$3 million CDFA Grants for Two Dairy Digesters; Preliminary Engineering Completed   

CUPERTINO, CA, Feb. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Aemetis, Inc.  (NASDAQ: AMTX) announced today that it has initiated the permitting and construction phase of its multi-dairy renewable biomethane digester cluster.  In July 2018, the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) awarded two matching grants for a total of $3 million to build biomethane digesters at the first two dairies in the Aemetis biogas project. 

The CDFA grant program provides California state funding support for dairy digester projects to reduce methane emissions, decrease air pollution, improve the environment and lower carbon emissions. In addition to the on-dairy covered lagoon digesters, Aemetis plans to construct a local pipeline designed to connect about a dozen dairies to the Aemetis biorefinery in Keyes, California, then clean the biomethane for use in ethanol production or for powering compressed renewable natural gas (RNG) vehicles.

“The $3 million set of CDFA grants supports the engineering and construction of digesters at two dairies to collect waste dairy biogas,” stated Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.  “The Aemetis Biogas project is an example of the public and private support created by California’s sincere commitment to stable long-term policies to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including SB 1383, Cap-and-Trade and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. These programs also demonstrate California’s strong support for the state’s vital dairy industry,” said McAfee.

The CDFA grant is in addition to the recently announced $30 million equity financing for the Aemetis Biogas project, of which $8 million was funded in December 2018 to launch design, engineering and construction of the initial phase of the project. Preliminary engineering for the initial phase has been completed and permitting is underway.

About Aemetis

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is an advanced renewable fuels and biochemicals company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative technologies that replace traditional petroleum-based products by the conversion of ethanol and biodiesel plants into advanced biorefineries.  Founded in 2006, Aemetis owns and operates a 60 million gallon per year ethanol production facility in California’s Central Valley, near Modesto.  Aemetis also owns and operates a 50 million gallon per year renewable chemical and advanced fuel production facility on the East Coast of India producing high quality distilled biodiesel and refined glycerin for customers in India, the US and Europe.  Aemetis operates a research and development laboratory, and holds a portfolio of patents and related technology licenses for the production of renewable fuels and biochemicals.  For additional information about Aemetis, please visit www.aemetis.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events or other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements relating to the construction and operation of the biogas digester project near the Aemetis ethanol plant in Keyes, California, the financing of construction of the biogas dairy digesters, and the ability to access various government programs. Words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “showing signs,” “targets,” “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 (the “SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and in our subsequent 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.