Aemetis expands Indian biofuel operations to increase feedstock flexibility, exports to US

Aemetis is planning to leverage its Indian operations to make biofuel feedstock not only for that country's domestic use but also to provide feedstock for planned California renewable fuel operations, the company said Feb. 16.

Universal Biofuels, a subsidiary of Aemetis in Kakinada, India, will build a tallow oil refining facility to supply feedstock to its 50 million gal/year biodiesel plant on India's East Coast.

The new tallow refining facility will also "provide future feedstock supply to the Aemetis 90 million gallon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD) plant being built in Riverbank, California," the statement said.

In December, Aemetis acquired a former military base about 100 miles due east of San Francisco to build their Carbon Zero 1 SAF and RD plant. Carbon Zero 1output will support recently signed low-carbon fuel offtake deals, helping trucking companies and airlines lower their greenhouse gas emissions.

The Aemetis Carbon Zero facility will convert orchard wood waste into negative carbon intensity renewable hydrogen to make the SAF and RD.

Rising Indian demand, lower taxes

Plans for expansion of the Kakinada facility comes on the heels of the lowering of the Goods and Service Tax on biodiesel to 5% from 12% on Oct. 1 by the Indian government in an effort to increase blending of renewable fuels.

"Recent regulations adopted by the Indian government encourage oil refiners and fuel distributors to purchase biodiesel for blending into petroleum diesel," the statement said. "The new feedstock refining facility will expand access to India renewable oil feedstock for existing and future Aemetis renewable fuels plants in India and California."

Kakinada's feedstock refining facility will be in addition to the existing feedstock pretreatment unit operating at the 50 million gal/year biodiesel plant, and allow the plant to diversify its feedstock by adding tallow to its current slate of vegetable oils, animal oils, and waste oil feedstocks to make SAF and RD.

India's demand for vegetable oils is fueling a marketing-year high for US soybean oil exports, according to S&P Platts Global Analytics, pushing US soybean oil futures to average 65.75 cents/lb so far for the week beginning Feb. 13, the highest weekly level since May 2021.

South Asia biodiesel prices are also rising, averaging $1,447.66/mt so far in the first quarter of 2022, compared with 2021's average price of $1,179.13/mt, Platts assessments show.