Comstock Inc. announced execution of a binding agreement between Comstock Fuels Corporation (“Comstock Fuels”) and SACL Pte. Limited (“SACL”), a Singapore-based renewable fuel project developer, engaged in the delivery of several biofuel production facilities and hybrid renewable energy projects under which Comstock Fuels agreed to grant SACL an exclusive marketing agreement for Comstock Fuels’ advanced lignocellulosic biomass refining processes in Australia and New Zealand.
Early Adopter License Terms
SACL and its associated stakeholders have identified three initial sites for the construction of three refineries based on Comstock’s industry leading yields and decarbonizing impacts, including (1) a 250,000 metric ton per year (“MTPY”) refinery located in southeastern Australia, (2) a 250,000 MTPY refinery located in northwest Australia, and (3) a 750,000 MTPY refinery located on the east coast in northern Australia. Under the terms of Comstock Fuels’ agreement with SACL, Comstock Fuels will contribute site specific technology rights in exchange for a 20% equity stake in each refinery, plus a royalty fee equal to 6% of each refinery’s sales of licensed products, and engineering fees equal to 6% of total capital and construction costs. At least one of the refineries will initially start with a capacity of 50,000 MTPY prior to scaling-up to 250,000 MTPY or more, with early adopter royalty fees of 3% of sales and engineering fees equal to 3% of construction costs until scaling-up to 250,000 MTPY, including initial upfront payments of $2,500,000 payable upon execution of each site-specific applicable license.
The SACL facilities will have an estimated total construction cost of about $2.4 billion and produce over 160 million gallons per year of gasoline, SAF, and other renewable fuels from lignocellulosic biomass (on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis (“GGE”)), and about 140 million GGE from vegetable oils, with over $1.5 billion per year in sales at current market prices.
Best-in-Class Yield and Carbon Intensity
Comstock Fuels offers advanced lignocellulosic biomass refining solutions that produce market-leading yields of cellulosic ethanol, gasoline, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and other renewable fuels at extremely low carbon intensities. The Comstock Fuels process generally involves: (1) digestion and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass, (2) bioconversion of cellulose into Cellulosic Ethanol, (3) esterification of lignin and other derivatives into Bioleum Oil, (4) hydrodeoxygenation of Bioleum Oil into Hydrodeoxygenated Bioleum Oil (“HBO”), (5) refining of these extremely low carbon oils and fuels into ASTM compliant renewable fuels, and (6) gas-to-liquids emissions capture and fuel conversion. The first five of these processes are proven to produce up to 125 GGEs per dry metric ton of feedstock on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, depending on feedstock, lignin content, site conditions, and other process parameters, with extremely low carbon intensity scores of 15.
Wide Open Market, Unprecedented Results
“Comstock Fuels’ breakthrough yields unlock an abundant, available and efficient feedstock source that enables extraordinary new opportunities for renewable fuels project developers, especially given the ongoing global surge in demand for sustainable aviation fuel,” said Garry Millar, SACL’s founder and director. “The Comstock Fuels process uses proven, off-the-shelf equipment and standard refining processes to convert woody biomass, such as plantation grown eucalyptus in our case, into renewable intermediates and fuels that leverage existing supply chains. We are excited by this collaboration, and we are looking forward to working with the Comstock Fuels’ team and our local stakeholders to develop each of our projects and more.”
“SACL’s team has rapidly advanced their projects, and we look forward to accelerating their objectives as we position our technologies as the leading global solution for sustainable, extremely low carbon renewable fuels,” stated David Winsness, president of Comstock Fuels. “We are concurrently executing on our own plan to build, own, and operate our first four facilities in the U.S., including an initial 50,000 MTPY Commercial Demonstration Scale Facility followed rapidly by three 1,000,000 MTPY Commercial Scale Facilities. Collectively, our planned U.S. facilities will produce upwards of 700 million GGE per year of renewable fuels, including approximately 400 million GGE from woody biomass and another approximately 300 million GGE from vegetable oils. Between SACL and our initial plans alone, we are pushing nearly 1 billion GGE per year of initial renewable fuel production from our solutions before considering all of the other projects and licensees in our pipeline.”
