Trump admin approves Calumet’s SAF project loan
US Department of Energy announced that it has approved guaranteed loan facility for Calumet weeks after the company said that it had been delayed by the department, according to reports.
Earlier on January 13th, Calumet announced that it had successfully closed the $1.44bn guaranteed loan facility with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office to fund the construction and expansion of Montana Renewables’ fuels facility.
However, by the end of January, the company said that it had been informed by the US Department of Energy that the first tranche of around $782m under the guaranteed loan facility has been delayed.
The funding was due to be released on January 28th, 2025.
In a statement on the delay, Calumet CEO Todd Borgmann said that: “We are well aligned with White House priorities to support domestic agriculture, energy security, technical innovation and energy independence, all of which play a role in the tremendous bipartisan support this loan has received since its inception.”
Calumet plans to use the DOE loan to expand its production capacity at Montana Renewables site.
The DOE loan has a 15-year tenor and an annual interest rate at the US Treasury rate plus 3/8% – significantly lower than the commercial funding rates. Servicing of principal and interest will be deferred until MaxSAF is commissioned.