In the United States (US), Pathway Energy LLC (Pathway), a developer of "ultra-carbon-negative" fuel projects, has launched as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nexus Holdings, while announcing the first in a series of commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facilities. In tandem, Pathway also announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Drax Group, while also reaching heads of terms on a multi-year deal that could see Drax supply over 1 million tonnes of sustainable biomass pellets each year to Pathway’s proposed SAF plant on the US Gulf Coast.
Led by early sustainable fuel pioneers, Pathway Energy’s team is distinctly positioned to bring commercial sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to market.
The team comprises decades of combined experience in waste and biomass conversion processes and technologies, including biomass power generation, biomass gasification, Fischer-Tropsch (FT), and complex biorefinery and industrial processes.
Introducing “ultra-carbon-negative” SAF
The current market for SAF relies heavily on used cooking oil (UCO), the bulk of which is imported to the United States.
While its introduction catalyzed decarbonization efforts in aviation and achieved a 75 percent reduction of carbon compared to conventional fossil jet fuel, today’s UCO-based HEFA-SPK SAF pathway is unable to materially decarbonize aviation due to its positive carbon intensity score and constrained supply.
With the introduction of its ultra-carbon-negative fuel, Pathway reveals what it says is an industry first – a synthetic drop-in jet fuel that achieves a 550 percent carbon reduction compared to conventional fossil jet fuel.
With Pathway’s ultra-negative-carbon SAF, air carriers require less SAF to achieve the same emissions reduction as UCO-derived SAF. This translates into a lower cost of operations as less fuel is required to achieve greater emissions reduction.
According to Pathway, airlines can expect to achieve up to 8x emissions reductions compared to HEFA SAF, and the carbon-negative aspect of Pathway’s fuel opens up the market globally to off-takers beyond the US domestic market.
Currently, the market for SAF only has options for lower carbon fuels, and while these fuels are effective in abatement of emissions, they require substantial production volumes. We saw the opportunity to provide carriers a pathway to completely decarbonize their flights with our net zero blended fuel. This is a new type of SAF production that is 7-9x more carbon negative than the SAF on the market today and represents the most sustainable, cost-efficient, and derisked path to decarbonize global aviation, long term, said Joshua Pearson, CTO at Pathway Energy.
Combining proven technologies and feedstock
By using proven biomass power, gasification, and syngas conversion technologies, Pathway will convert sustainably sourced wood pellets, a homogenous and globally traded commodity, into SAF.
Pathway has reached heads of terms on a multi-year wood pellet supply deal with UK-headed Drax Group (Drax), which could see Drax supply over 1 million tonnes of sustainable biomass pellets annually to Pathway’s first proposed SAF plant on the US Gulf Coast.
This landmark deal has the potential to be the biggest third-party supply arrangement Drax’s pellet business has made. Demand for sustainable biomass is accelerating, with international businesses seeking long-term fuel supplies for a range of projects globally – including sustainable aviation fuel and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, said Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax Group.
In the future, Drax could also potentially supply biomass to two additional Pathway projects, delivering a further 2 million tonnes of sustainable pellets per year to the business’ sites through the 2030s.
Reaching heads of terms on this deal with Pathway is an important step in the energy transition and for decarbonizing the aviation sector through sustainable aviation fuel production, which Drax is proud to be a part of. We also share Pathway’s aim of scaling bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to deliver the carbon removals that the world needs to fight climate change, Will Gardiner said.
Under a separate agreement, Drax could also become a strategic partner in the project, with a potential investment in the form of a convertible loan note of up to US$10 million.
No investment decision has been taken by Drax at this stage.
This innovative agreement catalyzes our aligned commitment with Drax to decarbonize the aviation industry and establishes the strategic alignment with Drax to deploy additional projects leveraging proven biomass conversion technologies, sustainable biomass feedstock, and carbon capture and sequestration. With a global scale supply of CORSIA-compliant biomass material, we are well-poised to address one of the hardest-to-abate industrial sectors through the production of carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuels, said Steve Roberts, CEO of Pathway Energy.
Pathway Port Arthur project
Pathway Energy is focused on developing a platform of commercial-scale facilities in areas with a high potential for geological storage to utilize Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and gasification technology to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2).
The first project, based in Port Arthur, Texas (TX), is slated to be one of the larger decarbonization projects globally, positioning Pathway Energy as a leader in the decarbonization of global aviation.
Selected for the presence of a highly skilled local workforce and existing infrastructure from the oil and gas industry, the Port Arthur site location offers existing industrial-scale import and export logistics including established truck, rail, barge, and pipeline access.
In Port Arthur, Pathway will leverage sustainable biomass feedstock and access to geological storage to sequester CO2 and produce its ultra-carbon-negative SAF.
Pathway has partnered with multinational heavyweights including Sumitomo SHI FW, which will supply the project with proven power production and gasification process technology packages.
According to Pathway, its decision to use wood pellet feedstock from world-class partners like Drax Group and proven technologies from Sumitomo SHI FW “de-risks feed system failures and optimizes gasification performance.”
Combining these commercial technologies with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, the Port Arthur facility is expected to remove more than 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 annually while producing 30 million (US) gallons (≈ 113.6 million litres) of ultra-carbon-negative SAF.
Pathway will shortly begin Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and anticipates construction start on the US$2 billion plant in early 2026.
Following construction, commercial SAF production is expected to commence in 2029.
Today we are happy to debut with the best technology and industrial partners in the industry on a market opportunity with global significance. With the ultra-carbon-negative intensity achieved through our process, Pathway Energy is poised to lead a global market for ultra-negative fuels, driving large-scale emission reductions across the aviation sector, ended Steve Roberts.
