When Chris Cooper contemplates the future of renewable fuels, he doesn’t see a market that rewards companies for putting all their eggs in one basket. Rather, he sees one that rewards flexibility, and that includes ability to locate production closer to available feedstocks and customer demand, process a range of renewable feedstocks, and adjust the production mix between renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to meet market demand.&nbsp;That philosophy has become the foundation of XCF Global’s business strategy. While many companies focus on a single renewable fuel pathway or a massive single location production, the publicly traded company has built its modular renewable fuels platform at New Rise Renewables refinery near Reno, Nevada, with the ability to produce both renewable diesel and SAF, and the ability to replicate its amodular design at scale, allowing production and volume to shift as markets, customer demand and policy incentives evolve, without overbuilding and at a more rapid pace than a traditional refinery rebuild.&nbsp;Initial renewable diesel production is supporting commissioning and restart activities as the facility advances toward its planned SAF operating configuration.Cooper, who became CEO after helping launch Neste’s SAF business in North America, noted the strategy reflects lessons learned over decades in conventional refining and renewable fuels. “I came from the conventional oil and gas space, so most of my career was with Chevron,” Cooper says. “Then I launched Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel business in 2018, building the marketplace, the testing infrastructure, the distribution and everything around it. What XCF gave me was the opportunity to take those building blocks and ask, ‘If you could design this business today, what would you do differently?’”His answer wasn’t simply to produce SAF; it was to build an integrated renewable fuels platform capable of adapting as markets change. That strategy has shaped nearly every decision the company has made—from upgrading its refinery and strengthening operational reliability to developing partnerships for feedstock procurement, logistics and future facility development. The objective is not flexibility for its own sake, but a platform that can respond to regional supply, infrastructure and customer needs while supporting XCF’s long-term SAF strategy.&nbsp;For an industry still defining what commercial-scale SAF production looks like, XCF’s approach emphasizes disciplined execution, operating reliability and a repeatable model that can be deployed where feedstock access, infrastructure and demand are best aligned.Rebuilding From the Inside Out&nbsp; When Cooper joined XCF, the New Rise Renewables Reno refinery was already capable of producing renewable fuels, but he believed it needed significant improvements before it could consistently operate the way the company envisioned. Rather than simply increasing output, management chose to step back and focus on the fundamentals. “We wanted to address its efficiencies and really create a model that provided us the ecosystem for building success,” Cooper says. “That meant creating partnerships around feedstock collection, distribution and logistics, while also improving the efficiency of the refinery itself.”&nbsp;Those improvements required taking the refinery offline while engineers evaluated the processing system and identified opportunities to improve reliability.Among the most significant changes was replacing the catalyst system and redesigning how feedstocks move through the reactor. Earlier operations showed that material was moving too quickly through the process, limiting contact time with the catalyst responsible for converting renewable feedstocks into finished fuels.Engineers addressed that issue by modifying process flow, replacing components and slowing product movement through the reactor. “Our focus was not on slowing overall production, but on optimizing flow through the reactor to improve conversion efficiency and product yield,” Cooper says. “By better controlling outlet flow, we can reduce operating temperatures by up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, helping lower energy use and production costs.”&nbsp;The company also adopted a new catalyst system and refined catalyst placement within the reactor to improve processing efficiency.Instead of rushing immediately back into SAF production, however, XCF made another strategic decision. Today, the refinery is producing renewable diesel while operators continue to evaluate performance and collect operating data. The company plans to transition to SAF production after approximately 90 days of renewable diesel operation. “The only real difference in production between renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel is temperature and pressure,” Cooper says. “We believe giving ourselves that operating period allows the refinery to break in properly, gives us time to understand the data and positions us for an efficient transition to sustainable aviation fuel.”&nbsp;Rather than viewing that approach as a delay, Cooper describes it as disciplined commissioning. The refinery continues generating revenue while the company validates equipment performance and gains confidence before increasing operating temperatures to those required for SAF production.Designing for Changing Markets&nbsp; One of XCF’s distinguishing characteristics is its ability to produce either renewable diesel or SAF, depending on market conditions. Cooper notes that flexibility isn’t simply a technical advantage—it’s a business necessity. “Having the ability to toggle between sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel gives us the ability to pay attention to the marketplace,” he says. “The marketplace continues to evolve.”