The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has granted conditional loan guarantee commitments totaling nearly $3 billion for two sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects. The DOE’s Loan Programs Office has approved up to $1.44 billion in funding for Calumet’s Montana facility expansion, which will use vegetable oils, fats, and greases to produce SAF, renewable diesel, and renewable naphtha. If finalised, the loan guarantee will support increasing the facility’s biofuel production capacity to about 315 million gallons annually, with most of the output being SAF. Once the Montana facility reaches full capacity, its production would contribute 10% to the SAF Grand Challenge goal of 3 billion gallons annually by 2030, according to the DOE.
In addition, the DOE approved an up to $1.46 billion loan guarantee for renewable fuels company Gevo to help finance its corn starch-to-jet fuel facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota. This facility will be the first in the U.S. to convert corn starch into SAF using carbon capture and renewable energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration anticipates a 50% increase in domestic biofuel production by 2024, driven by the rise in SAF output.
