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Red Rock Biofuels
Red Rock Biofuels develops renewable jet and diesel fuel from forest biomass using Fischer-Tropsch technology, with a stalled Lakeview Oregon project.
Red Rock Biofuels
Red Rock Biofuels was founded in 2009 by a team including Terry Kulesa, a former Chevron executive, and Mark Stiegler, who previously led biomass projects. The firm's core technology — the Fischer-Tropsch process applied to woody biomass — came via a license from Velocys, a UK-based gas-to-liquids technology company. Its Lakeview, Oregon facility was intended to process 140,000 dry tons of forest residue annually into 16 million gallons of renewable diesel and jet fuel (per the US Department of Energy). The firm's strategy pairs project-finance with multi-year offtake agreements. It secured a $70M Department of Defense contract for military jet fuel in 2014 (per DoD). It also raised $120M in Series A and equity from investors including Suncor Energy and municipal partners. Additional asset classes include tolling arrangements and carbon-credit monetization through California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Red Rock Biofuels team size is not publicly disclosed. The Lakeview project faced permitting delays and cost overruns, and as of 2024 the facility was not yet operational (per Oregon state filings). The firm maintains offices in Fort Collins and previously had a presence in Moscow, Idaho. No adjacent philanthropic or operating company vehicles are known. The firm's structural differentiator is its focus on forest biomass as a feedstock — a model that avoids food-vs-fuel competition and offers carbon-negative lifecycle profiles. Its reliance on federal grants and offtake with the Department of Defense creates a mandate influenced by national energy-security policy, unlike traditional biofuels companies targeting consumer or industrial fuel markets.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Fort Collins
Corporate office
Fort Collins, CO, United States
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Red Rock Biofuels?
The firm was founded by Terry Kulesa (formerly of Chevron) and Mark Stiegler (former biomass project developer). Leadership details beyond these founders are not publicly available (per public record). Investment decisions appear to be project-level, driven by offtake partners and project-finance commitments.
How does Red Rock Biofuels source proprietary deal flow?
The firm focuses on a single flagship project in Lakeview, Oregon. It does not operate as a fund with diversified deal flow; its proprietary technology license from Velocys and its long-term government fuel contracts serve as its competitive advantage (per US Department of Energy).
Is Red Rock Biofuels structured as a family office or an operating company?
The firm operates as a private renewable fuels development company, not a family office. Its investors include Suncor Energy and other institutional partners (per Suncor corporate reports). No family-office structure has been disclosed.
Does Red Rock Biofuels participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm is not a fund manager. It engages in direct project development and project-finance structuring, using equity from investors and debt from federal programs. It does not accept external LP capital for fund-style vehicles.
What investment stages does Red Rock Biofuels typically target?
Red Rock Biofuels operates at the commercial-scale development stage, having passed early R&D. It seeks to build and operate first-of-a-kind facilities that convert biomass into liquid fuels. The firm does not typically invest in early-stage technology bets or publicly traded securities.
Which sectors does Red Rock Biofuels explicitly avoid?
The firm exclusively targets the renewable-fuel-from-forest-biomass sub-sector. It does not participate in corn ethanol, waste-to-energy, anaerobic digestion, solar, or wind. Its technology pathway (Fischer-Tropsch) limits its focus to hydrocarbons from biomass.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The wealth origin of Red Rock Biofuels' principals is not publicly disclosed. The founders' backgrounds include corporate oil and biomass development, but no personal fortune is attributed (per public record).
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