CUPERTINO, CA - February 13, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTX), a renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company operating in the U.S. and India, today provided an update on the Aemetis biodiesel business in India ahead of meetings by Aemetis CEO Eric McAfee with officials during the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington D.C. this week.
Universal Biofuels, a subsidiary of Aemetis, is one of the largest biodiesel producers in India with an 80 million gallon per year plant in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and has been operating in India for more than 17 years. Universal Biofuels generated $112 million of revenues from biodiesel and refined glycerin deliveries in the year ended September 2024.
Universal has already received $58 million of allocations for 2025 delivery of biodiesel from India government-owned oil refiners and marketing companies (“OMCs”). Universal expects to begin biodiesel shipments to OMCs in March under these allocations. To lead a planned IPO of the Universal Biofuels subsidiary this year, Aemetis recently appointed a new CEO and next month plans to announce a new CFO with recent Indian Stock Market IPO experience after completing a transition from his current position.
Biodiesel consumption in India is expected to continue to grow as the National Biofuels Policy 5% target blend ratio (1.2 billion gallons per year) is implemented, and an IPO would be expected to fund expansion of production in India to meet this demand. A key factor in the growth of Universal Biofuels production capacity is access to renewable oil feedstocks in India and from imported feedstocks, including soybean farmers in the United States. Policies in India that support access to feedstock, including imports of renewable oils, directly support the expansion of Aemetis production volumes in India by using imported agricultural products in addition to local feedstocks.
India is a relatively small crude oil producer, so India refineries import crude oil from other oil producing countries around the world. New U.S. policies are being advanced by the Trump administration to support the expansion of export markets for U.S. petroleum products, and the U.S. also has a unique opportunity to expand the market for exported agricultural products into the growing India biodiesel markets.
“The 25 billion gallon per year petroleum-based diesel market is a significant source of air pollution and health problems in India,” said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis. “A goal of a 5% blend of biodiesel has already been adopted by India to improve the situation, but only about a 1% biodiesel blend is currently being implemented. The United States has a significant opportunity to export soybean oil and other renewable oils as feedstock for biodiesel production in India by eliminating India’s significant tariff and policy barriers.”
“If India were to remove its 27.5% import tariff on soy oil and allow feedstocks to be sold by U.S. farmers to India biodiesel producers, a multi-billion dollar per year market would be created for U.S. agricultural products abroad,” added McAfee.
About Aemetis
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel and biochemicals company focused on the operation, acquisition, development, and commercialization of innovative technologies that replace petroleum-based products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Founded in 2006, Aemetis is operating and actively expanding a California biogas digester network and pipeline system to convert dairy waste gas into Renewable Natural Gas. 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 owns and operates an 80 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 acquired the 125-acre former Army Ammunition Production Plant site in Riverbank, California to develop a carbon sequestration project and a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel fuel biorefinery to utilize renewable hydrogen, hydroelectric power, and renewable oils to produce low carbon intensity renewable jet and diesel fuel. For additional information about Aemetis, please visit www.aemetis.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events or other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections of financial results in 2025 and future years; statements relating to the development, engineering, financing, construction and operation of the Aemetis ethanol, biogas, biodiesel, SAF and renewable diesel, and carbon sequestration facilities; and our ability to promote, develop, finance, and deploy technologies to produce renewable fuels and biochemicals. 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 Reports on Form 10-K, and in our other 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.
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