GranBio, RYAM join hands to develop cellulosic SAF project

Biochemicals and biofuels company GranBio said it has teamed up with Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) to explore the potential for developing a small-scale commercial cellulosic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility co-located at RYAM’s Jesup, Georgia site.

“I am very pleased to strengthen our collaboration with RYAM and work toward our joint goal of developing clean energy solutions, while improving the communities in which we work,” said Luiz Oliveira, CEO of GranBio. “At Jesup, we will leverage our complementary capabilities in the development of a cost-effective, scalable solution for the production of SAF.”

Under the agreement, GranBio will lead the proposed project to deploy its proprietary AVAP technology to convert lignocellulosic biomass into second-generation ethanol, which will be upgraded into SAF for sale to an offtaker.

The new facility would leverage RYAM’s infrastructure at the Jesup plant, including feedstock, utilities, and logistics.

The project will be partially financed through GranBio’s $100m grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The two companies also agreed that developing on proposed facility, RYAM would receive a license to GranBio’s latest-generation Celer2L yeast and AVAP technologies for ethanol and sugar production at its own facility, in partnership with GranBio.

“This MoU aligns with our strategy to unlock new value from our core assets and expand into renewable markets where our infrastructure and technical capabilities create a competitive advantage,” said De Lyle Bloomquist, President and CEO of RYAM. “GranBio brings world-class technology to this partnership, and together we’re exploring practical, scalable solutions to help decarbonize global aviation fuel markets.”

This first-of-its-kind project marks a major milestone in GranBio’s strategic goal of systematically scaling up SAF production, with strong potential for replication.

The due diligence is expected to conclude later this year, at which point both parties will determine next steps.