Aemetis Inc. announced May 20 that its Universal Biofuels India subsidiary was awarded a large ongoing supply contract for distilled biodiesel by a multisite mining company for use in dump trucks and other heavy diesel equipment at mines in southern and central India. Shipments have already begun to the mining customer under the supply agreement and will be expanded to additional mines as on-site biodiesel storage is installed.

Mining trucks and other large equipment at mines is estimated to require more than 25 MMgy of biodiesel, equal to 50 percent of the capacity of the India plant, as the mining supply agreement is expanded and other mining companies adopt biodiesel. Distilled biodiesel is a lower cost fuel than diesel, reduces particulate emissions by 90 percent and significantly reduces carbon emissions. 

“With the recent completion of our India plant pretreatment unit and expansion to 50 MMgy from low-cost, high free fatty acid feedstock, the Aemetis team in India is executing on a rapid increase in production and revenues this year by continuing to expand domestic markets, which now include mining customers,” said Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis. “As the only U.S. company producing biofuels in India, Aemetis’ India team continues to expand its market reach by winning new customers in innovative domestic markets.”