Natural State Renewables partners with Axens for future SAF production from forest biomass

Biofuel process-technology provider Axens announced July 7 a strategic partnership with Natural State Renewables, a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project developer.

The collaboration between Natural State Renewables, Axens and its technology partner Thyssenkrupp Uhde will use BioTfueL® technology to produce SAF made from surplus forest biomass such as precommercial thinnings and slash.

This fully integrated process was developed by six major players in the decarbonization field—Avril, Axens, CEA, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), Total Energies and Thyssenkrupp Uhde.

Natural State Renewables expects to utilize a combination of feedstock, process configuration, power generation, and capture of facility CO2 emissions to produce SAF with negative greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions when compared to the fossil-jet baseline and independently calculated on a lifecycle basis.

Ruben S. Martin III, the president and co-founder of Natural State Renewables, has 40-plus years of starting, building and growing strategic businesses in energy, renewables, oil and gas, mid-stream, aviation and defense.

Martin expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with Axens to advance SAF technology and create a robust framework for its future production.

“The goal is to establish strategic partnerships in the U.K. and the U.S., providing airlines with a practical and scalable route to achieving zero emissions,” Martin said. “Our collaborative effort with Axens aims to foster reliable and trustworthy solutions for zero-emission aviation.”

Axens CEO Quentin Debuisschert added, “The partnership and collaboration with Natural State Renewables is a culmination of over 10 years of technology-development cooperation between Axens, Thyssenkrupp Uhde, and the BioTfueL® partners and, combined with Natural State Renewables’ uniquely positioned projects, will provide global SAF consumers with a carbon-negative advantaged fuel in their drive to reduce air-travel emissions.”

Michael Newton, the executive vice president and co-founder of Natural State Renewables, stated that their combined expertise and dedication to sustainability will allow them to provide innovative solutions with positive environmental, social and economic impacts.

“Our project is designed to avoid competing with the food supply, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability, and this partnership brings us closer to achieving our vision,” Newton said.

Clay Marbry, Natural State Renewables’ senior vice president for project development and co-founder, explained that their plants will produce their own power using biomass boilers, ensuring energy efficiency and sustainability.

“Southern Arkansas and North Louisiana will serve as the backbone locations for our SAF production, bringing many new jobs and benefits for those local economies,” Marbry said.