The Carbon Rescuers: 20 Top Waste projects and breakthroughs that capture used carbon from the waste pile for new uses

June 4, 2018 |

#2 From the Dump to the Pump: Fulcrum BioEnergy breaks ground on landmark trash-to-jet fuel project

Near Reno, Nevada, Fulcrum BioEnergy broke ground today for its 10 million gallon per year first commercial plant that makes jet fuel from municipal solid waste.

For thousands of years we have had a love/hate relationship with waste. We love to make it, we hate to deal with it. For 10,000 years we buried it, dumped it, incinerated it, agonized over it, smelled it, and flushed it. Now we’re going to try something new. We’re going to fly on it.

The idea of creating more domestic energy production and energy security, building a new industry, while getting ourselves around the skies in a cleaner, more sustainable manner has such obvious benefits that we might wonder why it has taken us so long to figure out a way to do it. 

The saga of Fulcrum BioEnergy from formation to today’s groundbreaking is proof positive that neither the technology nor the financing was a no-brainer. The path towards cleaner fuels has been obvious for some time, but the path towards affordable, cleaner fuels made in a way that sustains companies and rewards investors for running the risks — that’s been more difficult than untying a Gordion knot, until along comes Fulcrum in Alexandrine fashion to slash the knots within which we had fouled ourselves and our journey towards better tech.

From the Dump to the Pump: Fulcrum BioEnergy breaks ground on landmark trash-to-jet fuel project

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