DG Fuels proposes $3.1bn sustainable aviation fuel facility in Louisiana

Hydrogen and synthetic fuel producer, DG Fuels has proposed $3.1bn investment in a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) manufacturing facility in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

The Washington DC based company said the 3,000 acre site will produce up to 178m gallons of SAF a year and claims it would remove around 1.65m tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually.

The facility will use local agricultural and timber waste feedstock and claims this process will reduce aviation fuel’s carbon intensity score by 100% when compared to standard jet fuel.

Michael Darcy, CEO, DG Fuels said: “DG Fuels’ baseline process differs from other systems by having little or no environmental emissions either to the atmosphere or waters, while at the same time providing a customer for all forms of agricultural waste to the region’s agricultural community.”

The Department for Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimates the project would create over 6,000 jobs in region. “The addition of DG Fuels to Louisiana is further evidence of Louisiana’s emergence as a prime location for investors taking advantage of the unique business opportunities that the energy transition offers,” said Don Pierson, secretary, LED.

The proposed site on the west bank of St. James Parish is currently undergoing a front-end engineering design study that will be completed around August 2023, with a final investment decision expected by the end of this year. If DG Fuels moves forward with the project, construction of the SAF plant would take three years from that point.