Paris, France - 7 July 2025 - Natural State Renewables, a future leader in carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, is thrilled to announce its strategic partnership with Axens, a global leader in providing proven sustainable solutions through its comprehensive technology and products portfolio, including for the conversion of biomass to clean fuels.
The collaboration between Natural State Renewables, Axens, and its technology partner thyssenkrupp Uhde, marks a significant milestone in the decarbonization journey of the aviation industry. The companies will use the innovative, proven BioTfueL® technology to produce SAF made from surplus forest biomass such as pre-commercial thinnings and slash. This fully integrated process was developed by 6 major players in the decarbonization field, Avril, Axens, CEA, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), TotalEnergies and thyssenkrupp Uhde. Natural State Renewables expects to utilize a combination of feedstock, process configuration, power generation, and capture of facility CO₂ emissions to produce SAF with negative GHG emissions, when compared to the fossil-jet baseline and independently calculated on a life-cycle basis.
Ruben S. Martin III, President and Co-founder of Natural State Renewables and experienced entrepreneur, has 40+ years of starting, building, and growing strategic businesses in Energy, Renewables, Oil and Gas, Mid-stream, Aviation and Defense. Mr. Martin expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with Axens to advance SAF technology and create a robust framework for its future production.
The goal is to establish strategic partnerships in the UK and the U.S., providing airlines with a practical and scalable route to achieving zero emissions. Our collaborative effort with Axens aims to foster reliable and trustworthy solutions for zero-emission aviation.
The partnership and collaboration with Natural State Renewables is a culmination of over 10 years of technology development cooperation between Axens, thyssenkrupp Uhde, and the BioTfueL® partners, and, combined with Natural State Renewables’ uniquely-positioned projects, will provide global SAF consumers with a carbon negative advantaged fuel in their drive to reduce air travel emissions.
Their combined expertise and dedication to sustainability will allow them to provide innovative solutions with positive environmental, social, and economic impacts. Our project is designed to avoid competing with the food supply, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability, and this partnership brings us closer to achieving our vision.
Their plants will produce their own power using biomass boilers, ensuring energy efficiency and sustainability. Southern Arkansas and North Louisiana will serve as the backbone locations for our SAF production, bringing many new jobs and benefits for those local economies.
About Natural State Renewables
Natural State Renewables aims to produce carbon-negative aviation fuel from excess forest biomass, helping airlines achieve zero emissions while conserving natural resources. Natural State Renewables' mission is to promote sustainable air travel, enhancing the future without compromising the present. By utilizing biomass-powered production plants and local carbon capture storage, they will produce highly carbon-negative SAF, ensuring all CO₂ emissions from their facilities are captured and not released into the atmosphere.
For more information, contact: Clay Marbry, Senior Vice President for Project Development and Co-founder of Natural State Renewables at: CMarbry@NaturalStateRenewables.com
About Axens
The Axens Group (www.axens.net) offers a complete range of solutions for the conversion of oil and biomass into cleaner fuels, the production and purification of major petrochemical intermediates, the chemical recycling of plastics, natural gas treatment and conversion options, water treatment and carbon capture. Their offer includes technologies, equipment, furnaces, modular units, catalysts, adsorbents and related services. Axens is ideally positioned to cover the entire value chain, from feasibility studies to start-up and monitoring of units throughout their lifecycle. This unique position guarantees optimum performance and a reduced environmental footprint. Axens' international offering is based on highly qualified human resources, modern production facilities and an extensive global network for industrial, technical support and sales services. Axens is an IFP Energies Nouvelles Group company.
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