ORDC Approves Grant Funding to Freepoint Commodities in Obetz

On January 20, 2021, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a $50,000 grant to Freepoint Commodities to assist with the installation of a rail spur at an existing facility in Obetz, Franklin County.  This building will be the new site of a plastics-to-fuel operation, where Freepoint Commodities will be recycling plastics into synthetic oil.  The company will be investing approximately $60 million at the project site and will create 60 new jobs as a result of this investment.

Freepoint Commodities (“Freepoint”) offers physical commodity trading and finance services. The company trades commodities such as gas and oil, coal, emissions, metals and concentrates, and agricultural products, as well as provides retail solutions and logistic services.  Freepoint also has significant experience in the ownership of capital assets such as refiners, solar farms, peaker plants and pipelines.  Freepoint will be leveraging their existing supply chains in order to source raw materials for its Obetz facility, which will use pyrolysis to transform the recycled plastics into usable energy products.  Approximately 300 tons per day of waste plastic will be processed at the facility creating 1500 barrels of synthetic fuel, a type of fuel that is 14 percent less greenhouse gas intensive as virgin crude oil. 

Matthew Dietrich, Executive Director of the ORDC, said, “It is always our goal to assist businesses who are making investments in our state. By supporting One Columbus’ efforts to secure Freepoint Commodities investment in Central Ohio, ORDC can leverage our limited funds for outsized benefits in terms of jobs and investment in the state,” he said.