US-headed advanced renewable fuels and biochemicals company Aemetis Inc., has announced that the US Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) has issued an I-924 Exemplar Approval for its US$50 million EB-5 Phase II funding related to the Aemetis Riverbank cellulosic ethanol biorefinery project in California. I-924 Exemplar Approval allows foreign investors to utilize project approval for faster EB-5 processing.
According to Aemetis, three EB-5 investors filed with the USCIS and funded US$1.5 million to the Aemetis project in December 2018 to launch the US$50 million EB-5 Phase II funding round.
Aemetis has already successfully raised $35 million of EB-5 Phase I funding at a 3 percent interest rate for the Keyes ethanol plant, so we are pleased with the I-924 Exemplar Approval by the USCIS of $50 million EB-5 Phase II funding for the Riverbank below zero carbon biofuels plant as our next round of low-interest rate funding. This EB-5 Phase II financing is not convertible into Aemetis stock at either the parent company or subsidiary levels, so the $50 million from EB-5 Phase II investors will not be dilutive to Aemetis shareholders and has a minimum five-year maturity with a below-market interest rate, said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.
The Aemetis Riverbank cellulosic biorefinery is designed to produce below zero carbon biofuels from agricultural waste that could otherwise be burned in the Central Valley.
The USCIS I-924 Exemplar Approval for the Aemetis Riverbank project is in addition to California state governmental support through the recent award of US$12.7 million of sales and use tax waivers for equipment and other purchases for the construction of the Aemetis Riverbank plant.
