Project Bulletin: September 19, 2023

This Riverbank, California, site will soon house the Aemetis Carbon Zero 1 Plant.

Photo courtesy of Aemetis

Last week, the California city of Riverbank, located in Stanislaus County on the outskirts of Modesto, gained a long-awaited boost to its green economy, according to Riverbank Mayor Richard O’Brien. Within the next few years California-based renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company Aemetis will build out a $500 million, 125-acre facility at Riverbank Industrial Complex. “Aemetis continues to complete major milestones in our Five-Year Plan,” said Aemetis Chairman and CEO Eric McAfee. “This approval for the Riverbank sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel plant is the result of years of engineering and environmental work with the city and several government agencies, allowing us to finalize additional key permits in the next few months.” The new site will produce 90 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel per year at the former U.S. Army ammunition manufacturing facility. Renewables produced at this site will service airlines and a national chain of travel shops under supply contracts, per the company’s release. When construction begins 800 constructions jobs will be created, followed by 650 new direct and indirect jobs.

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If approved by Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority, Astellas will begin construction at the 44-acre site in 2024.

Rendering courtesy of Astellas

Pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma Inc. announced plans to bring a $352 million manufacturing plant to County Kerry in Ireland’s Munster province. The company has submitted an application to take on a little over 44 acres of Kerry Technology Park in the town of Tralee to construct a three-story, 78,000-sq.-ft. facility. This site in southwestern Ireland will allow for Astellas to expand its capacity for aseptic drug products while increasing production and development of antibody drugs and new products. “Astellas is developing innovative drugs and technologies based on our Focus Area research and development approach, placing patients at the forefront of everything we do. With the new facility, Astellas will aim to strengthen our in-house production capacity and capabilities and ensure a stable supply of high-quality Astellas medicines to patients around the world,” said Astellas Chief Manufacturing Officer Hideki Shima. Upon approval of the company’s planning application, Astellas aims to begin construction in 2024 with operations anticipated to begin in 2028.

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A photo-rendering shows the placement of the planned new electric arc furnace (EAF) at Voestalpine’s site in Donawitz. The same technology is coming to the company’s site in Linz.

Rendering courtesy of Voestalpine

Austria-based Voestalpine Group’s Greentec Steel initiative aims to bring $1.6 billion of electric arc furnace (EAF) technology into its steel mills in Donawitz, located north of Graz in south-central Austria, and Linz, located in the north. In 2024 construction will begin on the $480 million project at the company’s 800,000-sq.-ft.-plus Donawitz site. “Today, we launch the next generation of steel production,” said Voestalpine CEO Herbert Eibensteiner at the September 13 groundbreaking ceremony there. “The partial conversion to electric arc technology at our two sites in Linz and Donawitz alone allows us to reduce local CO2 emissions by around 5% from 2027. That makes Greentec Steel Austria’s largest climate protection program.” Incorporation of this technology will allow the company to reduce emissions by 30%, which equates to 4 million tons of carbon dioxide. The Donawitz mill will be designed to produce 850,000 tons of steel annually, following production start in 2027. A study from the Industrial Science Institute (IWI) study says the two investments will generate €767 million in value and secure around 9,000 jobs during the construction phase alone.

Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore