KiOR Receives $75 million in State Funding to Build Five Biofuel Plants in Mississippi

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KiOR Inc., Pasadena, Texas, USA, reached an agreement this past week with the State of Mississippi to build five commercial-scale renewable crude oil production facilities in return for a state assistance package that includes a $75 million loan. According to the agreement, KiOR will build three of the five facilities over the next five years. By 2015, the project will deliver more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and an estimated $500 million worth of investment. In addition to the loan, the state's package includes assistance with infrastructure needs and workforce training.

The company plans to utilize Mississippi's abundant supply of woody biomass to produce commercial volumes of Re-Crude, a high-quality crude oil that can be refined into conventional fuel products, including gasoline and diesel, and deployed in the country's existing transportation fuels infrastructure.

"This partnership with the State of Mississippi will help us to rapidly scale our technology while creating quality jobs and spurring economic development in the state," said Fred Cannon, president and CEO of KiOR. "We're excited about making a meaningful and near-term contribution to easing our country's dependence on foreign oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and providing a boost to rural economies."

KiOR's process utilizes a catalyst system and leverages a proven technology used in the oil refining industry. It has significant cost advantages, the company notes, including lower capital and operating costs, compared with other biofuels technologies. KiOR will initially utilize woody biomass in its process, but the technology can eventually take advantage of other feedstock such as agricultural residue or purpose grown energy crops. The process is being successfully demonstrated at the company's facility located outside of Houston, which is producing up to 15 barrels of renewable crude oil per day from woodchips, a 400 time scale-up from the company's pilot plant.