Fulcrum Converts Household Waste into Transportation Fuels
SK Inc., the strategic investment arm of South Korea’s SK Group, announced on Dec. 16 that it has invested US$50 million in Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., a U.S.-based waste-to-fuels company, jointly with a Korean private equity fund.
Fulcrum is the first company in the U.S. to produce biofuel on a commercial scale by chemically converting municipal solid waste (MSW) into transportation fuels. SK Inc. plans to enhance its environmental, social and governance (ESG) portfolio with its investment in Fulcrum.
Leveraging Fulcrum’s proprietary process, SK Inc. aims to make an inroad into the Korean bioenergy market with SK Ecoplant, another SK group company, as a potential partner.
Founded in Pleasanton, Calif., in 2007, Fulcrum has developed a proprietary process to convert the organic materials found in MSW to low-carbon drop-in fuels, which can be distributed in the same pipelines as traditional petroleum products. Fulcrum’s bio jet fuel was approved and certified as an alternative drop in fuel for the aviation sector. Fulcrum completed the construction of the world’s first commercial-scale MSW-based biofuels refinery in Nevada in July 2021.
Starting in 2022, Fulcrum’s Nevada plant is set to begin producing approximately 11 million gallons of syncrude annually, which will then be upgraded to transportation fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel. Fulcrum anticipates increased production, as the firm has secured a consistent supply of MSW feedstock through long-term agreements with major waste services companies in the U.S. and has secured offtake agreements with major energy companies and airline companies.
Fulcrum’s business model helps address environmental challenges by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and landfill waste. Fulcrum’s technology diverts large volumes of MSW from local landfills, helping reduce methane gas generated by waste decomposition.
Fulcrum’s major shareholders include U.S. Renewables Group and Rustic Canyon Partners, the company’s two founding investment firms, BP, United Airlines and Waste Management.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates the global biofuel production was 38 billion gallons in 2020 with the U.S. accounting for 45 percent of global biofuel production. Even with the proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs), biofuel is likely to continue solid growth, driven by robust demand from conventional international combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and jet fuel.
“Fulcrum’s novel process of biofuel production can make a meaningful contribution to tackling environmental challenges by significantly reducing GHG emissions and addressing landfill capacity shortages,” said Kim Moo-hwan, executive vice president of SK Inc.