Velocys, a sustainable fuels technology company, has opened its new 52,500 sq. ft technology facility in Plain City, Ohio that will house the reactor core assembly and catalysis operations which form a critical part of the production process for sustainable aviation fuel.
The company said in an investor update that the new site enables the consolidation of Velocys’ catalysis services, microchannel reactor core assembly and technology licensing under one roof. The building’s construction began in mid-2022 and was finished by the end of the year with fit out completed over the Winter.
Following the completion of an Enterprise Zone agreement signed with Union County and Jerome Township, Ohio for a package of investment incentives and a grant received from JobsOhio, Velocys has already hired a number of senior personnel.
The company is currently occupying the space with 20 employees and installing equipment which is expected to be fully commissioned for production from mid-2024. Eventually the facility will house approximately 35 employees when in full production.
The new site has the capacity to produce approximately 48 cores per year, enough to support 12 reactors which is the typical requirement for the operation of a single commercial scale SAF biorefinery, with a capacity to convert approximately 1TWh per year of energy.
It is expected that the facility will have sufficient production capacity to meet projected orders until 2028, including those from Velocys’ two biorefinery reference projects – Bayou Fuels, Mississippi and Altalto, Immingham, UK.
As part of a 15 year lease agreement, Velocys contributed $2m towards the construction with the remaining $8m being contributed by the developer, Warner Industrial Corporate Centers 2 LLC, a subsidiary of Ohio-based developer, The Pagura Company.
