Aemetis Inc. to Build a Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Renewable Diesel Plant

Aemetis Inc., a California-based biofuels producer, has received a use permit from the city of Riverbank to construct a 90-million-gallon/year sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel plant. This new facility will be located at Aemetis' 125-acre industrial complex, which was previously a U.S. Army ammunition production plant. As part of the federal Base Realignment and Closure program, the complex is being repurposed for business and industrial use.

The company has already secured $3.8 billion in SAF supply contracts with airlines and a $3.2 billion renewable diesel supply contract with a national chain of travel stops. In total, the project will require approximately $500 million of investment and is expected to create more than 800 jobs during the construction phase. Once operational, it is estimated that the plant will provide around 650 permanent direct and indirect jobs.

In addition, Aemetis recently announced that its subsidiary, Universal Biofuels, has completed an expansion of its biodiesel plant in India. The expansion was completed ahead of schedule and has increased the annual production capacity to 60 million gallons. This expansion was undertaken to meet the growing demand for biodiesel by India's government-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

As part of its Five Year Plan, Aemetis aims to double its annual output from 50 million gallons to 100 million gallons by 2025. The company is also planning further capital projects to increase the annual capacity of its plant in Kakinada to 80 million gallons, which are expected to be completed ahead of schedule in the first half of 2024.

"The biodiesel market in India is experiencing significant growth as OMCs expand the number of blending locations and increase the percentage of biofuel blended into diesel," said Sanjeev Gupta, the President of Aemetis International. "By upgrading our plant and adding additional process equipment, we have not only debottlenecked the facility but also improved its production capacity."

Aemetis: India's Largest Biodiesel Plant Shows Promising Future

Aemetis, a renewable fuels production company, expects its business to prosper significantly as it reaches an annual capacity of 100 million gallons. With this milestone, the company estimates generating over $500 million in yearly revenues.

The CEO of Aemetis, Eric McAfee, expressed his confidence in the company's capabilities, stating, "Aemetis continues to demonstrate our ability to design, engineer, permit, construct and operate renewable fuels production facilities. Moreover, we continuously strive for improvements in energy efficiency, feedstocks, and other carbon-intensive components of operations to enhance financial margins by reducing costs and increasing revenues."

Located in Andhra Pradesh, the Aemetis plant holds the distinction of being India's largest biodiesel production facility. This expansion in biodiesel production aligns with the Indian government's objective of achieving a 5% biodiesel blend, thereby amounting to approximately 1.25 billion gallons per year, as outlined in the 2022 National Biofuels Policy.

India heavily relies on imported crude oil to meet its petroleum refinery requirements, as it lacks substantial domestic oil production. By adopting the 5% biodiesel blend target, the Indian government aims to reduce petroleum imports, minimize the outflow of dollars for crude oil purchases, support domestic agricultural producers and processors, and notably enhance air quality while mitigating carbon pollution.