Trillium Renewable Chemicals converts the abundant biomaterial glycerol, a co-product of many existing industrial processes, into bio-based acrylonitrile, a valuable feedstock for products ranging from children’s building blocks to carbon fiber.
What is the progress of the Project Falcon demonstration plant in Port Lavaca, Texas?
Construction of the plant is complete, and it is now being commissioned at INEOS Nitrile’s Green Lake facility. Operations begin soon, with initial customer shipments planned for the second half of 2026.
The Falcon plant is integrated with the INEOS Green Lake facility, which is America’s largest acrylonitrile production site. The Falcon plant uses technologies and equipment similar to those already operating at commercial scale there.
Reaching this state is a major milestone. When we started the company in 2021, we had a clear vision that mostly has not changed, but we still had to execute - raising capital, hiring talent, and making technical progress. Completing and commissioning the demonstration plant validates that we have been able to execute, and we are excited now to progress to the next phase.
What are acrylonitrile’s applications, and how has Trillium made the material more sustainable?
Acrylonitrile is an important building block for many products. One of the fastest-growing applications over the past decade has been carbon fiber, which enables lighter and more fuel-efficient airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, and sporting goods. Acrylonitrile is also used in ABS plastics found in products people interact with every day, including LEGO bricks, helmets, consumer electronics, and household goods.
I like using LEGO as an example because so many of us grew up with them. The bricks retain their color for decades, snap together precisely, and have a durable, high-quality feel. Acrylonitrile – the “A” in ABS plastic – is a key part of the chemistry responsible for those properties. Carbon fiber is another example. If you rode a steel bicycle 30 years ago, you remember how heavy they were. Today, high-performance bicycles are commonly made with carbon fiber frames and componentry that dramatically reduce weight. As an engineer, those kinds of products with clear consumer benefits are exciting to see.
Demand for these materials is not going away. The challenge is that consumers today are increasingly demanding high-performance, sustainable products. Instead of the traditional route of producing acrylonitrile from petroleum feedstocks, Trillium produces a plant-based acrylonitrile with carbon originally sourced from atmospheric CO2. This approach makes the lifecycle of these products more sustainable without sacrificing any performance.
Can you explain the feedstock for your biomaterials and how you secure supply?
Our supply chain starts on the farm. In the United States, soybeans are processed into both protein products and oils. Some of those oils are converted into biodiesel, supported in part by policies such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard, which encourages renewable fuel blending in the transportation sector.
One of the major co-products of biodiesel production is glycerol. For every ton of biodiesel produced, roughly 0.1 tons of glycerol are generated. Glycerol is an attractive renewable carbon feedstock for higher-value chemical production.
Trillium is the first company to commercially develop a process that converts glycerol into renewable nitrile chemical intermediates – the same building blocks used in products like carbon fiber, engineering plastics, and other high-performance materials.
And because our process is tied to the broader biofuels supply chain, supportive regulatory frameworks remain important for us to successfully secure feedstock supply. Policies that encourage renewable fuel production ultimately help expand the availability of glycerol and strengthen the economics of Trillium’s chemical manufacturing process.
Does the glycerol conversion process require new processes or logistics?
No. One advantage of Trillium’s approach is that it does not depend on the emergence of a new feedstock or supply chain. Glycerol is already produced at large scale globally as a co-product of biodiesel manufacturing primarily, with roughly 4 million tons produced worldwide each year.
Similarly, the renewable acrylonitrile we produce is chemically identical to acrylonitrile already used throughout the global chemical industry. It can be stored, transported, and integrated into existing supply chains, systems, and logistics that have been in place for decades.
From a technology standpoint, a new process is required to produce bio-based acrylonitrile. And that is what Trillium is demonstrating now with Project Falcon – a new process that efficiently converts glycerol into nitrile products at high efficiency.
What are your plans for expansion and commercialization?
As a startup, maintaining focus is critical. Many companies lose momentum by pursuing too many priorities at once, but Trillium has remained disciplined and kept to the commercialization plan we established when the company was founded in 2021. Our strategy has been consistent from the beginning: develop the technology, demonstrate it at a meaningful scale, and then move to commercial deployment.
Project Falcon represents the final pre-commercial milestone in that strategy. It is designed to confirm process economics, reduce technology risk, and demonstrate that our renewable acrylonitrile meets customer requirements.
Following Falcon, our next step will be the development of a commercial facility with 30,000 tons of production capacity. Over the next six to nine months, we expect to advance site selection discussions and project financing activities for that first commercial plant. Once the initial commercial plant is operating, we plan to expand production capacity in line with customer demand and broader market adoption of renewable nitrile products.
