Centerpoint

Gary Biorefinery & Two Regional Feedstock Processing Facilities

Key Facts

$800 Million

Economic Investment

200

Permanent Jobs

700,000

Tons of Waste Diverted from Regional Landfills Annually

31 Million Gallons

of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Produced Annually

2026

Expected Operations

What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)?

Sustainable aviation fuel is an alternative to traditional jet fuel that is made from renewable resources (such as biomass and household garbage) rather than crude oil. It can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from flying, enabling airlines to reduce their contribution to climate change.

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Project Overview

We partner with communities to develop our BioFuels plants and create jobs.

Fulcrum is actively developing the Centerpoint BioFuels Plant in Northwest Indiana. Fulcrum's proprietary process is spread across three separate facilities:

  • The Centerpoint Biorefinery - located on 75 acres within a designated industrial zone in Gary, Indiana.
  • Two Feedstock Processing Facilities - located outside of Gary in Indiana and Illinois.

In every community we operate, Fulcrum makes major investments that help grow the local economy, create clean energy jobs, reduce landfill disposal and accelerate energy innovation across the country.

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Centerpoint Overview

We partner with communities to develop our clean energy plants and create jobs.

Fulcrum is actively developing Centerpoint in Northwest Indiana. Fulcrum's proprietary process is spread across three separate facilities:

  • The Centerpoint Biorefinery - located on 75 acres within a designated industrial zone in Gary, Indiana.
  • Two Feedstock Processing Facilities - located outside of Gary in Indiana and Illinois.

In every community we operate, Fulcrum makes major investments that help grow the local economy, create clean energy jobs, reduce landfill disposal and accelerate energy innovation.

READ FULL PROJECT FAQS HERE
Centerpoint BioFuels Plan rendering

Gary Biorefinery Facts

  • Economic Investment: $600+ million
  • Direct Employment: 130 full-time operational jobs and 1,000 construction jobs
  • Indirect Employment: Numerous jobs supporting the facility including technical trades, logistics and supply chain
  • Average Wage: $30 per hour, plus above industry average employee benefits
  • Timeline: Expected commercial operations in 2026
  • Waste Removed: Approximately 700,000 tons per year of waste diverted from regional landfills
  • Fuel Produced: Approximately 31 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel produced each year
Gary Biorefinery Key Points
  • Fulcrum’s process includes gasification and Fischer-Tropsch technologies that were created in the early 20th century and have been used for decades in a variety of applications.
  • Fulcrum’s process does not burn or incinerate household garbage. The biorefinery IS NOT a waste incinerator. It will use a process known as gasification that does not burn or incinerate material. Gasification uses a high temperature and low oxygen environment to break the feedstock down into basic molecules, like hydrogen and carbon.  The resulting gas – known as syngas – is then converted into fuel.
  • Household garbage will be processed into what is known as a feedstock for Centerpoint at two processing facilities located outside of Gary. Household garbage from Chicago and other municipalities WILL NOT be brought into Gary.
  • Centerpoint’s feedstock contains some plastic because it is in household garbage and is otherwise hard to avoid. Fulcrum has a strong incentive to limit the amount of plastic in the feedstock and is investigating several ways of doing this. The best way to avoid plastic is to not produce it and Fulcrum supports measures that reduce plastic waste including consumer recycling and the banning of single use plastics.

      Local Employment & Participation

      Gary Biorefinery

      The Gary Biorefinery is expected to create 130 full-time operational jobs and 1,000 construction jobs. Fulcrum has made commitments to the City of Gary to prioritize local hiring of Gary residents and Gary-based businesses.

      • It will require a broad range of skills. To ensure that Gary residents are well positioned for these roles, Fulcrum is partnering with the City of Gary and local community colleges to offer appropriate training courses for residents.
      • It will support the demolition and clean up of vacated and abandoned buildings within the City of Gary. Proceeds of Tax Increment Financing bonds (which will be purchased by Fulcrum) will go to the Gary Redevelopment Commission for this important task. Importantly, this is a key initiative highlighted in the 2019 Gary Comprehensive Plan to support the long term transition of Gary.
      • Fulcrum is working with City officials and other key stakeholders to support the City’s parks and greenspaces.
      Feedstock Processing Facilities

      The Feedstock Processing Facilities are anticipated to create an additional 70 full-time operational jobs and hundreds of temporary construction jobs benefiting their communities. 

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      Local Employment & Participation

      The Biorefinery is expected to create 130 full-time operational jobs and 1,000 construction jobs. Fulcrum has made commitments to the City of Gary to prioritize local hiring of Gary residents and Gary-based businesses.

