Sacramento clean fuel technology company Infinium has signed agreements to build one of its energy-to-fuel manufacturing plants in northern Norway.
Infinium plans to build its “electrofuel” factory in Mo i Rana, an industrial city that has a mix of iron and steel businesses, as well as other manufacturing companies. The plant would be in the Mo Industrial Park, the largest industrial development zone in northern Norway.
“The industry in Mo Industrial Park provides ample access to the CO2 we use as a feedstock in our proprietary production process,” said Infinium CEO Robert Schuetzle, in a news release.
Infinium uses 100% renewable-sourced electricity along with waste carbon dioxide to make its “electrofuel,” which is a zero-carbon drop-in replacement for petroleum-sourced diesel, jet fuel and maritime fuel.
More than 110 businesses occupy Mo Industrial Park, including everything from iron and steel mills to recycled steel product manufacturers to industrial laboratories. Those companies are the potential feedstock partners to supply Infinium with waste carbon, said Infinium spokeswoman Leigh Picchetti.
Mo i Rana is about 600 miles north of Oslo on the edge of the Arctic Circle.
The industrial site was opened by the Norwegian Parliament after World War II for iron and steel production to manufacture domestic steel from vast local iron deposits and available local power from hydroelectric facilities.
Mo Industrial Park is known for its ambitious goals relating to climate and sustainability, Schuetzle said. “The synergies of our partnership will allow Mo i Rana to play a leading and decisive role in advancing the development of eFuels in Europe," he said.
The Norwegian Infinium project will have the capacity to produce an initial 2.5 million gallons per month of liquid fuel, Infinium said.
Infinium has previously announced e-fuels projects in south Texas and West Texas, which have fuel-purchase agreements with Amazon and American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL).
In December, Infinium received a $75 million equity commitment from Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy to support its its Project Roadrunner energy-to-fuel manufacturing plant in West Texas to produce low-carbon aviation fuel.
In 2022, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) struck an agreement to use Infinium fuel for its long-haul trucks in Southern California.
Before that, Infinium signed agreements to develop an electrofuel plant in Dunkirk, France. The estimated $571 million French plant will take carbon emissions from an ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE: MT) steel production plant in Northern France.
In 2021, Infinium raised $69 million to commercialize its process, with lead investors including Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources LLC, the world’s largest renewable energy company, and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.
Infinium is one of a cluster of companies in the Sacramento area commercializing low- and zero-carbon technologies.
