Renewafuel Completes Construction of Biomass Plant in Michigan

Renewafuel LLC, a subsidiary of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., has completed construction of its first full-scale plant for biomass cube production in the location of Marquette in Michigan. This $19 million plant is situated in the Sawyer Airport’s Telkite Technology Park.

The total construction time for this plant is scheduled to be 10 months and when fully operational, this plant would be employing approximately 25 people. Cliffs is known more for its iron ore pellets and metallurgical coal production in North America than biomass cubes, but the company is ideally suited for entering the market.

Renewafuel’s biomass cubes are made from a combination of wood as well as agricultural feedstock, which is sourced by the company from the local farmers and loggers. Depending upon the furnace as well as the specific needs of the customer, these cubes might be blended with different types of proprietary additives and biomass components. Under full production capacity, this plant will be using biomass cubes as  fuel for heating its dryer in place of natural gas. In the future, the company is planning to build more plants so that biomass fuel becomes a widely accepted trend.