Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels in final talks with top-tier investors for SAF project

Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels LLC (NWABF) announced Nov. 11 that it is in final funding discussions to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project, which will produce and supply more than 60 MMgy of SAF for Delta Air Lines.

NWABF is currently holding serious, active investment discussions with top U.S. infrastructure and energy investment firms, including some of Wall Street's finest, and also with industry partners, in reviewing the SAF investment opportunity. The company has already received investment term sheets for the construction capex of the project, from multiple qualified investors eager to participate in the project's funding needs. As a result, final development funding is expected to close soon.

These discussions are the logical next step forward in NWABF's move toward finalizing funding for the SAF project in Washington State. Receiving financial commitments from key energy and infrastructure investment firms (not identified due to regulatory compliance issues) are a key sign of the project headed in the right direction, according to Dave Smoot, manager and founder of the NWABF project.

"Our project is strong, on target and we're getting investment interest from the right kind of investment partners," he said. "Our projected production costs for this project are economically sound, and we have access to long-term feedstock from forest slash, sawmills and chipping operations. And, of course, we have the 10-year offtake agreement with Delta Airlines, the largest agreement of its kind in the country. We are excited for the future."

Investment participation by top infrastructure and energy investment firms will help to shine the light even brighter on NWABF and the emerging SAF opportunity in supplying more SAF to its offtake partner.

In 2019, Delta Air Lines invested $2 million to collaborate with NWABF to study the financial feasibility of a biofuel production facility that produces sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuel products.

Earlier this year, NWABF also announced the selection of Black & Veatch, the global engineering, procurement and construction firm, to spearhead the project as its EPC of record.

NWABF is a Delaware-based company that is developing a second-generation, cellulosic, renewable biobased jet fuel with the first project being developed in the Pacific Northwest. NWABF has assembled a world-class team of technology companies to handle frontend gasification, syngas cleaning and scrubbing, syngas treatment, backend Fischer-Tropsch technology and fuel upgrading to premium, renewable SAF.