Aemetis Negotiating Supply of 1.6 Million Metric Tonnes per Year of CO2 for Carbon Sequestration at California Biofuels Plant Sites

Two Carbon Sequestration Wells in Central California Under Development at Aemetis Biofuels Plant Sites to Capture and Sequester Two Million Metric Tonnes per Year of Carbon Dioxide

CUPERTINO, CA, June 23, 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 opened negotiations for the supply of 1.6 million metric tonnes (MT) per year of CO₂ for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) to be located at or near the two Aemetis renewable fuels plant sites in Central California near Modesto.   It is anticipated that the capacity of each injection well site will be approximately one million metric tonnes per year, for a combined total of two million MT of CO₂ sequestration per year.

“The existing California LCFS and IRS 45Q carbon capture and sequestration programs could potentially generate approximately $500 million per year of revenues from injecting a combined two million metric tonnes of CO₂ per year at these two plant sites,” said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis, Inc.  “The Aemetis Carbon Capture projects are expected to benefit producers of traditional and renewable fuels that supply California by offsetting carbon emissions with carbon sequestration.”

According to the EPA, approximately one metric tonne of CO₂ is emitted for every 2,500 miles driven in a passenger car.  Capturing and sequestering two million metric tonnes of CO₂ can offset the CO₂ emissions from up to 5 billion passenger car miles each year, equal to the annual carbon emissions from approximately 350,000 cars.

Recently, the Aemetis Carbon Capture, Inc. subsidiary was established to build carbon sequestration projects to generate LCFS and IRS 45Q credits by injecting CO₂ into wells which are monitored for emissions to ensure the long-term sequestration of carbon underground. California’s Central Valley is well established as a major region for large-scale natural gas production and CO₂ injection projects due to the subsurface geologic formation that retains gases.

When related to transportation fuels produced for sale in the California market, CO₂ sequestered underground is estimated to generate revenue of approximately $200 per metric tonne under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).  The IRS 45Q tax credit value for sequestered CO₂ is approximately $50 per metric tonne.  The combined $250 per metric tonne of revenues from the capture and storage of CO₂ is expected to increase significantly due to pending Congressional legislation to support CCS.