Sprague Resources, the publicly traded, Portsmouth-based wholesale energy supplier, is teaming up with a Maine-based company that is planning to build a biorefinery that would produce a patented zero-emission biofuel made from 100% ethyl levulinate, an organic chemical compound often referred to as EL.
A site has yet to be picked for the plant, but the company, Biofine Developments Northeast, says it wants to open it in 2023. It would process 100 tons a day of cellulose-based waste, primarily from paper and lumber mills, to make 3 million gallons of heating oil a year. It also would produce a side stream of renewable chemical byproducts that can be sold.
Biofine
is working with Treadwell Franklin Infrastructure Capital to help it
bring the project to commercial scale and raise $70 million from private
investors.
Technician working at Biofine Developments Northeast’s test facility in Old Town, Maine.
The
fuel that would be produced, EL100, gives off zero greenhouse gas
emissions, according to Biofine. The company said it also has worked
with industry labs to make sure EL100 can be burned safely in existing
equipment, and conducted a trial earlier this year in buildings at the
University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Sprague
Resources is one of the largest distributors of various blends of a
product called Bioheat, which is vegetablebased oil converted into
petroleum fuel.
“This
is another great example of our continued commitment to energy
innovation,” said David Glendon, president and CEO of Sprague. “As
customers increasingly seek to use more renewable liquid fuels, we are
excited to expand our portfolio of offerings using our existing
infrastructure.” He said the company sees the potential to blend EL100
with petroleum to lower emissions, and use it as a standalone product
for heating and transportation.
Biofine said it expects to be able to produce EL100 at prices that can compete with conventional fuel.