Senators Baucus and Tester Secure Key Provision Expected to Advance Montana Clean Coal and Biomass Pilot Project

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A Senate appropriations bill includes a key provision expected to advance a Montana Coal-and-Biomass-To-Liquids (CBTL) pilot project, which is projected to bring hundreds of new jobs to Montana and create new markets for Montana coal and camelina.

“Continued advances in clean-coal technology are extremely important for the future utilization of the Crow Nation’s vast coal reserves, and enhances our ability to create new jobs in Montana.”

Accelergy Corporation is developing the Montana CBTL pilot project, which would employ the most advanced clean coal and biomass conversion technology available to produce high-performance liquid fuel, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, from a combination of coal and biomass. It would do so in a way that efficiently captures greenhouse gas emissions, so that the greenhouse gas “footprint” is substantially lower than other coal-to-liquid technologies and than conventional petroleum refining.

The pilot project is expected to create approximately 250 Montana jobs, and would utilize the same Montana coal owned by the Crow Tribe that is slated for use in the Many Stars CTL Project, which is a world-scale energy development project led by Australian-American Energy Company in collaboration with the Crow Nation.

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently reported an Energy and Water Appropriations bill that provides significant potential support for the pilot project. The bill provides the Department of Energy $20 million in funding ($8 million above the Fiscal Year 2011 baseline) for advanced fuels projects, including “research and development projects that would produce substantially higher quality fuels which would include greater carbon lifecycle requirements than conventional fuels and technologies,” derived from coal/biomass feedstocks. The Montana CBTL pilot project is a strong candidate for this funding.

“Federal partnership is an important element of the Montana CBTL pilot project,” said Tim Vail, Chief Executive Officer of Accelergy. “This funding will send a strong signal of support, and will complement our private capital. We thank Senators Baucus and Tester for their leadership, and we are excited about bringing new jobs to Montana.”

“A successful demonstration of the Montana CBTL technology has the potential for greatly improving the economics of the Many Stars Project,” said Cedric Black Eagle, Chairman of the Crow Nation. “Continued advances in clean-coal technology are extremely important for the future utilization of the Crow Nation’s vast coal reserves, and enhances our ability to create new jobs in Montana.”

"This same bill also includes potential funding for other carbon sequestration activities as well as planning and evaluation of all CO2 reduction alternatives which is an important commitment in the design of the Many Stars Project. This support further enables our continued important work with Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership and Schlumberger Carbon Services on the integrated Many Stars CO2 plan which is considering all CO2 emission reduction options," said Dick Lyon, Chief Executive Officer of Australian-American Energy Company.

Great Plains- The Camelina Company, will supply the Montana camelina biomass for the co-conversion and development of the fuel and plans to work with the grant to explore camelina alterations specifically suited to the process. "This is a major development for camelina in Montana" said Sam Huttenbauer, Chief Executive Officer of Great Plains. "Commercialization of this technology will provide a multi-million dollar market for Montana camelina annually.”

About Accelergy Corp.:

Accelergy is a global leader in producing ultra-clean synthetic fuels, promoting energy security by using domestic resources. Our proprietary catalytic technology significantly increases the efficiency of the Coal-Biomass-to-liquid process (CBTL) while significantly reducing greenhouse emissions. Based in Houston, Texas, Accelergy has established an international presence in partnerships with some of the world's leading energy companies. For more information, please visit www.accelergy.com.

About the Crow Nation

The Crow (Apsáalooke) Tribe of Indians has approximately 12,000 citizens, and a Reservation that spans more than 2.2 million acres in southeastern Montana. The Reservation is underlain by some of the nation’s largest contiguous coal resources with an estimated 9 billion tons of recoverable coal. The Crow Nation is also actively pursuing development of its renewable energy resources, including wind, hydroelectric power, solar and biomass.

About Great Plains Oil & Exploration

Great Plains Oil & Exploration (Great Plains – The Camelina Company) is the renewable fuels company that pioneered the manufacturing and marketing of fuel and chemicals from Camelina. Great Plains has exclusive access to the majority of the world’s Camelina germplasm and is the established leader in the field of Camelina agronomy and production. With over 12 years of camelina development, Great Plains has developed a grower base and production facilities from which it produces and supplies commercial quantities of biofuel as well as high-protein, omega 3-rich animal feed. More information can be found at CamelinaCompany.com.

About Australian-American Energy

Australian-American Energy is an energy development company headquartered in Houston, Texas which is collaborating with the Crow Nation to develop the Many Stars Project located on the Crow Reservation (see www.manystarsctl.com). AAEC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian Energy Limited of Perth, Australia.