The new Alder Lab in Colorado marks a major company milestone in the company's growth. As the hub for R&D, it features state-of-the-art analytical instruments, pilot-scale test systems, and collaborative spaces. This facility accelerates Alder Renewable Crude (ARC) and Alder Pyrolytic Sugars (APS) development, generates new intellectual property, and drives innovation – all accelerating our path towards commercialization.
Building a Home for Innovation
The transition into our new laboratory over the past year has been transformative. The Alder Lab has become the cornerstone of our innovation engine—enabling faster technology development, the creation of new intellectual property, and stronger collaboration with existing and future partners.
Working side by side in a shared lab, office, and meeting space has empowered our team to increase our technology readiness level while fostering the spontaneous brainstorming sessions that drive breakthrough ideas. Just as importantly, the Alder Lab has given us a home. We look forward to welcoming more partners, investors, and customers to see our work in action—complete with safety gear and hands-on experiments that channel our inner “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
Technical Capabilities
The Alder Lab is outfitted with analytical equipment and lab-scale process units that allow us to optimize conditions, validate performance, and ensure quality control. Bench- and pilot-scale systems are enabling longer continuous runs, such as a 100-hour campaign processing bio-oil from miscanthus grass in our custom-designed continuous fractionation system. Using our proprietary technology, our process separates fast pyrolysis oil into two streams:
Analytical testing—including gas chromatography, thermal stability assays, density, viscosity, and water content—is performed in-house to optimize every stage of production.
Looking Ahead
In its first year of operation, the Alder Lab has already delivered new testing methods, specifications, and intellectual property to advance commercialization. This includes a streamlined specification for ARC designed with input from Honeywell UOP to ensure quality control in existing refineries.
The Alder Lab is more than a facility—it’s where the future of renewable fuels is being built. It enables us to accelerate progress, strengthen partnerships, and bring our vision of decarbonized aviation and transportation fuels closer to reality.
Building momentum with technology validation, strategic partnerships, and new projects
Alder, BASF, National Laboratory of the Rockies, and North Atlantic Refining co-authored a new Hydrocarbon Processing article on coprocessing Alder Renewable Crude in fluid catalytic crackers. The work highlights a practical pathway to produce renewable fuels by integrating ARC into existing refinery FCC units, with improved handling, storage stability, and strong product yields.
Project Avance demonstrated barrel-scale ARC production from commercial fast pyrolysis oils derived from forestry residues. The campaign focused on the final unit operation in Alder’s process, showing consistent performance across different commercial pyrolysis feedstocks and supporting a flexible pathway to refinery integration and scale-up.
Alder SAF100 demonstrated a 100% biogenic jet-fuel blend using hydrotreated Alder Renewable Crude (ARC) as the majority component with a smaller share of HEFA-SAF. Testing showed favorable energy density and low-temperature properties, highlighting the potential for ARC-derived hydrocarbons to support next-generation SAF production.
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