Comstock Fuels Executes Commercial Agreement for Fourth Site

Rhea-AI Summary

Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) announced an expansion of its licensing agreement with SACL Pte. into Vietnam for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable fuels production. The agreement now covers four sites - three in Australia and one in Vietnam - with a total production capacity of over 460 million gallons of renewable fuels. The facilities will have an estimated total construction cost of over $4.0 billion, generating approximately $3.0 billion in annual sales at current prices. Comstock Fuels will receive a 20% equity stake in each Bioleum Refinery, plus 6% royalty fees on sales and 6% engineering fees on construction costs.

Positive

• Expansion into new territory (Vietnam) increases market presence
• Significant revenue potential of $3.0 billion per year at current prices
• Strong financial terms: 20% equity stake + 6% royalty + 6% engineering fees
• Total production capacity exceeds 460 million gallons of renewable fuels
• Initial upfront payment of $2.5 million per site-specific license agreement

Negative

• High capital requirements with $4.0 billion total construction cost
• Initial facilities starting at reduced capacity (75,000 MTPY vs 250,000 MTPY)
• Lower initial royalty and engineering fees (3% vs 6%) until scale-up

Insights

Financial Analyst

This commercial agreement marks a significant expansion for Comstock Fuels, with four planned Bioleum Refineries in Vietnam and Australia representing $4.0 billion in construction costs and potential annual sales of $3.0 billion. The deal structure is particularly attractive, securing a 20% equity stake per refinery, 6% royalty on sales and 6% engineering fees on construction costs. Each site-specific license agreement includes a $2.5 million upfront payment.

The combined output of 460 million gallons of renewable fuels positions Comstock strategically in the growing sustainable aviation fuel market. The company's U.S. expansion plans for an additional 920 million GGE annually demonstrate strong growth potential. The technology's high yield of 125 GGE per dry metric ton and low carbon intensity score of 15 provide competitive advantages in the renewable fuels market.

Clean Energy Technology Expert

The technical specifications of Comstock's process represent a significant breakthrough in biofuel production. The six-step process, including biomass fractionation and bioconversion, achieves industry-leading yields while maintaining extremely low carbon intensity scores. The ability to process both woody biomass and vegetable oils provides feedstock flexibility and market adaptability.

The technology's ability to leverage existing supply chains and standard refining processes reduces implementation risks and capital requirements. The scalable design, from 75,000 MTPY demonstration facilities to 1,000,000 MTPY commercial refineries, provides a clear pathway to commercial deployment while managing technological and operational risks.

Expands Licensing Agreement into Vietnam for SAF and Other Renewable Fuels

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., Nov. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”) today announced execution of a binding amendment to an existing agreement between Comstock Fuels Corporation (“Comstock Fuels”) and SACL Pte. Limited (“SACL”), a Singapore-based renewable fuel project developer, under which Comstock Fuels agreed to grant SACL an exclusive marketing agreement for Comstock Fuels’ advanced lignocellulosic biomass refining processes in Vietnam. The amendment was executed to increase SACL’s territory to facilitate the financing, construction, and operation of SACL’s first planned site in Vietnam, in addition to three existing sites currently under development in Australia, now totaling over 460 million gallons of renewable fuels, with an emphasis on sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”).

Early Adopter License Terms

SACL and its stakeholders previously identified three qualified sites for the construction of three Bioleum™ Refineries based on Comstock Fuels’ industry leading yields and decarbonizing impact, including (1) a 250,000 metric ton per year (“MTPY”) refinery located near Portland, Victoria, Australia, (2) a 250,000 MTPY refinery located near Moree, New South Wales, Australia, and (3) a 750,000 MTPY refinery located near Mackay, Queensland, Australia. However, SACL is actively evaluating additional projects for development in the Pacific Rim, including SACL’s now-planned new 750,000 MTPY Bioleum Refinery in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam.

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 Bioleum Refinery, plus a royalty fee equal to 6% of each refinery’s sales of licensed products, and engineering fees equal to 6% of total construction costs. At least one of the Bioleum Refineries will initially start with a capacity of 75,000 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, with an initial upfront payment of $2,500,000 payable upon execution of each applicable site-specific license agreement for each refinery.