      • The Centerpoint Biorefinery will require a broad range of skills and to ensure that Gary residents are well positioned for these roles, Fulcrum will partner with the City of Gary and local technical colleges to offer appropriate training courses for Gary residents. Fulcrum and the City are developing a plan for that now and will provide further updates in due course.
      • The Centerpoint Biorefinery will also support the demolition and clean up of vacated and abandoned buildings within the City of Gary. Proceeds of Tax Increment Financing bonds (which will be purchased by Fulcrum) will go to the Gary Redevelopment Commission for this important task. Importantly this is a key initiative highlighted in the 2019 Gary Comprehensive Plan to support the long term transition of Gary.
      • Fulcrum is also working with the City officials and other key stakeholders to identify impactful ways for Fulcrum to support the City’s parks and greenspaces. Further details on this plan will be shared in the near future.
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      How It Works

      Fulcrum has developed an innovative process that transforms waste that would otherwise be sent to a landfill into low-cost, low-carbon renewable transportation fuels while generating well-paying jobs. Fulcrum's first commercial facility near Reno, Nevada - the Sierra BioFuels Plant - began operations in 2022 and successfully produced low-carbon synthetic crude oil from landfill waste in December 2022.

      LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR FUEL PROCESS
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      Environment

      As a company dedicated to creating fuels that will help our planet, address the growing impacts of climate change and reduce waste in our communities, the environmental impact of our clean energy plants is of great importance to us. 

      Gary Biorefinery
      • Air. Operating under an air permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), the biorefinery’s air emissions will largely be the combustion of natural gas for processes like steam production. The biorefinery’s projected emissions are all under “major source” thresholds, which are far more stringent in Lake County than national EPA standards.  The biorefinery received its minor source air permit from IDEM on August 16, 2022.  Feedstock produced by the FPFs will be transported to the biorefinery in trucks using designated heavy vehicle routes. To eliminate air emissions and reduce noise from trucks, Fulcrum is investigating the feasibility of using electric semis for feedstock transportation.
      • Water. The biorefinery will not directly discharge anything into Lake Michigan or any other water source. Wastewater will be pre-treated onsite before being sent to the Gary Sanitary District (GSD) for further treatment. The biorefinery will receive recycled water from GSD to use instead of fresh water.
      • Land. With its biorefinery location, Fulcrum will be re-purposing a vacant Brownfield site.  The site has approximately 2.3 acres of wetlands (not dune or swale habitat) located on the eastern end of the property of which Fulcrum intends to not disturb.
      LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
      LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PERMITS

      The Fulcrum Process includes four key stages:

      DIVERT

      Divert municipal solid waste from landfills

      SORT

      Sort, separate and process

      GASIFY

      Gasify to produce syncrude

      REFINE & TRANSPORT

      Refined into sustainable aviation fuel

      LEARN MORE

      The Fulcrum Process includes four key stages:

      DIVERT

      Divert municipal solid waste from landfills

      SORT

      Sort, separate and process

      GASIFY

      Gasify to produce syncrude

      REFINE & TRANSPORT

      Refined into sustainable aviation fuel

      LEARN MORE

      Timeline

      Since beginning the Centerpoint planning process in 2018, Fulcrum has continued the process of permitting, engineering and other pre-construction related activities. Future project timelines include:

      • Pre-Construction (Permitting & Engineering): 2021 - 2023
      • Construction: 2024 - 2025
      • Operations Commence: 2026

      About Fulcrum BioEnergy

      Fulcrum BioEnergy is a pioneer in the production of clean transportation fuels from landfill waste and the world's first producer of low-carbon, sustainable aviation fuel from household garbage.

      Fulcrum produces clean, certified jet fuel that is a renewable, cost-competitive alternative to traditional petroleum-based fuels and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% compared to conventional petroleum. Our aspiration is to achieve 100% reduction on a life-cycle basis, producing a net-zero carbon fuel.

      Fulcrum is addressing two global environmental challenges:

      • Reducing the amount of household garbage going into landfills and their associated environmental impacts (including greenhouse gas/methane emissions); and
      • Reducing carbon emissions from transportation, namely commercial aviation, to help address climate change.

      Fulcrum is backed by a number of industry leading strategic partners, including United Airlines, bp, Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, Marubeni, Waste Management, Waste Connections, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

      LEARN MORE ABOUT FULCRUM BIOENERGY
      United Airlines plane flying over ocean

      Local Employment & Participation

      The Biorefinery is expected to create 130 full-time operational jobs and 1,000 construction jobs. Fulcrum has made commitments to the City of Gary to prioritize local hiring of Gary residents and Gary-based businesses.

      • The Centerpoint Biorefinery will require a broad range of skills and to ensure that Gary residents are well positioned for these roles, Fulcrum will partner with the City of Gary and local technical colleges to offer appropriate training courses for Gary residents. Fulcrum and the City are developing a plan for that now and will provide further updates in due course.
      • The Centerpoint Biorefinery will also support the demolition and clean up of vacated and abandoned buildings within the City of Gary. Proceeds of Tax Increment Financing bonds (which will be purchased by Fulcrum) will go to the Gary Redevelopment Commission for this important task. Importantly this is a key initiative highlighted in the 2019 Gary Comprehensive Plan to support the long term transition of Gary.
      • Fulcrum is also working with the City officials and other key stakeholders to identify impactful ways for Fulcrum to support the City’s parks and greenspaces. Further details on this plan will be shared in the near future.
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      Project Contact

      Dana Wesolek, PE
      Senior Developer – Centerpoint
      dwesolek@fulcrum-bioenergy.com