begin operations in 2021. The Sierra plant will be the first commercial-scale plant in the world to convert municipal solid waste, or household garbage, into low-carbon transportation fuels. In addition to Fulcrum NorthPoint, Fulcrum has an extensive, global development program underway, including the 33-million-gallon-a-year Centerpoint biorefinery in Gary, Ind., and a similar sized project in the United States Gulf Coast region where the company is finalizing site selection.