The 1,600-acre property, formerly the Kirby Mill site, will house a bio-refinery with plans for a 100-megawatt wood-fired power plant and a hydrogen production unit.
BON WIER, Texas — USA BioEnergy announced Tuesday it has selected Johnson Matthey and Honeywell to provide process technologies for its $2.8 billion biorefinery in Bon Wier, Texas, which will convert forest thinnings into 65 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel annually.
The Arizona-based company will deploy Johnson Matthey/bp’s FT CANS technology and Honeywell UOP’s FT Unicracking process technology to produce synthetic paraffinic kerosene, according to a news release from the company.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The above video first aired in January 2025.)
The facility, built on a 1,600-acre former plywood mill site, represents a significant expansion from USA BioEnergy’s initial 2022 announcement of a $1.7 billion facility. The company finalized the purchase of the former Kirby Mill site in January.
“We are excited to add two of the world’s leading technology providers to our team,” said Tony Wedell, USA BioEnergy’s chief operating officer, in the news release. “We are creating the best fully integrated solution in the advanced fuels industry.”
The biorefinery will process one million tons of biomass annually using responsibly sourced forest thinnings as feedstock. The facility will also include a 100-megawatt wood-fired power plant and hydrogen production unit, according to Newton County Judge Ronald J. Cochran.
The location provides access to abundant raw materials according to USA BioEnergy CEO Nick Andrews. “It’s right in the middle of Newton County, which is the most densely populated county of southern yellow pine plantations in east Texas,” Andrews previously stated.
The project builds on USA BioEnergy’s 20-year offtake agreement with Southwest Airlines announced in late 2023 for up to 680 million gallons of synthetic paraffinic kerosene. When blended with fossil jet fuel to meet international standards, this quantity could yield 2.59 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel.
“For every single gallon of sustainable aviation fuel that we produce, we are able to offset four gallons of traditional jet,” Andrews said in January at a Newton County Lion’s Club meeting.
The facility will implement bioenergy production with carbon capture and sequestration technologies, creating net-negative carbon emissions. USA BioEnergy plans to capture and sequester over 50 million tons of CO2 over the useful life of the biorefinery.
“By utilizing forest thinnings for bioenergy production with carbon capture and sequestration technologies, our integration with Johnson Matthey and Honeywell will help us create this fully integrated, alternative fuels solution,” Andrews said.
The plant is scheduled to begin operations in 2028, with full functionality expected by 2030. The project represents one of the largest industrial investments in Newton County, transforming the former plywood mill site into a modern biofuel production facility.
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