Sustainable Oils is a Seattle-based renewable fuels company specializing in the research and production of Camelina, the only advanced biofuels feedstock with United States Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration regulatory approvals. Oil extracted from Camelina seeds can be processed into a number of renewable products including renewable jet fuel, green diesel, biodiesel, green plastics and renewable oleochemicals. The biomass that remains after oil extraction, generally referred to seedcake or meal, can be used as nutrient-rich animal feed. Camelina offers several advantages over traditional biofuel feedstocks like soy and corn, such as competitive oil yields and shorter growing seasons. Sustainable Oils has its primary operations in the state of Montana.
History
The Sustainable Oils research program began in 2005. In 2007, Targeted Growth, Inc. and Green Earth Fuels established Sustainable Oils as a Limited Liability Company in the state of Delaware. In 2008, the company was awarded a contract by the United States Department of Defense to supply the US Navy 40,000 gallons of Camelina-based jet fuel for certification testing of alternative fuels. In early 2009, Sustainable Oils began field research operations in Chile. In March 2011, a F-22 Raptor fighter jet completed a successful test flight running on a 50% blend of Camelina fuel and traditional jet fuel. Sustainable Oils supplied all the Camelina oil for the test. In March 2013, Global Clean Energy Holdings, a Long Beach, California-based biofuel feedstock company, acquired Sustainable Oils.
Research
Sustainable Oils has one of the largest Camelina research programs in the world, which began in 2005. It has conducted over 140 field trials across 34 states in the continental US and six provinces of Canada. The company has established research nurseries in Montana, Arizona, and Chile. Sustainable Oils owns three proprietary and patented varieties of Camelina that purport to have higher grain and oil yield and more beneficial agronomic characteristics than other strains.
Supply of Camelina Oil to U.S. military
In 2008, Sustainable Oils and Honeywell signed a contract to supply the United StatesDefense Logistics Agency, the purchasing agency within the Department of Defense, with 40,000 gallons of Camelina-based renewable jet fuel for test flights in jets and helicopters. Using a blend of 50% Camelina fuel and 50% traditional jet fuel, the Navy conducted performance trials in the F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor, and an SH-60 Seahawk Helicopter. All tests were conclusively successful and each aircraft was able to perform above military standards. For example, the F-22 Raptor was able to perform a 40,000-foot supercruise and achieve speeds in excess of 1.5 Mach. Over the course of the entire testing program, Sustainable Oils supplied the military with nearly 500,000 gallons of Camelina oil.
EPA approval of Camelina
In February 2013, Camelina received approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, qualifying its oil as an advanced biofuel feedstock or pathway under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Sustainable Oils was one of multiple organizations that participated in the conversation surrounding the approval process. Under the standard, every gallon of Camelina oil-based biofuel produced in the U.S. by qualified producers receives a unique Renewable Identification Number, or RIN, certifying it as a Federally approved advanced biofuel. Only fuels produced from approved pathways can be used to meet the EPA mandated minimums for advanced biofuels blending under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Acquisition
On March 14, 2013, Global Clean Energy Holdings acquired Sustainable Oils from its parent company Targeted Growth Inc. in exchange for common stock in Global Clean Energy Holdings and a promissory note.
