Definitive EPC contract executed for Grön Fuels’ renewable diesel, SAF project

Koch Engineered Solutions announced July 11 that its affiliate company, Optimized Process Designs, has executed a definitive engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with Fidelis New Energy LLC for the primary renewable fuels processing facility of Grön Fuels as well as the related infrastructure required to support the GigaSystem™ carbon-negative renewable fuels facility.

Grön Fuels is expected to produce more than 1 billion gallons of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year once fully operational.

The multibillion-dollar Grön facility involved substantial design and engineering work to support a definitive EPC agreement with price and schedule certainty as well as performance guarantees that allow for nonrecourse project financing.

The GigaSystem™ has been designed from the ground up to utilize carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) with carbon-negative power (CNP), enabling the production of carbon-negative renewable fuels, all while using proven technologies.

Situated strategically at the crossroads of agricultural trade routes and traditional fuels production at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Fidelis expects the GigaSystem™ will be the first dispatch renewable fuels facility globally due to its energy-efficient design, CCS and CNP.

The GigaSystem™ site is unparalleled for feedstock supply and renewable fuels delivery globally via rail, water, road and refined-product pipelines, according to Koch Engineered Solutions.

To optimize the use of this logistical advantage, the facility will include industry-leading feedstock-processing capabilities across all feedstock types, including emerging feedstocks.

One unique advantage of the facility is its inherent design to produce from its renewable coproducts the equivalent of more than 1,000 megawatts of electrolyzer-generated hydrogen, creating a clear pathway to creating carbon-negative renewable fuels when combined with CCS and CNP.

“OPD is excited to be moving forward with the Fidelis team on this world-class renewable fuels project,” said Brian Boster, president of Optimized Process Designs. “Our speed to market and turnkey approach to engineering, procurement and construction will continue to add significant value to the project. As part of Koch Engineered Solutions, we are well-positioned to partner on this large-scale facility and look forward to a full notice to proceed following Fidelis reaching its final investment decision.”

Dan Shapiro, Fidelis co-founder, CEO and managing partner, said, “Today’s milestone of executing the definitive EPC agreement for the Grön Fuels Facility, the cornerstone of the GigaSystem™, represents a tremendous effort by Koch OPD, the Fidelis project-management office, and many other strategic partners. This milestone is a major step towards the initial strategic objective for the GigaSystem™: the production of carbon-negative fuels through an on-purpose greenfield production facility.”

Bengt Jarlsjo, Fidelis co-founder, partner and president, added, “OPD truly lived up to their name ‘Optimized Process Designs’ by working collaboratively with Fidelis’ project-management office to implement the Fidelis RACER™ framework to fully optimize energy efficiency, reduce carbon intensity and maximize the circularity of the facility. For example, Fidelis worked closely with OPD to maximize the use of steam generated by waste-heat capture for emissions-free power generation and incorporated a renewable natural gas production facility that will use the liquid byproducts of Grön Fuels’ highly flexible pretreatment system to produce biogas. We are proud of the progress made by the combined Fidelis/OPD team and look forward to continued success as the project moves forward, and we look forward to creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs as a result of constructing and operating the facility.”