Strategic Biofuels licenses FT CANS™ technology for Louisiana Green Fuels project

Strategic Biofuels plans to convert 1 million tons of forestry waste into 32 million gallons of renewable diesel and bionaphtha per year.

Johnson Matthey and BP announced Feb. 20 that their codeveloped, award-winning Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS™ technology has been selected by Strategic Biofuels for its Louisiana Green Fuels project.

The technology has been licensed to Strategic Biofuels for its renewable diesel project in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.

Located on a 327-acre site at the Port of Columbia, the LGF plant plans to convert 1 million tons of forestry-waste feedstock into 32 million gallons of cleaner-burning renewable diesel and biobased naphtha per year once in operation.

Strategic Biofuels’ goal is to increase production to more than 165 million gallons per year of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over 10 to 12 years.

The LGF plant currently aims to be operational by early 2027 and is expected to produce about 87 percent renewable diesel and 13 percent biobased naphtha.

The renewable diesel could be used as a blend component in conventional diesel or as a 100 percent finished paraffinic-diesel fuel and the bionaphtha can be blended into the gasoline pool.

Strategic Biofuels is planning to utilize carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology at its LGF plant to further drive down carbon emissions.

This technology captures and stores carbon dioxide formed in the process so that it is not emitted into the atmosphere.

With the use of this technology, the carbon intensity (CI) of the LGF project, according to Life Cycle Associates, a leading analytical firm for the California Air Resources Board, would score at minus 294 (-294 gCO2e/MJ).

FT CANS technology, which will be leveraged at the LGF plant, was jointly developed by BP and Johnson Matthey to deliver environmental and operational benefits.

It converts synthesis gas (syngas), generated from sources such as industrial emissions, direct air capture, municipal solid waste or other biomass, into long-chain hydrocarbons suitable for the production of renewable diesel and SAF.

In 2022, Johnson Matthey announced its refreshed strategy with an ambition to be the No. 1 player across the syngas value chain, targeting an addressable market of up to £12 billion (USD$14.5 billion) by 2030. As a large-scale project, this license to Strategic Biofuels hits one of Johnson Matthey’s key strategic milestones.

“As a leader in syngas, which produces synthetic fuels, Johnson Matthey is continuing to develop innovative technologies to help our customers significantly reduce their carbon footprint,” said Jane Toogood, the chief executive of catalyst technologies at Johnson Matthey. “Projects like these demonstrate just how critical synthetic fuels will be to the net-zero transition.”

Paul Schubert, CEO of Strategic Biofuels, said, “Johnson Matthey and BP’s Fischer-Tropsch technology is a critical and enabling component for our Louisiana Green Fuels project. We are eager to access the full strength and technical excellence that these partners bring to our project as we approach the homestretch toward achieving final investment decision.”

Noemie Turner, vice president of technology development and commercialization at BP, added, “This project highlights one of the diverse range of feedstocks possible for our innovative FT CANS technology and I am proud it has been selected by Strategic Biofuels as a key enabler to support them in their efforts towards developing a negative carbon footprint renewable fuels plant.”