Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels (NWABF) has secured a $70 million funding partnership with Black Gold Equity Partners to advance plans for a $3 billion renewable fuels refinery in Washington state, which will use woody biomass to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), AIN reported.
The company expects to begin construction next year at the Port of Longview, where it holds a long-term lease for 250 acres along the Columbia River corridor. The location will facilitate maritime transportation of feedstock and finished biofuel.
The facility is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2031, with an annual production capacity of 60 million gallons of neat SAF. The proposed plant will use a gasification and Fischer-Tropsch process, converting woody biomass into gas before processing it into liquid synthetic fuel.
NWABF, which has an SAF offtake agreement with Delta Air Lines, said the additional funding would support the project’s transition from planning to construction.
Company founder Dave Smoot said access to capital remained a major challenge for the sustainable fuels industry and described the partnership as an important step towards developing the refinery.
