Aemetis Receives LCFS Pathway Approval Utilizing Dairy Biogas For Production of Renewable Transportation Fuel

Negative 426 Carbon Intensity Biogas Used as Process Energy to Reduce Ethanol CI and Generate Additional LCFS Credits

CUPERTINO, Calif., March 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTX), a renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company focused on negative carbon intensity products, announced today that it has received certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for a new LCFS Tier 2 fuel pathway for the Aemetis Advanced Fuels Keyes ethanol production plant utilizing renewable dairy biogas as a process energy input. The new pathway reduces the carbon intensity (CI) of Aemetis’ fuel ethanol from 67.3 to 65.6 utilizing dairy biogas from two dairies with an average CI score of negative 426 (-426).  

Aemetis began operating two anaerobic dairy digesters and a 4-mile private pipeline in September 2020 near the company’s ethanol biorefinery in Keyes, California. The new ethanol pathway certification from CARB is effective as of October 1, 2020.

The Aemetis Central Dairy Digester Project is a collection of dairy lagoon anerobic digesters that are built, owned, and operated by Aemetis Biogas LLC utilizing waste animal manure to generate renewable methane gas to produce negative carbon intensity RNG for transportation use to displace petroleum diesel fuel.  An estimated 25% of methane emissions in California is produced by dairy waste lagoons. 

Once complete, the Aemetis Central Dairy Digester Project is expected to include over 30 dairy digesters in the current phase (with plans to expand to more than 52 dairies), and utilize 36 miles of private pipeline owned by Aemetis, a centralized gas clean up unit located at the Aemetis Keyes ethanol biorefinery, a Renewable Natural Gas onsite fueling station, and an interconnection to PG&E’s natural gas pipeline.

“This is another significant step in our multi-year plan to de-carbonize the Keyes ethanol production facility,” said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis, Inc.  “This CARB Pathway approval is our first utilization of negative CI dairy biogas to produce transportation fuel.  The Aemetis Keyes biorefinery is expected to serve as the hub for the processing and distribution of our negative carbon intensity RNG and allow us to serve multiple markets with low or below zero CI liquid and gas renewable fuels.  We’d like to thank the staff at CARB for their diligent and professional work. We look forward to working with them as we rapidly expand the deployment of our negative CI transportation fuel,” added McAfee.

The Company plans to begin construction of the next five dairy digesters and the additional 32 miles of biogas pipeline in the second quarter of 2021, with five more dairy digesters set to begin construction in the third quarter of 2021 and five digesters beginning in Q1 2022, for a planned total of seventeen dairy digesters and a 35-mile biogas pipeline in operation by Q2 2022.  

About Aemetis

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel and biochemicals company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative technologies that replace petroleum-based products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Founded in 2006, Aemetis has completed Phase 1 and is expanding a California biogas digester network and pipeline system to convert dairy waste gas into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG).  Aemetis owns and operates a 65 million gallon per year ethanol production facility in California’s Central Valley near Modesto that supplies about 80 dairies with animal feed.  Aemetis also owns and operates a 50 million gallon per year production facility on the East Coast of India producing high quality distilled biodiesel and refined glycerin for customers in India and Europe.  Aemetis is developing the Carbon Zero renewable jet and diesel fuel integrated biorefineries in California to utilize distillers corn oil from ethanol plants to produce low carbon intensity renewable jet and diesel fuel using cellulosic hydrogen from waste orchard wood and other negative carbon intensity biomass, and pre-extract cellulosic sugars from the waste biomass to be processed into high value cellulosic ethanol at the Keyes plant.  Aemetis holds a portfolio of patents and related technology licenses to produce renewable fuels and biochemicals. For additional information about Aemetis, please visit www.aemetis.com.

Safe Harbor Statement 

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events or other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements relating to the construction and operation of the dairy digester and pipeline project in Central California, the continued compliance with and qualification under governmental programs, and the ability to access markets and funding to execute our biogas business plan.  Words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “showing signs,” “targets,” “view,” “will likely result,” “will continue” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and predictions and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.  Actual results or events could differ materially from those set forth or implied by such forward-looking statements and related assumptions due to certain factors, including, without limitation, competition in the ethanol, biodiesel and other industries in which we operate, commodity market risks including those that may result from current weather conditions, financial market risks, customer adoption, counter-party risks, risks associated with changes to federal policy or regulation, and other risks detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in our subsequent filings with the SEC. We are not obligated, and do not intend, to update any of these forward-looking statements at any time unless an update is required by applicable securities laws.

External Investor Relations Contact:
Kirin Smith
PCG Advisory Group
(646) 863-6519
ksmith@pcgadvisory.com

Company Contact:
Todd Waltz
Chief Financial Officer
(408) 213-0925
twaltz@aemetis.com