Artist's representation of proposed Fulcrum Centerpoint plant for Gary

Fulcrum BioEnergy successfully turns landfill trash into fuel

Contributed By: The 411 News

Last month Fulcrum BioEnergy announced it had successfully produced the first ever low-carbon fuel from landfill waste at its Sierra plant in Reno, Nevada.

After many years of dedication and perseverance, successfully creating a low-carbon fuel from garbage validates the strength of our process and our partners’ unwavering belief in and support for our business model, said Fulcrum BioEnergy President and CEO Eric Pryor.

“This is a significant accomplishment for Fulcrum and the aviation industry,” said United Airlines Ventures Managing Director Andrew Chang. United is one of the airlines that joined as a venture partner in Fulcrum’s efforts to create fuel from wastes.

“United has led with bold action to fight climate change, including committing to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets, and investing in more sustainable fuel production than any other airline globally,” Chang added. “We look forward to advancing our collaboration with Fulcrum to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel.”

"This accomplishment is a watershed moment for Fulcrum and opens the door for our plans to transform landfill waste around the world into a low-carbon transportation fuel in a way that will have a profound environmental impact. We expect to produce approximately 400 million gallons of net-zero carbon transportation fuel annually,” Pryor said.

Fulcrum’s Reno plant will ease the way for Fulcrum’s Centerpoint plant in Gary, now going through the permitting process.

Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD), opponents of the plant, have challenged the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management’s decision to issue an air permit for the plant. GARD petitioned the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication to review IDEM’s methods approving Fulcrum’s air permit application. IOEA will issue their decision in September 2023.

“As we continue to make progress on our development in Gary, we will be able to utilize a standardized, scalable, low-cost approach by replicating this successful, proven process at Sierra,” Pryor said. “With Fulcrum Centerpoint, we believe Gary will be a leader in helping reduce the country’s dependence on energy sources that contribute to climate change, and that Fulcrum Centerpoint will be a catalyst attracting like-minded, innovative industries to the region.”

“We look forward to providing future updates on Fulcrum in 2023 as we further our vision to be a renewable fuels leader and address climate change by supporting the aviation industry’s goals to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions,” Pryor said.

Story Posted:01/15/2023