Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis, was the keynote speaker at the 2019 ABLC Conference, held in January of this year and spoke about future prospects of the bioeconomy through the lens of Aemetis, an industrial biotech company.
Kicking off his almost 30-minute speech, McAfee began by explaining the history of Aemetis.
Founded in 2006, Aemetis has become a leader in the biofuels industry by focusing on creating renewable fuels.
McAfee does not do it alone, however. The company is made up of, “an ag guy, a major oil company lady, a tech guy, and then a CFO,” McAfee said.
McAfee discussed current U.S. Administration policies that support the demand for biofuels. The Renewable Fuel Standard Mandate could increase demand for biofuels.
The same goes for the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which encourages investment into low-carbon fuel alternatives.
Aemetis implements corn ethanol, advanced biofuels such as grain sorghum that is “imported from Argentina and Texas,” and non-food, low carbon waste wood that “otherwise would be burned and create air pollution and carbon emissions.”
McAfee discussed the Aemetis Riverbank production site, where the waste wood is turned into fuels, which has been named the top waste-to-value project in the world. This means that it develops biofuels in a below-zero carbon waste environment and can sell California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits.
Making $150 million dollars in revenue in 2017, it is clear that they are achieving substantial growth turning feedstocks into fuel in a low-carbon way.
Aemetis is also leading the way in creating cellulosic ethanol using the LanzaTech process. For cellulosic ethanol to become a reality, McAfee explains that you must, “feed a gas to the microbe.” It can literally turn carbon dioxide (the gas in some processes) into fuels and other chemicals through fermentation processes.
McAfee makes it clear in his speech that this kind of innovation could not be done without the help of the USDA.
The USDA 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program has granted Aemetis the, “first loan commitment in six years” for $125 million, he said.
This kind of assistance is a key factor in creating more jobs at the Aemetis Riverbank Plant. McAfee projects that Aemetis will make $95,353,000 dollars and create 2,014 jobs by the year 2023.