&nbsp;Recent geopolitical events have reinforced that thinking. As conflicts disrupt global petroleum markets and tighten diesel supplies, renewable diesel has become increasingly attractive. Because XCF relies primarily on U.S.-derived waste oils and agricultural residues rather than crude oil, Cooper believes the company is somewhat insulated from many of the supply disruptions affecting conventional fuels. “The renewable diesel market is now a very attractive marketplace for us,” he says. “At the same time, sustainable aviation fuel has a very long future because aviation doesn’t have another realistic decarbonization pathway.”&nbsp;Unlike passenger vehicles, where electrification continues gaining momentum, long-haul aviation presents a much different challenge. Aircraft fleets are expected to remain in service for decades, making drop-in sustainable fuels one of the few practical options for reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions without replacing existing infrastructure. That reality reinforces XCF’s long-term confidence in SAF while also supporting the company’s decision to maintain production flexibility.Looking Beyond One Refinery&nbsp; The operational lessons learned in Reno are intended to extend far beyond northern Nevada. Although New Rise serves as XCF’s current production facility, Cooper views it as something of a blueprint for the future projects that can be sized and located around regional conditions. “This has been my second opportunity to engage in a company with a distressed refinery,” he says. “What we’ve gained through this turnaround is expertise that benefits not only this refinery, but future projects as well.”&nbsp;That future centers on what XCF describes as a modular and repeatable, capital-light approach to renewable fuels development. Instead of designing every facility from scratch as a single, mega-scale configuration, the company plans to replicate the engineering and operational improvements developed in Reno at future locations.Those facilities are expected to share many of the same design characteristics while adapting to regional feedstock availability and market demand. “We’ve engineered a refinery, created efficiencies and developed expertise in deploying these facilities,” Cooper says. “Now, we’re able to leverage that experience as we continue to grow.”One example is Australia, where XCF has entered into a commercial deployment agreement to establish facilities using the same engineering platform developed in Reno. Rather than building and owning every refinery itself, the company plans to license its technology and operational expertise as part of a broader expansion strategy.&nbsp;Central to that strategy is Cooper’s belief that renewable fuel production doesn’t necessarily require massive refineries. Instead, he notes, smaller, modular facilities designed around regional feedstocks and customer demand can better match local demand while reducing transportation costs. “The right-size production for the right-size demand,” he says. “Our refinery sits on only 10 acres, but we’re able to accomplish a tremendous amount. Rather than continually re-engineering new facilities, we believe we can replicate what we’ve learned and deploy it again and again.”Feedstocks Drive the Strategy&nbsp; While refinery operations provide the foundation for XCF’s business, feedstocks remain the lifeblood of every renewable fuels producer. Ensuring a reliable, economical supply of low-carbon feedstocks will be critical not only to the company’s future, but to the continued growth of the entire SAF industry.Cooper brings firsthand experience to that challenge. Before joining XCF, he helped build feedstock procurement capabilities during his time in the renewable fuels sector, experience that he says continues to influence the company’s strategy today. Rather than relying on a single supplier or feedstock source, XCF has developed partnerships designed to diversify procurement and reduce risk. Through its relationship with logistics and procurement partner BGN, the company sources waste oils and agricultural residues from multiple channels, including feedstock aggregators and direct producers.“We’re leveraging that experience with third-party suppliers,” Cooper says. “They’re able to work with both consolidators and direct producers, giving us the diversity of feedstocks we need to operate effectively and efficiently.”&nbsp;One of the company’s primary feedstocks is distillers corn oil, a byproduct generated during ethanol production. By converting an agricultural waste stream into transportation fuel, Cooper believes XCF is creating value across multiple industries while strengthening domestic energy security. He also pushes back on one of the industry’s most common concerns—that future growth in HEFA production will eventually outpace available feedstocks. “I think that’s a misnomer,” Cooper says. “We’re going to continue discovering new vegetable oils, new waste streams, new residues and new technologies that expand the available pool of feedstocks.”