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Aemetis acquires exclusive license to LanzaTech ethanol technology in California

Californian biofuel company Aemetis has acquired exclusive rights to LanzaTech’s patented technology for the conversion of agricultural, forest, dairy, and construction and demolition waste (CDW) to ethanol.

The LanzaTech gas-to-ethanol technology enables Aemetis to convert these local Californian biomass wastes to advanced ethanol.

The 12-year agreement makes Aemetis the first licensee of the LanzaTech technology in North America.

“The 60 million gpy ethanol plant in California owned and operated by Aemetis currently uses approximately 20 million bushels per year of feedstock, consisting primarily of corn and milo supplied from the Midwest,” stated Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.

“By utilising wastes from forest, dairy, orchard, vineyard, corn, rice, wheat, and CDW sources that are local to our plant, we plan to reduce feedstock costs from more than $150 (€132.5) a tonne to receiving tipping fees for waste feedstocks. This technology enables Aemetis to produce advanced ethanol that is valued up to approximately $3 per gallon more than traditional ethanol.”

The first phase of the adoption of the LanzaTech technology by Aemetis will be an eight million gpy processing unit related to the Keyes plant, which under the agreement is planned to be built by the end of 2017.

The agreement provides for an expansion to 32 million gpy process unit, as well as licenses for units that would be installed at other existing ethanol plants.

The current price of advanced ethanol in California, including federal, state and tax credit incentives, is approximately $4.60 per gallon, compared to corn ethanol at about $1.60 per gallon.

The ethanol industry in the US is comprised of about 210 plants producing approximately 15 billion gpy of traditional ethanol.

Under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, up to 16 billion gpy of advanced ethanol may be produced under RFS mandates enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency.





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