Calumet Inc. on May 9 announced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) capacity at its Montana Renewables biorefinery is expected to reach 120 MMgy to 150 MMgy sooner than previously reported for a fraction of the originally expected cost. 

Montana Renewables, an unrestricted subsidiary of Calumet, in October 2024 was awarded a conditional commitment for a $1.44 billion U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee to support its proposed MaxSAF initiative, which aims to increase annual production at the biorefinery to 330 MMgy, including 300 MMgy of SAF and 30 MMgy of renewable diesel. 

Under the original timeline for the MaxSAF initiative, Calumet expected to have approximately half of the proposed 300 MMgy of SAF capacity online by 2026, with the project expected to be complete in 2028. The estimated capital cost for the first phase of the initiative was estimated to be in the range of $150 million to $250 million. 

During a first quarter earnings call, Calumet CEO Todd Borgmann announced plans to accelerate development of the MaxSAF expansion for a fraction of the original expected cost. He explained that the company’s operations team has rapidly advanced the understanding of the potential of its assets and SAF production technology. Rather than wait for an additional reactor to be shipped and installed with other new-build assets, the company now believes it can enhance its existing reactor and some supporting assets already in Montana to bring 120 MMgy to 150 MMgy of SAF capacity online in early 2026 for $20 million to $30 million in capital. The project is primarily expected to consist of catalyst work and asset configuration, Borgmann explained, with improvements expected to increase SAF yields from the current level of 2,000 barrels per day to 8,000 to 10,000 barrels per day. The company also expects to achieve a minor increase in total renewable throughput. The plan to have 300 MMgy of total SAF capacity in place by 2028 remains unchanged. 

The Montana Renewables segment reported $3.3 million of adjusted EBITDA with tax attributes during the first quarter, compared to an adjusted EBITDA with tax attributes loss of $13.4 million during the same period of last year.  This metric includes $16.9 million of tax attributes from the production tax credit, which are added to adjusted EBITDA to provide a comparable metric to prior periods, when the blenders tax credit appeared in adjusted EBITDA.