Rentech (RTK) is up in premarket trading about 7% on news that along with ClearFuels Technology will receive up to $23 million in government funds to construct a biomass gasifier at a Rentech facility in Denver. The 20 ton per day ClearFuels gasifier will produce synthetic fuel from sugar can, wood waste and other cellulosic feedstocks. Knowledge from this test project will help the companies develop commercial scale facilities in the future. ClearFuels (in which Rentech has 25% ownership), has already begun development of several commercial scale facilities in the SE U.S., Hawaii and internationally, so mass produced synthetic fuel fueling airplanes may not be far off.
The Rentech CEO commented on the DOE grant: “We are pleased that Rentech and our partner, ClearFuels, have been selected to receive a DOE grant for an integrated bio-refinery to produce renewable synthetic fuels. The ClearFuels gasification technology complements our Rentech-SilvaGas biomass gasification process, enabling plant configurations that can be optimized for various biomass feedstocks and markets. The award will be an important step in furthering Rentech’s leadership position in the bio-energy space and will create green jobs at our Colorado synthetic fuels facility. We’d like to thank the DOE for recognizing the potential importance of innovative biomass-to-fuels technologies, and the impacts they can have on domestic energy production, carbon reduction, and the economy. We also appreciate the support we have received from the state of Colorado in advancing our project.”