Fulcrum BioEnergy has selected Gary, Indiana as the location for its Centerpoint BioFuels Plant, which will convert municipal solid waste into low-carbon, renewable transportation fuel.
Image: Fulcrum to build Centerpoint BioFuels Plant in Gary, Indiana. Photo courtesy of James Knight/Freeimages.com
Fulcrum said that the construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2020 and will take between 18 and 24 months to complete. Once the Centerpoint plant starts operations, it will divert and process nearly 700,000 tons of waste from the Greater Chicago area.
The plant will process the waste, which will be converted offsite into a prepared feedstock and will produce nearly 33 million gallons of fuel annually.
At the Centerpoint plant, Fulcrum will use its in-house process to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% compared to conventional fossil fuels. It will also generate 160 full-time permanent jobs when the plant is completed and 900 jobs during the construction phase.
Fulcrum president and CEO Jim Macias said: “Launching our business in Indiana is an important next step in expanding Fulcrum’s capabilities to new cities rich in innovation and opportunity.
“Fulcrum’s municipal solid waste-to-fuels process will help reduce the impacts from climate change and boost the economy by producing low-carbon transportation fuel as well as bringing high-paying jobs and investment to northwest Indiana.”
The Centerpoint plant will be Fulcrum’s second waste-to-fuels plant. Last year, the company started construction of the Sierra BioFuels Plant located near Reno, Nevada. The Sierra plant will be operational by early 2020 and it is claimed that it will be the first commercial-scale waste-to-fuels plant in the US.
In September, Fulcrum entered into a partnership with a consortium led by Marubeni which includes Japan Airlines (JAL) and the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN).
This partnership includes a ten-year project development agreement to provide the opportunity for Fulcrum and Marubeni to jointly develop waste-to-fuels plants for international markets where Marubeni has a strong market presence.
The agreement also includes a project license agreement that will allow these international projects to use Fulcrum’s patented, proprietary municipal solid waste-to-jet fuel process.