Indianapolis – September 04, 2026 -- Calumet, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLMT) has slashed the remaining capital requirement for its Montana Renewables sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) expansion to $137 million, down from the $1.2 billion originally contemplated under a Phase 2 plan backed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Capital spend drops as Calumet repurposes idle refinery equipment
The reduction comes from redeploying a hydrotreater, hydrogen plant and naphtha splitter from the adjacent Calumet Montana Refining (CMR) asphalt facility under a long-term lease, rather than building new capacity from scratch. The tied-in hydrotreater creates a dual-reactor system running in a lower-yield-loss "polishing" configuration instead of standard "cracking" service.
DOE loan draw shrinks to $34 million, eliminating equity dilution
Montana Renewables and the DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing have amended their Loan Guarantee Agreement, cutting the remaining Phase 2 funding availability from up to $658 million to a single, final draw of $34 million. The original structure had required full third-party equity commitment before construction; the amended deal requires none, letting MRL fund the balance from its own earnings. The loan's first tranche of $782 million was funded in February 2025, alongside a $150 million equity injection from Calumet.
SAF output set to more than triple to 200 million gallons by 2028
MRL currently runs at a 60 million-gallon annual SAF rate following constraint removal completed in the Spring 2026 turnaround. Management expects to exceed 80 million gallons by year-end 2026, surpass 120 million gallons by Spring 2027, and reach approximately 200 million gallons by year-end 2028. Total renewable product sales are projected to expand 40% to 17,000 barrels per day, while the project will also capture roughly 20 million gallons per year of renewable propane and butane previously burned as fuel gas.
CMR keeps producing asphalt, preserving Great Falls jobs through Q4 2026
The tie-in turnaround is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, timing designed to let CMR capture approximately $50 million of EBITDA at current elevated refining margins before the transition. CMR will continue producing retail asphalt afterward, retaining all employees and sharing site cost efficiencies with MRL.
Feedstock intake to reach 2 billion pounds of farm-sourced inputs
The expanded operation will consume approximately 2 billion pounds annually of ranch- and farm-originated feedstocks — including tallow, distillers corn oil, canola oil, used cooking oil and camelina oil — converting them into renewable jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. Calumet CEO Todd Borgmann said the redesigned project captures roughly 70% of the originally expected benefit while spending only 15% of the originally projected Phase 2 capital. The loan retains its 15-year tenor, an interest rate of the U.S. Treasury rate plus 3/8%, a March 2029 first servicing date and a December 2039 maturity, with the amended agreement to be filed with the SEC.