Advanced BioFuels USA

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) News just in that Indaba Renewable Fuels will build two greenfield refineries in California and Missouri to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel utilizing Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology. The facilities are expected to begin production of SAF in 2024 with the capacity of the plants expected to be 6500 barrels per day at each location. Topsoe will also provide its H2bridge hydrogen technology for both facilities that further replaces fossil fuels with renewable liquids like LPG or naphtha to lower the carbon intensity of the products.

In today’s Digest, who is Indaba Renewable Fuels and their ties to 2 other renewable fuel companies, where will this renewable fuel will go, the project timeline, a look at the Haldor Topsoe tech, reactions from the stakeholders, and more.

Who is Indaba?

Based in California, Indaba Renewable Fuels is a waste to diesel company that converts plant and animal oil, fats, and grease-based feedstock into renewable diesel fuel. According to their website, “Indaba uses a patented and proven technology platform, which enables the company to provide the most environmentally clean and economically efficient production of sustainable aviation fuel.”

Indaba is constructing a new renewable diesel refinery that will produce high grade, low carbon footprint, ultra-low sulfur “drop in” renewable diesel and jet fuel. This includes monetizable by-products such as naphtha and propane.

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Indaba has licensed technology from Haldor Topsoe, using their trademark “HydroFlex” which allows the refinery to use a variety of fatty acid-based products as feedstock (refinery inputs). These feedstock inputs include brown, yellow or white greases, vegetable oils, corn oil and animal fats.

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A look at the Indaba team is an interesting mix of fossil fuel, solar and biofuel folks like Geoff Hirson, CEO who has experience in tar sands and solar power projects and holds 12 patents. Even more fascinating is Hirson’s LinkedIn profile which lists him as CEO of St. Joseph Renewable Fuels in Cook County, Illinois and President of Powerdyne Renewable Fuels in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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We found this article from May 2020 that St. Joseph Renewable Fuels was planning on building a renewable diesel plant in Southern Illinois with an investment of $400 million.

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And we found this article from December 2014 that said Powerdyne Renewable Fuels would be investing hundreds of millions of dollars to construct a Sewage-to-Diesel Fuel Facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, but we haven’t heard any updates since then.

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Here is the timeline listed on their website:

• Pre-development phase through January 2022 – Pre-development period includes refinery property due diligence currently in escrow
• Lance Capital Funding Closes January 2022 – All contracts signed with contractors, partners, insurers
• Project fully funded & monies released to EPC February 2022
• Construction begins February 2022 – 24 to 26 months construction
• Refinery commissioning between April – June 2024

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Topsoe’s H2bridge hydrogen technology is based on a modular and highly efficient convection reformer technology. It delivers a circular solution to refineries and biorefineries by replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable LPG or naphtha to produce renewable hydrogen, thereby generating significant greenhouse gas emissions savings and lower the carbon intensity of the renewable fuels produced in the HydroFlex unit.

The solution enables Indaba’s facilities to accept a wide variety of feedstocks as well as the production of multiple low carbon Index (CI) renewable fuels.

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What will be interesting to see are the details on the Missouri location and if Indaba’s CEO Geoff Hirson has any news on his other two renewable fuels companies, St. Joseph Renewable Fuels in Illinois and Powerdyne Renewable Fuels in Indiana which would further help boost SAF fuel production to meet the growing demand.   READ MORE

Haldor Topsoe to support Indaba Renewable Fuels’ production of sustainable aviation fuel (Haldor Topsoe)