CUPERTINO, Calif., July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTX), a diversified renewable natural gas and biofuels company, today announced that its ethanol and renewable natural gas subsidiaries have received funds from the sales of $18 million of Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credits.
The sales include a $6 million tax credit generated by 2025 ethanol production and $12 million in tax credits generated by year-to-date 2026 ethanol and renewable natural gas ("RNG") production. The 2026 tax credits represent approximately $0.33 per ethanol gallon and $15.20 per MMBtu of RNG. Net cash proceeds from the transactions were approximately $14.5 million after transaction costs.
"These 45Z tax credit sales, our second and third transactions in the past six months, illustrate the value of Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credits as a recurring contribution to cash flow for Aemetis operations," said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis. "Our first sale of 45Z credits was late last year, and we expect additional transactions in 2026 and future years. We expect the 45Z credit value to grow significantly based on planned RNG production volume increases and increased energy efficiency at the Keyes plant from mechanical vapor recompression. We expect updates to the Section 45ZCF-GREET model to be released imminently, including significant improvement in the dairy RNG emission rate and adopting recent USDA calculations for corn feedstock emissions reductions for ethanol production."
The Section 45Z tax credits sold in the 2026 transactions were calculated under current Treasury guidance and the updated U.S. Department of Energy 45ZCF-GREET model released on June 12, 2026, which calculates the carbon intensity for Section 45Z tax credits. Two planned agency updates to the 45ZCF model could further increase the value of 2026 Section 45Z tax credits: DOE incorporation in the 45ZCF model of the low-carbon feedstock calculator that was recently finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and an update to the RNG portion of the 45ZCF model to separate RNG produced from dairy cows from other animal types.
"With each Section 45Z sale, we are executing our tax credit monetization strategy," added McAfee. "These cash proceeds will continue to grow, supporting the expansion of biofuels production and creating new markets for agricultural products. We urge Treasury and the DOE to maintain the integrity and purpose of Section 45Z as they continue to update their components of the program to comply with tax credit legislation passed more than four years ago and updated by the OBBB passed in July 2025."
About Aemetis
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a diversified renewable natural gas and biofuels company focused on the development and operation of innovative technologies that lower energy costs and reduce emissions. Founded in 2006, Aemetis is operating and expanding a California biogas digester network and pipeline system to convert dairy waste gas into Renewable Natural Gas. Aemetis owns and operates a 65 million gallon per year ethanol production facility in California's Central Valley near Modesto that supplies about 80 dairies with animal feed. Aemetis owns and operates an 80 million gallon per year production facility on the East Coast of India producing high quality biodiesel and refined glycerin. To utilize the byproducts from ethanol production, Aemetis is developing a sustainable aviation fuel plant and a CO2 sequestration project in California. For additional information about Aemetis, please visit www.aemetis.com.
Company Investor Relations
Media Contact:
Todd Waltz
(408) 213-0940
investors@aemetis.com
External Investor Relations
Contact:
Kirin Smith
PCG Advisory Group
(646) 863-6519
ksmith@pcgadvisory.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events or other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections of financial results; potential future regulatory changes and credit values; statements related to the development, engineering, financing, construction and operation of the Aemetis biodiesel and other biofuel facilities; our ability to promote, develop, finance, and construct facilities to produce biodiesel, renewable fuels, and biochemicals; and statements about future market prices and results of government actions. Words or phrases such as "anticipates," "may," "will," "should," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "showing signs," "targets," "view," "will likely result," "will continue" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and predictions and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results or events could differ materially from those set forth or implied by such forward-looking statements and related assumptions due to certain factors, including, without limitation, competition in the ethanol, biodiesel and other industries in which we operate, commodity market risks including those that may result from current weather conditions, financial market risks, customer adoption, counter-party risks, risks associated with changes to federal policy or regulation, and other risks detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, and in our other filings with the SEC. We are not obligated, and do not intend, to update any of these forward-looking statements at any time unless an update is required by applicable securities laws.
