A spoonful of sugar: CEP

opinion

by Fayaz Hussain

June 23, 2025

In the sprawling agricultural valley of Imperial County, California, Dave Rubenstein believes he has found a solution to one of sustainable aviation fuel’s (SAF) most pressing challenges: securing reliable, low-carbon feedstock at scale derived from sugarcane.

As CEO of California Ethanol & Power (CE+P) and its flagship project Sugar Valley Energy, Rubenstein says he has a solution that solves key bottlenecks in US SAF production. His strategy is to build a presence across the entire SAF value chain: from seed to fuel.

While demand for SAF is rising fast, the industry is failing to secure the requisite feedstocks to produce the needed molecules. But it’s not just one SAF pathway that is facing this challenge. For HEFA, the recent ban on used cooking oil imports into the US means prices for complementary feedstocks would rise. Some of the major ethanol-to-jet SAF producers are already reliant on imports to produce low-carbon SAF.

Rubenstein says this is where his approach differs. By growing sugarcane on 50,000 acres of contracted farmland, he can deliver ethanol with a carbon intensity of 11g per megajoule – a significantly lower number that could be converted to SAF with a CI score as low as 18-20.

“We are not growing sugarcane to make table sugar,” he emphasises. “Under the US Farm Bill, you cannot grow sugarcane in California to make table sugar, So there’s no food versus fuel issue.”

Rubenstein plans to process this sugarcane at Sugar Valley Energy’s 160-acre facility in Imperial County. The site is already fully permitted and awaits final investment before construction can begin. He expects his parcel of land to deliver 75m gallons of ethanol per annum. Based on University of Illinois estimates of 1 gallon of SAF requiring 1.7 gallons of ethanol, the facility can theoretically produce 44.1m gallons of SAF.

“We will control the feedstock. We own that sugarcane,” explains Rubenstein. “We don’t have to source it, we don’t have to bring it in, we don’t have to worry about supply chain disruption. It will be grown within 10-15 miles of our plant.”

Since the Sugar Valley Energy facility site is planned to accommodate possible expansion, Rubenstein says the ethanol facility will only require about 80-90 acres while the rest can be used to setup a SAF facility.

Even though key ingredients are already there, Sugar Valley Energy has not found any takers from SAF investors. According to Rubenstein, setting up an alcohol-to-jet facility would require somewhere in the range of $500m to $2bn. “That’s a big gap,” he admits. “These are estimates, we still don’t know what the final cost would be.”

This cost uncertainty and fluctuating policy support has made potential investors cautious. Even established SAF producers like LanzaTech, while expressing interest in Sugar Valley’s low-carbon ethanol, remain focused on their existing Georgia facility.

However, Rubenstein still sees Sugar Valley uniquely positioned to partner with SAF firms, for not just providing feedstock but also permitted space, infrastructure and local market access.

“What we bring to the table is we can guarantee the feedstock from the farming fields through the alcohol processing to low-carbon ethanol delivered at the flange of any asset they want to build,” he explains.

Rubenstein’s strategy aligns with emerging broader trend in the SAF industry toward vertical integration and feedstock security. As policy requirements tighten and carbon intensity thresho

lds become more stringent, the ability to control feedstock quality and supply chain organisation may become decisive competitive advantages.

“The key that we have is three secret sauces,” Rubenstein summarises. “We control the feedstock, we are fully permitted with space for co-location and we will have ultra-low carbon ethanol. That is a nice one-two-three punch that nobody else can offer.”

Whether this model can scale to meet the aviation industry’s growing demand for sustainable fuel remains to be seen. But as policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic raise SAF blending requirements, companies like Sugar Valley Energy may hold the key to making those mandates economically viable.