Sustainable Oils receives LCFS pathway for patented camelina

Sustainable Oils, a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Clean Energy Holdings, has been issued a first-of-its-kind feedstock-only pathway by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for the production of camelina-based fuels under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

The pathway, when combined with a specific processors production profile, will produce the lowest carbon intensity (CI) virgin oil-based fuel available in the marketplace. Camelina-based biodiesel at a CI of approximately 19g/MJ can be produced at a fraction of soya (83g/MJ) or canola (63g/MJ) based biofuels.

Camelina's low CI will allow obligated parties in California to meet their reduction targets using a fraction of the biofuel otherwise required. The pathway only applies to Sustainable Oils' US Patent and Trademark Office-registered seed varieties – no other camelina seed or oil can be used to produce LCFS compliant fuel.

The feedstock-only CI is 7.58g/MJ. When combined with ARB's generic North American producer profile, the feedstock-only pathway produces biodiesel and renewable diesel at CIs of approximately 19.1 and 18.7, respectively. Lower CIs can be achieved by processors with more efficient production profiles.

Leading environmental advocacy groups NRDC, NWF and the Union of Concerned Scientists submitted a letter of support for this pathway and the approach it represents to feedstock development, as did the biofuels sustainability standard, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB).

'This unique pathway approval, combined with our previous EPA RFS approval, lays the foundation for our camelina to play an expanded role in meeting the ambitious carbon reduction requirements of the Californian LCFS in the coming years,' comments Richard Palmer, CEO of Sustainable Oils. 'By producing fuel with a CI as much as 60g/MJ lower than other biofuels, obligated parties are able to meet their reductions with a fraction of the volume otherwise required as well as generate valuable LCFS credits in the process.'