U.S. Alternative Fuel Producers Poised for Industrywide Growth as More Uses Emerge

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Alternative Fuels Industry is hearing some good news. About 16% of new U.S. vehicle sales are forecast to be alternative fuel vehicles by 2030, according to Global Data, and substances such as methanol are being adopted as marine fuels. Along with President Joe Biden's decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement, these trends are strong indicators of demand growth. Industrial Info is tracking $1.74 billion in active alternative fuel projects in the U.S. that are set to begin construction in the second quarter, the bulk of which is attributed to biodiesel and renewable diesel projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing planned second-quarter kickoffs in the U.S. Alternative Fuels Industry, by project type.

Braven Environmental LLC (Yonkers, New York) is preparing to begin construction on a $31.7 million renewable diesel plant in Cumberland, Virginia, which will use pyrolysis technology (as opposed to incineration) to convert plastic waste products into renewable diesel with relatively few emissions. Plastic recycling has become a hot topic in the ever-widening environmental debate, with activists and legislators increasingly pressuring companies to find sustainable ways to dispose of heavily used plastic products, such as beverage containers. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Pyrolysis is a process that heats a feedstock, such as waste plastic, in a low-oxygen environment and breaks it down into a mix of simpler hydrocarbons, according to Chemical & Engineering News. This produces substantially smaller chemical emissions than the more commonly used burning process. Braven's project is a victory for Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who secured it last summer after outbidding North Carolina and South Carolina.

Enviva LP (NYSE:EVA) (Bethesda, Maryland) is chalking up progress on its estimated $175 million plant in Epes, Alabama, which is designed to produce 700,000 metric tons of pellets every year, with the potential to grow to 1.15 million tons per year. The company and its affiliates recently finalized the purchase of the project site and have commenced with pre-construction activities. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Enviva officials expressed optimism about the Epes project and others in development, with Chief Financial Officer Shai Even predicting in a recent earnings-related conference call that the company "will have a combined production capacity of more than 7 million metric tons per year, with total terminal throughput capacity of about 11 million metric tons per year. For reference, that is more than double the size of the partnership's production capacity just one year ago."

Most of the alternative-fuel projects set to begin construction in the near future use natural gas as their main feedstock, but a landfill gas is emerging as a potentially strong influence on the market. Typically a 50:50 combination of methane (the primary component of natural gas) and carbon dioxide (CO2), landfill gas is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic material in landfills, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The resource has been touted by federal legislators in proposals, such as the recently introduced Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow's America (LIFT America) Act, as a promising renewable energy resource.

Fortistar LLC (White Plains, New York) is preparing to begin construction on a $33 million renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Shiloh, Ohio, which will use a landfill gas collection system, anaerobic digester tank system and other features to capture 20,323 tons per year of waste methane emissions from the nearby Noble Road landfill, to produce 6.9 million gallons per year of pipeline-grade RNG. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

American Organic Energy (Westbury, New York) also is among the companies turning to landfill gas as a project feedstock. It is seeking permits for a waste-to-biogas plant in Yaphank, New York, which is designed to process 180,000 tons per year of food waste into methane biogas for the California fuel market. However, the project has faced planning delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recently was forced to drop a power-generation component. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In addition to the abovementioned capital-spending projects, the U.S. Alternative Fuels Industry is preparing for more than 120 maintenance-related projects that are set to kick off from April through June. Click here for a list.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.