U.S. offers conditional loan guarantees worth $3 B for two SAF projects
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved conditional loan guarantee commitments totaling nearly $3 B for two sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects.
The agency's Loan Programs Office said the funding of up to $1.44 B to Calumet's unit would support the expansion of its facility in Montana. The facility will utilize vegetable oils, fats and greases to produce SAF, renewable diesel and renewable naphtha.
If finalized, the loan guarantee would fund facility expansion to produce about 315 MMgal/yr of biofuels, most of which will be SAF, the agency said.
The White House aims to meet all of the U.S.'s aviation fuel demand with SAF by 2050 and to supply at least 3 Bgal/yr of SAF by 2030.
Once the Montana facility reaches full capacity, its output would represent 10% of the SAF Grand Challenge goal of 3 Bgal/yr by 2030, DOE said.
The government body also approved an up to $1.46-B loan guarantee to renewable fuels company Gevo to help finance a corn starch-to-jet fuel facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota.
Gevo would be the first integrated, commercial-scale facility in the U.S. to convert corn starch to SAF with carbon capture and renewable power, the DOE said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects domestic production of biofuels to increase by about 50% in 2024, led by rising SAF production.
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