Comstock Fuels and SACL Execute Definitive Commercial Agreements

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February 04, 2025

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(Comstock Fuels) Expands Licensing Agreement into Malaysia for SAF and Other Renewable Fuels -- Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”) today announced the execution of definitive agreements between Comstock Fuels Corporation (“Comstock Fuels”) and SACL Pte. Limited (“SACL”), a Singapore-based renewable fuel project developer, under which Comstock Fuels and SACL signed an exclusive marketing agreement for Comstock Fuels’ advanced lignocellulosic biomass refining processes in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Malaysia. The definitive agreements finalized all documentation and increase SACL’s territory to facilitate the financing, construction, and operation of additional SACL’s sites in Malaysia, adding to the four existing sites currently under development in Australia and Vietnam, now totaling over 400 million gallons of renewable fuel per dry metric ton of feedstock (on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, or “GGE”).

Early Adopter License Terms

SACL and its stakeholders previously identified four qualified sites for the construction of four BioleumTM Refineries based on Comstock Fuels’ industry leading yields and decarbonizing impact, including (1) a 250,000 metric ton per year (“MTPY”) refinery located at Myamyn, near Portland, Victoria, Australia, (2) a 250,000 MTPY refinery located near Moree, New South Wales, Australia, (3) a 750,000 MTPY refinery located near Mackay, Queensland, Australia, and (4) a 750,000 MTPY Bioleum Refinery in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. SACL also has sites under negotiations in New Zealand and Malaysia.

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.

The four planned Bioleum Refineries will have an estimated total construction cost of over $4.0 billion and produce approximately 280 million gallons per year of gasoline, sustainable aviation fuel, and other renewable fuels from lignocellulosic biomass (on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, or GGE), 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 GGEs 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. “Comstock’s process uses reliable, available equipment and standard refining processes to convert woody and woody-like biomass, such as purpose grown eucalyptus and Hexas’ XanoGrass™ into renewable intermediates and fuels that leverage existing supply chains. We are pleased to have these definitive agreements completed, including the expansion into Malaysia, and we are looking forward to working with David and the expanded local team to develop our growing portfolio of projects.”

“SACL’s team has continued advancing and expanding their projects, and I look forward to meeting with Garry next week in Australia, as we collaborate and advance all of our mutual objectives in Asia,” stated David Winsness, president of Comstock Fuels. “The prospective site in New Zealand is truly outstanding.”

Comstock Fuels is concurrently executing on its own plans to build, own, and operate the first 75,000 MTPY demonstration scale facility in Oklahoma, followed 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, the 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 and woody-like biomass and another 360 million GGE from vegetable oils. Between SACL and our initial plans alone, Comstock Fuels is planning for over 1.38 billion GGE per year of initial renewable fuel production before considering all other licensees and projects in the commercial development 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 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 Bioleum™ fuels, with extremely low carbon intensity scores of 15 and market-leading yields of up to 140 gallons per dry metric ton of feedstock (on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, or “GGE”), depending on feedstock, site conditions, and other process parameters. Comstock Fuels additionally holds the exclusive rights to intellectual properties developed by Hexas Biomass Inc. (“Hexas”) for production of purpose grown energy crops in liquid fuels applications with proven yields exceeding 25 to 30 dry metric tons per acre per year. The combination of Comstock Fuels’ high yield Bioleum refining platform and Hexas’ high yield energy crops allows for the production of enough feedstock to produce upwards of 100 barrels of fuel per acre per year, effectively transforming marginal agricultural lands with regenerative practices into perpetual “drop-in sedimentary oilfields” with the potential to dramatically boost regional energy security and rural economies.

Comstock Fuels plans to contribute to domestic energy dominance by directly building, owning, and operating a network of Bioleum Refineries in the U.S. to produce about 200 million barrels of renewable fuel per year by 2035, starting with its planned first 400,000 barrel per year commercial demonstration facility in Oklahoma. Comstock Fuels also licenses its advanced feedstock and 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 energy abundance 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. READ MORE

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COMSTOCK FUELS APPROVED FOR $152 MILLION ALLOCATION FOR OKLAHOMA QUALIFIED PRIVATE ACTIVITY BONDS (Comstock Fuels)

Excerpt from Comstock Fuels: Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) today announced that its subsidiary, Comstock Fuels Corporation (“Comstock Fuels”), was approved by the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s Office to issue up to $152 million in qualified private activity bonds.

This allocation of up to $152 million in Qualified Private Activity Bonds that can be issued by Comstock Fuels represents a major achievement in Comstock Fuels’ plans for financing and building its first 400,000 barrel per year commercial demonstration facility in a soon-to-be-selected site in Oklahoma.

This overall approval by the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s Office comes under the Oklahoma Private Activity Bond Allocation Act and would consist of allocations from the Oklahoma Economic Development Pool, the Oklahoma Exempt Facilities Pool, and the Oklahoma Carryforward Pool. The Oklahoma Development Finance Authority (“ODFA”) sponsored this bond allocation to support the State’s essential infrastructure projects with Comstock’s first Oklahoma commercial biorefining facility.

“This allocation is a foundational component of our overall capital and financing plans for Comstock Fuels, including funding each of our planned Bioleum™ Refineries in the U.S. with dedicated project financing,” said Chad Michael Black, Director of Business Development at Comstock Fuels. “Oklahoma has taken a leadership role in accelerating advanced domestic energy solutions and the support from the State Treasurer’s Office and the ODFA underscores our strong alignment with Oklahoma for developing, deploying and operating diverse, scalable and essential energy infrastructure for our communities.”

“We are rapidly achieving the critical prerequisites for securing the project financing needed to build our first commercial demonstration facility, with over $150 million of that objective supported by Oklahoma’s tax-efficient, municipal revenue bond allocation, $3 million in direct Oklahoma-based grants, and a growing group of strategic investors,” stated Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman of Comstock and Comstock Fuels. “We’re also close to selecting an investment banking partner to facilitate the bond placement and underwriting. We’re thrilled to receive such strong support from Oklahoma as we integrate feedstock, site infrastructure, and offtake into a whole new standard for domestic energy production.”

Private activity bonds under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) are described generally as any bond: (1) of which more than 10% of the proceeds is to be used in a trade or business of any person or persons other than a governmental unit or which is to be directly or indirectly repaid, or secured by revenues from a private trade or business; and (2) in which an amount exceeding the lesser of 5% or $5 million of the proceeds is to be used for loans to any person or persons other than a governmental unit.

The Federal Tax Reform Act of 1986 established limits on the volume of private activity bonds that may be issued in a state during any calendar year. To ensure compliance with federal law, the Oklahoma legislature passed the Oklahoma Private Activity Bond Allocation Act.

Most private activity bonds must be sold on a taxable basis. However, the Code grants exceptions when certain bonds can be sold on a tax-exempt basis (“Qualified Private Activity Bonds”). Such bonds, with certain exceptions, are subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Code also imposes a limitation on the amount of Qualified Private Activity Bonds which may be issued by a state in any calendar year.

About Comstock Fuels Corporation

About Comstock Inc.