California Ethanol Producer Pacific Ethanol Stockton Partners with Edeniq to Expand Production

VISALIA, Calif., Jan. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Edeniq, a biomaterials and sustainable fuels company, today announced that California ethanol producer, Pacific Ethanol, Stockton LLC ("Pacific Ethanol"), has entered into an agreement to install Edeniq technology at the company's Stockton, California ethanol plant.  Pacific Ethanol will install Edeniq's proprietary Cellunators™ to boost ethanol yields, and will also deploy Edeniq's patented OilPlus™ corn oil extraction process to increase corn oil recovery.

Edeniq's Cellunator™ technology mills corn and other plant materials into 'right-sized' particles of feedstock that can be more efficiently converted into the plant sugars needed to produce biofuels. Beginning this quarter, Edeniq will install Cellunators™ at the Pacific Ethanol plant in Stockton, California.  In addition, Edeniq will deploy OilPlus™ technology at the Stockton plant.  OilPlus™ combines thermal, mechanical, and chemical treatments to improve the recovery of corn oil, a valuable co-product that can be used for feed and other bio-industrial products. 

With four ethanol plants in the Western United States including California, Oregon and Idaho, Pacific Ethanol's facilities have the combined ethanol production capacity of 200 million gallons per year.   The Stockton, California plant was built in 2008 and has the capacity to produce 60 million gallons per year.  Edeniq's technology is expected to increase the facility's ethanol yields by 2-4%.     

"Edeniq's technology will allow us to increase efficiency and create additional value for our customers," said Neil Koehler, CEO of Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX).  "Our partnership with Edeniq improves our ability to compete in the marketplace."

Edeniq currently has technology agreements with six ethanol producers across the U.S., and Pacific Ethanol will be the company's second plant partner in California.  In addition, Edeniq owns and operates a demonstration-scale production facility in Visalia, California, which is currently converting a range of cellulosic feedstock into low-cost cellulosic sugars and cellulosic ethanol. 

In June, Edeniq received a $3.9 million grant from the California Energy Commission as part of California's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.  The grant was given to Edeniq to help fund further developments and innovative enhancements to Edeniq's proprietary cellulosic ethanol technology, enabling the low capital cost addition of cellulosic ethanol production to corn-based ethanol plants in California. 

"With Pacific Ethanol as a customer, we are continuing our commitment to unlock the sugar conversion process and gain efficiencies each step of the way," said Brian Thome, President and CEO of Edeniq.  "This installation is just the beginning of our work with Pacific Ethanol to scale sustainable fuels." 

Edeniq was recently named as one of the top private clean technology companies on Cleantech Group's 2012 Global Cleantech 100 and to Biofuel Digest's The 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy 2012-2013. 

About Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is the leading marketer and producer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the Western United States. Pacific Ethanol also sells co-products, including wet distillers grain (WDG), a nutritional animal feed. Serving integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers who blend ethanol into gasoline, Pacific Ethanol provides transportation, storage and delivery of ethanol through third-party service providers in the Western United States, primarily in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Washington. Pacific Ethanol has a 67% ownership interest in New PE Holdco LLC, the owner of four ethanol production facilities. Pacific Ethanol operates and manages the four ethanol production facilities, which have a combined annual production capacity of 200 million gallons. The facilities in operation are located in Boardman, Oregon, Burley, Idaho and Stockton, California, and one idled facility is located in Madera, California. The facilities are near their respective fuel and feed customers, offering significant timing, transportation cost and logistical advantages. Pacific Ethanol's subsidiary, Kinergy Marketing LLC, markets ethanol from Pacific Ethanol's managed plants and from other third-party production facilities, and another subsidiary, Pacific Ag. Products, LLC, markets WDG. For more information please visit www.pacificethanol.net.

About Edeniq, Inc.
Edeniq integrates patented mechanical and biological processes to efficiently and cost-effectively break down plant material into sugars that become sustainable fuels and/or industrial materials.  Edeniq's patent portfolio includes innovation in biological catalysts plus mechanical processes that helps meet the industry-wide challenge of taking today's plant-based resources into future markets and applications.  Headquartered in Visalia, CA, with locations in Omaha, Nebraska and the state of Sao Paolo in Brazil, Edeniq is funded by such leading investors as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Flint Hills Resources Renewables, The Westly Group and Cyrus Capital. More information can be found at www.edeniq.com.

SOURCE Edeniq, Inc.