SK invests in leading US bioenergy firm Fulcrum

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Fri, December 8, 2023 | 22:45

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SK invests in leading US bioenergy firm Fulcrum

Posted : 2021-12-16 15:24

Updated : 2021-12-16 15:30

Fulcrum's municipal solid-waste-based biofuels refinery in Nevada / Courtesy of SK Inc.

By Kim Bo-eun

SK Inc., SK Group's investment arm, stated Thursday that it had invested with private equity partners a total of $50 million in the U.S. firm, Fulcrum BioEnergy.

Fulcrum is the first company in the U.S. to produce biofuel commercially by chemically converting municipal solid waste into transportation fuel.

The latest investment is part of SK's moves to expand investments in green businesses and technologies to achieve its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Leveraging Fulcrum's proprietary process, SK aims to make inroads into the Korean bioenergy market with its affiliate, SK Ecoplant, as a potential partner. SK Ecoplant is SK Group's engineering and construction arm that is now focused on environmentally-friendly energy and infrastructure projects.

Fulcrum, founded in 2007 in Pleasanton, California, developed a proprietary process to convert organic materials found in municipal solid waste to low-carbon drop-in fuels, which can be distributed in the same pipelines as traditional petroleum products. Drop-in fuels refer to substitutes for existing petroleum-derived hydrocarbon fuels that can be used without any significant modifications in engines or infrastructure. Fulcrum's bio jet fuel was certified as an alternative drop-in fuel for the aviation sector.

Fulcrum constructed the world's first municipal solid waste-based biofuels refinery in Nevada in July 2021. Starting in 2022, Fulcrum's Nevada plant is set to begin producing approximately 40,000 tons of synthetic crude oil annually, which will be upgraded to transportation fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel.

Fulcrum expects its production to increase, given that it has secured a consistent supply of municipal solid waste feedstock through long-term agreements with major waste service companies in the U.S., as well as offtake agreements with major energy and airline companies.

Fulcrum's biofuel has been certified under California's low carbon fuels standard (LCFS), introduced to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuel.

Fulcrum's business model helps address environmental challenges by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and landfill waste. The company's technology diverts large volumes of municipal solid waste from local landfills, helping reduce methane gas generated by waste decomposition. Fulcrum reduces volumes of mass solid waste by using non-recyclable, landfill-bound waste as feedstock to produce energy. At the same time, this process helps address related social issues, such as the shortage of landfill space and environmental pollution.

Fulcrum's major shareholders include U.S. Renewables Group and Rustic Canyon Partners, BP, United Airlines and Waste Management.

Global biofuel production came to 144 billion liters in 2020, with the U.S. accounting for 45 percent of this, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Biofuel is expected to continue to see solid growth, driven by solid demand from conventional international combustion engine vehicles and for jet fuel.

"Fulcrum's novel process of biofuel production can make a meaningful contribution to tackling environmental challenges by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing landfill capacity shortages," said SK Inc. Executive Vice President Kim Moon-hwan.

"Leveraging Fulcrum's innovative process, SK Inc. will explore further opportunities with one of its affiliates, SK Ecoplant, which has transformed into an environmental and energy solution provider, to identify opportunities in the domestic market and at the same time expand its presence in the global waste-to-fuel and bioenergy markets."

bkim@koreatimes.co.kr