&nbsp;In his view, the renewable fuels industry remains in its early stages. Just as producers once demonstrated that waste vegetable oils could become transportation fuel, Cooper expects additional feedstocks to emerge through continued research and commercialization. That includes opportunities beyond traditional agricultural oils.XCF recently announced a business combination agreement that is pending SEC approval. This merger would expand its technology portfolio through Southern Energy Renewables, adding gasification technology capable of converting woody biomass into renewable fuels. Cooper sees forestry residues and other underutilized biomass streams as another step in expanding the industry’s feedstock base. “We’re very much about waste-to-energy,” he says. “Whether it’s distillers corn oil today or woody biomass tomorrow, we believe the technologies and feedstocks will continue to evolve.”Policy Supports Long-Term Growth&nbsp; Like nearly every company operating in the renewable fuels industry, XCF’s long-term planning is closely tied to federal and state policy. Cooper notes one of the biggest changes that he has witnessed during his career is the move toward longer-term policy certainty. Historically, renewable fuel incentives often required renewal every two years, making it difficult for companies to finance multiyear capital projects with confidence.“It’s very difficult to raise the capital necessary in this space when you only have a lifespan of potentially two years of incentives,” Cooper says.&nbsp;He believes recent policy developments have created a more stable investment environment while reinforcing the strategic importance of domestic renewable fuels.“What we’re producing isn’t just jet fuel,” he says. “We’re also producing energy resilience.”&nbsp;That concept—using U.S.-derived waste feedstocks to produce domestic transportation fuels—has become central to XCF’s message. The company sources feedstocks from American agriculture, processes them at its Nevada refinery and delivers finished fuel into domestic markets, reducing dependence on imported petroleum while creating additional value from agricultural byproducts.v Cooper also sees renewable fuels strengthening industries beyond aviation. Because many of XCF’s feedstocks originate in agriculture—and future technologies may increasingly utilize forestry residues—he believes renewable fuels create economic opportunities throughout rural America. “We’re tied intrinsically to the agriculture sector,” he says. “As we continue developing these technologies, we’re supporting agriculture, we’re supporting timber, and we’re creating energy from waste streams that already exist.”Partnerships Strengthen the Ecosystem&nbsp; Although XCF operates the refinery, Cooper emphasizes that commercializing SAF requires collaboration across the aviation value chain. No single participant—not fuel producers, airlines, regulators or corporate customers—can accelerate adoption alone. Instead, he describes the industry’s future as an interconnected ecosystem.“When I first launched sustainable aviation fuel, what we realized was the airlines couldn’t act alone, nor could we as a producer,” Cooper says. “We had to bring everyone together.”&nbsp;That collaboration extends beyond fuel suppliers and airlines. Increasingly, major corporations with aggressive carbon reduction goals are helping drive demand by supporting SAF purchases through business travel and sustainability commitments. Cooper points to companies participating in programs such as the Amazon Climate Pledge and Science Based Targets initiative as examples of organizations creating additional demand for lower-carbon aviation fuel.By aligning airlines, corporate customers, fuel producers and policymakers, Cooper believes the industry has developed a framework capable of accelerating SAF commercialization while distributing both the costs and benefits across multiple stakeholders.Those relationships will become even more important as production volumes increase and additional facilities come online.Looking Ahead&nbsp; As XCF prepares for its next phase of growth, Cooper believes success will ultimately be measured by execution. The company’s immediate objective is straightforward: demonstrate that the operational improvements implemented at New Rise Renewables Reno deliver the reliability and efficiency needed for long-term renewable fuels production.Beyond Nevada, the company intends to replicate that model through additional facilities and licensing opportunities while continuing to refine the modular approach that has become central to its growth strategy.Just as important, Cooper hopes policymakers continue expanding support for low-carbon fuels at both the federal and state levels. He points to low-carbon fuel standards in states such as California, Oregon and Washington, along with emerging programs in other regions, as evidence that broader adoption is gaining momentum. Continued policy development, he says, will help strengthen both agricultural markets and renewable fuel production across the country.&nbsp;Looking back years from now, Cooper hopes XCF won’t simply be recognized as another renewable fuels company. Instead, he wants it to be remembered for demonstrating that existing assets can be transformed into efficient, commercially viable renewable fuel facilities capable of supporting aviation’s decarbonization efforts.“The next phase for XCF and SAF will be defined by our ability to execute,” Cooper adds. “Our ability to take a distressed facility and turn it into an efficient production model that we can continue to deploy and replicate.”Author: Keith Loria&nbsp; Contributing Writer, SAF Magazine&nbsp; &nbsp;

2026-08-11 - Built for Flexibility (SAF Magazine)

XCF Global is betting that a nimble, modular renewable fuels platform will shape the next chapter of sustainable aviation fuel.

2026 SAF Magazine - Issue 2 (w/Directory).css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

2026 SAF Magazine - Issue 2 (w/Directory)