ClearFuels Technology Inc. (ClearFuels), with corporate offices in Honolulu, is majority owned by Rentech. ClearFuels was founded in 1998 and has evaluated commercially viable cellulosic biofuels conversion technologies since the mid-1990s. From inception, ClearFuels’ core focus has been the development of a flexible thermochemical conversion technology platform to support commercial-scale production of advanced biofuels while reducing commodity risks of both feedstock costs and biofuels prices.

After review of over 200 thermochemical technology companies, Rentech acquired 25% of ClearFuels through a strategic partnership in 2009. Rentech and ClearFuels applied for and were jointly awarded a $23M DOE-IBR grant in 2010 and in 2011, Rentech exercised its option to acquire 95% of ClearFuels. ClearFuels moved its headquarters from the Hawaii Agricultural Resource Center to downtown Honolulu earlier this year.

ClearFuels Technology Inc.
733 Bishop Street, Suite 1875
Honolulu, HI 96813
808.836.7886

Rentech-ClearFuels Biomass Gasifier

The Rentech-ClearFuels high-efficiency biomass gasifier is a flexible versatile process for the conversion of multiple biomass feedstocks to renewable biofuels and other renewable energy products such as clean, renewable syngas, hydrogen, steam and power.

Rentech and ClearFuels jointly received a $23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to validate refining technologies. The grant money is being used to construct a 20 ton per day demonstration scale Rentech-ClearFuels gasifier at the Rentech Energy Technology Center (RETC) in Colorado, and integrate it with the Rentech's existing Product Demonstration Unit (PDU), which consists of Rentech's Fischer-Tropsch Process and UOP's upgrading technology. The joint demonstration will produce synthetic renewable, certified drop-in jet and diesel fuels.

Rentech/ClearFuels is developing potential biomass-to-energy projects in Hawaii and internationally that would use the integrated Rentech-ClearFuels design and be co-located at sugar mills and wood processing facilities which will help reduce operating costs and increase operating efficiency. The Rentech-ClearFuels design can be deployed to help achieve compliance with the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme as well as other low carbon fuels standards and renewable mandates.

Rentech is designing a state-of-the-art renewable energy project in White River, Ontario, Canada (Olympiad Project) that will employ the Rentech-ClearFuels biomass gasification system and the Rentech Process to produce renewable jet fuel and naphtha from primarily unmerchantable and underutilized timber.

Rentech/ClearFuels is in active negotiations with Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO) for a long-term conditional off-take contract for renewable diesel for fueling of a power generator to be produced at our proposed Hawaii project that would utilize the Rentech-ClearFuels biomass gasification process and Rentech's synthetic fuels technology to produce synthetic diesel fuel from bagasse.