Arbios Biotech is the joint venture of two rather different companies, located in opposite parts of the world. What was the vision that led to the company's inception?
The vision that brought us together was centered on the technology and the aspiration of promoting circular economies and lowering greenhouse gases. Essentially, the joint venture represents the coming together of two leaders in their field, Licella, who came up with their proprietary technology, and Canfor, one of the largest global producers of forest products. Canfor produces forestry residues as they process lumber. Trying to find the highest environmental and economic value for that residual product, Licella came into the picture, leveraging their hydrothermal liquefaction technology that converts solid biomass into liquid biocrude. This process is unique in that it preserves 75% of the carbon, while also handling a wide variety of feedstock, from wood to agricultural biomass and other post-consumer biomass such as Municipal Solid Waste. Through this simple and versatile technology, we remove the majority of the oxygen in the biomass to produce a highly stable and high-value sustainable biocrude. At this moment, we are mainly targeting sustainable aviation fuel, with the mindset to expand in the future.
How many facilities do you operate currently and which parts of the world have the most auspicious regulatory framework for the development of biofuels?
When we formed the joint venture, we quickly committed to building a fit for purpose commercial size pilot plant with Licella in Australia. This was followed by our upcoming project in Prince George, which is now under construction. Placing these plants close to the forest is a key for both the economics of the project and for our circular economy aspirations.
British Columbia was selected as the location for our first commercially operating plant largely because of the strong low carbon fuel focus of the province, including Part 3 funding through credits that helped us support the construction cost.
We acknowledge the importance of partnerships and wanted to work on the project with the Indigenous Nation of Prince George, the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and we asked them to name the site. They came up with Chuntoh Ghuna, "the forest lives", which we believe is a deeply honoring name for our future facility. It’s not just a regulatory framework that’s important for creating the right environment to develop sustainable technologies like ours.
Since our technology can process different feedstocks and be upgraded to products like sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), there is a great opportunity to put our plants in many different regions across North America and Europe to provide much-needed solutions for hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation. These regions have effective credit incentives in place and such strong regulatory support makes these continents very appealing as bases for our continued growth.
Do you find that the variability of feedstock supply can be a potential impediment to your expansion?
Surprising to many, there are massive amounts of low-value biomass material around the globe. In many parts of the world, the residues left after harvesting are burned, releasing methane into the environment. As an example, sugar cane waste in Australia can be repurposed instead of burning it and causing damage to the Great Barrier Reef. Globally, significant volumes of MSW continue to go to landfills. Our goal is to change this, and we are uniquely positioned to do so. With our technology, we can convert a wide range of residues, including the biogenic portion of MSW, into advanced biofuels. This opens up a world of possibilities for us.
How affordable would your products be in the near future, as compared to fossil fuels?
The fossil fuels industry clearly has the benefits of economies of scale. To balance the odds, we are focused on targeting feedstock that is close to potential plant locations. The process itself is efficient, so the capital cost is very competitive. Additionally, we believe that the low carbon intensity footprint of our plants will eventually reach net zero; a situation that is highly desirable for us, our customers, and the planet. Mixing all these with the value of carbon credits results in economics that are compelling. As we have seen, many governments are committed to the global 2030, 2035 and 2050 targets, and carbon credits present an opportunity to develop this emerging industry in an economical manner.
What are Arbios Biotech’s key objectives for the crucial years that are coming for the biofuels sector?
The fact that we want to fuel a net zero future is more than just a tagline: it is our reason for existence. Just a year ago, we were targeting biofuels with a 70-80% lower carbon footprint compared to fossil fuels. Today, we are targeting net zero.
The technology we employ is opening up tremendous opportunities for us, and our Prince George facility is just the first of what will become a proliferation of plants across the entire Northern Hemisphere. For the near term, Arbios is focused on delivering significant volumes of SAF and other premium advanced biofuels. As a startup, we have a long way to go, but we have strong partners and strong support. We are very excited for the future, and we know that our solutions can make a meaningful contribution to combatting climate change.