Together, all four Bioleum Refineries will have an estimated total construction cost of over $4.0 billion and produce approximately 280 million gasoline gallon equivalent basis (“GGE”) of sustainable aviation fuel, and other renewable fuels from lignocellulosic biomass, and about another 180 million GGE from vegetable oils, with over $3.0 billion per year in sales at current 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, (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 GGE 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’ patented and patent-pending process uses reliable, available equipment and standard refining processes to convert woody biomass, such as purpose 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 as we continue assessing additional sites for qualification.”

“SACL’s team has rapidly advanced their projects, and we look forward to accelerating their objectives with our leading global solution for sustainable and 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 75,000 MTPY demonstration scale facility followed rapidly by three additional 75,000 MTPY facilities, each of which would then be scaled-up to 1,000,000 MTPY commercial scale Bioleum Refineries. Collectively, our first four planned U.S. facilities will produce more than 920 million GGE per year of renewable fuels, including about 560 million GGE from woody biomass and another 360 million GGE from vegetable oils. Between SACL and our initial plans alone, we are planning for over 1.38 billion GGE per year of initial renewable fuel production from our solutions before considering all other licensees and projects in our pipeline.”

About SACL Pte. Limited

SACL is a Singapore-based project development and management company that intends to develop renewable energy projects in Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam. To learn more, please visit www.saclimited.com.

About Comstock Fuels Corporation

Comstock Fuels delivers advanced lignocellulosic biomass refining solutions that set industry benchmarks for production of cellulosic ethanol, gasoline, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”), and other renewable fuels, with extremely low carbon intensity scores of 15 and market-leading yields of up to 125 gallons per dry metric ton of feedstock (on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, or “GGE”), depending on feedstock, lignin content, site conditions, and other process parameters. Comstock Fuels plans to directly build, own, and operate a network of Bioleum Refineries in the U.S. to refine 50 million tons of biomass annually into 8 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2035, corresponding to 50% of the U.S. renewable fuel mandate. Comstock Fuels is currently evaluating several U.S. sites for construction of its Demonstration Scale Facility to validate its fully integrated process at 75,000 tons per year, paving the way for rapid full-scale commercialization. Comstock Fuels also licenses its advanced refining solutions to third parties for additional production in the U.S. and global markets, including several recently announced and other pending projects. To learn more, please visit www.comstockfuels.com.

About Comstock Inc.

Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) innovates and commercializes technologies that are deployable across entire industries to contribute to global decarbonization and the clean energy transition by efficiently extracting and converting under-utilized natural resources, such as waste and other forms of woody biomass into renewable fuels, and end-of-life electronics into recovered electrification metals. Comstock’s innovations group is also developing and using artificial intelligence technologies for advanced materials development and mineral discovery for sustainable mining. To learn more, please visit www.comstock.inc.

Comstock Social Media Policy

Comstock Inc. has used, and intends to continue using, its investor relations link and main website at www.comstock.inc in addition to its Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts, as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Contacts

For investor inquiries:
RB Milestone Group LLC
Tel (203) 487-2759
ir@comstockinc.com

For media inquiries or questions:
Comstock Inc., Tracy Saville
Tel (775) 847-7573
questions@comstockinc.com

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FAQ

What is the total production capacity of Comstock's (LODE) new renewable fuel projects?

The four Bioleum Refineries will produce approximately 280 million GGE of sustainable aviation fuel from lignocellulosic biomass and 180 million GGE from vegetable oils, totaling over 460 million gallons.

What are the financial terms of Comstock's (LODE) agreement with SACL?

Comstock receives a 20% equity stake in each refinery, 6% royalty fee on sales, 6% engineering fees on construction costs, and $2.5 million upfront payment per site-specific license agreement.

Where are Comstock's (LODE) new Bioleum Refineries located?

The refineries will be located in three Australian sites (Portland, Victoria; Moree, New South Wales; Mackay, Queensland) and one site in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam.