On Oct. 27, as part of its goal to unleash production of 1 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel, Alder Fuels has selected BTG Bioliquids to be part of the first Alder Greencrude (AGC) processing facility in the U.S. Southeast. 

Bryan Sherbacow, president and CEO of Alder Fuels, commented, “The initial stage of the AGC process is technology neutral, which allows us to pursue a range of providers to further our mission. BTG Bioliquids’ technology has been chosen for this phase for the pioneering site for Alder Greencrude production, which will be located in the U.S. Southeast. BTG Bioliquids and our existing strategic partnership with Honeywell UOP play an essential de-risking role, which enables rapid and global commercial scale. We look forward to providing more details on our first site selection in the coming months.” 

The initial step in the fuel production process is the conversion of sustainable biomass residues into fast pyrolysis bio-oil. As one of the world’s leading fast pyrolysis technology providers, BTG Bioliquids develops production plants through their engineering, procurement, and construction partner, TechnipEnergies. These plants aim to convert non-food, diverse, and sustainable biomass sources into fast pyrolysis bio-oil that can help to displace our reliance on fossil fuels. 

Alder’s patented process uniquely upgrades fast pyrolysis oil into AGC that can then be converted into drop-in ready SAF and chemicals using existing bio and petroleum refinery infrastructure. Developed in close partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AGC can achieve greenhouse gas reductions of over 80 percent compared to fossil-based jet fuel, flexing to carbon negative depending on the feedstock used. Honeywell UOP, one of the world’s leading technology suppliers to the global refining industry, has strategically partnered with Alder Fuels to facilitate mechanical design and commercialization, and to guarantee their proprietary process. 

Gerhard Muggen, managing director of BTG Bioliquids, commented, “BTG Bioliquids is proud that Alder Fuels has chosen our proprietary technology enabling them to become the leading supplier of SAF in the world. We are confident that our fast pyrolysis technology will support Alder Fuels in achieving their ambitious business goals and are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration.” 

The Alder Fuels site is scheduled to start full-scale commercial production in 2024 and fast pyrolysis bio- oil conversion testing of Alder’s feedstock has been completed at both BTG pilot and demonstration scale plants in the Netherlands.