NWABF Secures Funding Partner For $3 Billion Woody Biomass-to-SAF Project

Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels (NWABF) has entered into a strategic funding partnership with private equity firm Black Gold Equity Partners to support capital deployment for a planned $3 billion woody biomass-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) biorefinery in Longview, Wash.

The collaboration provides initial development funding and financial structuring for the facility, which aims to become one of the largest woody biomass-based SAF production plants in the U.S.

Groundbreaking is currently targeted for late 2027. The project comes as airlines and regional transportation hubs prepare for stricter low-carbon fuel mandates taking effect across domestic and international markets through 2030.

The facility’s engineering design relies on forest floor waste, wood slash, and sawmill residuals sourced through commercial timber management and partnership agreements with local American Indian tribes across Washington state.

Converting low-value wood waste into aviation fuel aims to mitigate regional forest fire risks while generating a secondary revenue stream for forestry operators and tribal communities.

The refined SAF is engineered to achieve over 90% reductions in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard fossil jet fuel, while eliminating direct particulate matter and sulfur oxide emissions during airport operations across Pacific Northwest and U.S. West Coast aviation hubs.

The project is projected to mobilize upwards of $3 billion in private capital during its three-year construction phase and long-term commercial operations, creating union and non-union jobs, supporting veteran and first-responder housing programs, and funding local college scholarships.

To address regional power deficits identified in Pacific Northwest grid forecasts, the biorefinery design also incorporates capabilities to supply excess power via over-the-fence energy sales to neighboring industrial facilities in the Longview area.

“One of the greatest challenges facing the sustainable fuels industry isn’t technology—it’s access to capital,” says Dave Smoot, Founder, Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels. “Black Gold Equity Partners understands what it takes to build a project like this one. Their backing helps us move from concept to construction.”