Blue Biofuels forms SAF joint venture with Vertimass

Blue Biofuels announced Jan. 23 that it has created a partnership with Vertimass to employ Vertimass’ proprietary consolidated alcohol deoxygenation and oligomerization (CADO) technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable propane and butane as coproducts from ethanol.

This new company, VertiBlue Fuels LLC, is equally owned by Blue Biofuels and Vertimass.

VertiBlue Fuels has the immediate objective to build a facility in Florida, which is anticipated to produce an estimated 10 million gallons of SAF and 2 million gallons of renewable LPG in its first year.

Upon completion, Blue Biofuels said the partnership will expand SAF production to approximately 70 million gallons and renewable LPG to 14 million gallons annually.

The facility will initially convert sugarcane ethanol, followed by using ethanol derived from Blue Biofuels’ cellulose-to-sugar (CTS) technology.

The creation of this partnership is a transition from technology development to production, according to Blue Biofuels, and represents the first step in building an end-to-end integrated continuous process for converting cellulosic biomass into SAF and other sustainable biofuels.

“I am very enthusiastic about this partnership with Vertimass,” said Blue Biofuels CEO Ben Slager.

“It confirms our dedication to pioneering sustainable solutions in the aviation industry and producing biofuels,” Slager continued.

“Our joint venture’s objective is not only to produce high-quality SAF but also to contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions,” he added. “We are excited about the positive impact this project will have on both the environment and the aviation sector, and it is a clear step forward from biofuels development to production.”

Charles Wyman, president and CEO of Vertimass, added, “This partnership represents a major milestone for Vertimass, as it will move our breakthrough CADO technology to commercial scale and feed conversion of cellulosic biomass to SAF. The need for SAF in the marketplace continues to grow as airlines and governments around the world commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Vertimass is delighted to be at the forefront of this growing market and looks forward to our low-cost CADO process contributing to reducing carbon emissions that feed climate change.”