Aemetis, Inc.'s subsidiary, Universal Biofuels, has been chosen by India’s three government-controlled oil marketing companies (OMCs) to supply approximately $150 million worth of biodiesel. This contract will run for one year, starting in October 2023. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to contribute to India’s biodiesel market.
In India, the OMCs currently supply around 70% of the 25-billion-gallon diesel market, with the remaining 30% being provided by private oil refiners. However, with the 2022 Amendment to India’s National Policy on Biofuels, there is a push to increase the domestic production and consumption of biodiesel. By 2030, the goal is to have a minimum blend of 5% biodiesel available for direct sale. As part of this policy, the importation of biodiesel is prohibited.
To meet this growing demand, Aemetis has constructed a biodiesel plant on the East Coast of India with a capacity of 60 million gallons per year. We are proud to be one of the few biodiesel producers in India that has successfully passed all the rigorous product quality tests required by the OMC tenders. We are committed to continuing to expand our capacity to meet the needs of the OMCs.
We have already completed upgrades to the plant to increase efficiency, and our next phase will involve adding additional process equipment to further boost capacity. Additionally, we have ongoing capital projects to increase production capacity at our Kakinada, India biodiesel plant to 80 million gallons per year. These projects are expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.
