COLUMBUS, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KiOR, Inc., a next-generation renewable fuels company, and Catchlight Energy LLC (CLE), a 50-50 joint venture between subsidiaries of Chevron Corporation and Weyerhaeuser Company focused on providing liquid transportation fuels from sustainable forest-based resources, announced today that they have signed a conditional offtake agreement for CLE to purchase gasoline and diesel fuel blendstocks from KiOR’s first commercial production facility in Columbus, Mississippi.
“This offtake agreement is the latest development in KiOR’s progress to commercialize renewable transportation fuels,” said Fred Cannon, President and CEO of KiOR. “When finalized, our agreement with Catchlight Energy will help bring KiOR’s renewable fuels to market so we can help diversify the country’s energy sources.”
CLE’s purchase of products is contingent on, among other things, satisfaction of product specification criteria and RIN certification of the products as cellulosic biofuels under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. The companies have also signed a Testing and Optimization Agreement to optimize the compatibility of KiOR’s blendstocks with Chevron’s facilities.
This is the second offtake agreement KiOR has signed for its Columbus, MS, facility, having announced an agreement with Hunt Refining Company in March of 2011. KiOR expects to begin production at its Columbus facility in the second half of 2012.
About KiOR
KiOR is a next generation renewable fuels company that has developed a proprietary technology platform to convert biomass into renewable crude oil. The renewable crude oil is refined into gasoline and diesel blendstocks that are compatible with our country’s existing fuel infrastructure and are a viable near-term solution to help ease our dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create high-quality jobs and economic benefit across rural America. For more information, please visit www.KiOR.com.