New Energy Blue and ARCO/Murray partner to build biomass refineries

ARCO/Murray will construct the flagship New Energy Freedom biomass refinery in Mason City, Iowa, to sustainably process corn stalks into second-generation fuel ethanol and clean lignin at large commercial capacity. The partners have agreed to a US$650 million construction contract. In 2023, New Energy Blue completed the design engineering, obtained local permits to proceed, and conducted field trials of new harvesting methods and machinery; in 2024, the project entered the final investment decision (FID) phase. The partners plan to break ground later this year and start up the refinery in 2026.

The significant economic impact anticipated is comparable to that typically seen with first-generation ethanol facilities.

Patrick Hidder, Executive Vice President of ARCO/Murray's Green Infrastructure team, said: "We are excited to partner with New Energy Blue on this biomass refining project, reflecting our shared commitment to sustainability and innovation in the renewable energy sector. We welcome the opportunity to help launch a nascent industry dedicated to decarbonising this country's fuel and chemicals."

Following Freedom's successful completion, New Energy Blue and ARCO/Murray have agreed to extend their partnership to four more New Energy biomass refineries in the next five years, clustered near the first to take advantage of the area's superabundance of corn stover. Harvesting within a 30-mile radius of each operation makes it possible to build refineries with twice the output of Freedom.

As the refineries proliferate, New Energy Blue CEO, Thomas Corle, says he intends to license the technical and business model in order to allow faster replacement of fossil oil and gas-refined fuels and chemicals with those that are biomass-refined.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/25062024/new-energy-blue-and-arcomurray-partner-to-build-biomass-refineries/