CAMPINAS, Brazil--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amyris Brasil S.A., a subsidiary of Amyris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRS), announced today it will begin supplying an expected 160 city buses in the Brazilian city of São Paulo with Amyris renewable diesel derived from sugarcane (known locally as Diesel de Cana™).
Starting in August, buses operated by the Viação Santa Brígida will run on a blend of ten percent Amyris renewable diesel, with the balance made up of biodiesel and petroleum diesel supplied by Petrobrás Distribuidora. The supply contract runs through the end of 2012.
“Following the successful launch of our first industrial scale production facility and the positive results of the fleet testing in Brazil, we are thrilled to be a commercial supplier of renewable fuel for buses in Brazil’s largest city. Over the next year, as we expand our fuel supply agreements with bus fleets in São Paulo, we expect to achieve $10-12 million in annual diesel sales,” said John Melo, CEO of Amyris. “Brazil’s growing demand for low-sulfur diesel creates a significant opportunity to highlight the superior performance and benefits of our renewable diesel while allowing the country to reduce diesel fuel imports, which comprised nearly 20 percent of Brazil’s diesel needs in 2010.”
The city of São Paulo has more than 15,000 buses consuming about 450 million liters of diesel per year. Amyris’s sugarcane-based diesel will help meet the city’s target of reducing fossil fuel use in the public transit system. Under city law, São Paulo is working to reduce fossil diesel use by ten percent every year through 2018.
“This is a major milestone for Amyris and the City of São Paulo. With innovative technologies and local feedstock, São Paulo will lessen its dependence on fossil fuels while reducing emissions. The testing we undertook last year with our partners SPTrans, Mercedes-Benz, Petrobrás Distribuidora and Viação Santa Brígida confirmed that a ten percent blend of Amyris diesel in Petrobrás’s already low-sulfur diesel (B5 S50) can lower opacity (smoke) up to 40 percent,” said Paulo Diniz, president of Amyris Brasil S.A.
The leading commercial vehicle manufacturers in Brazil, led by Mercedes-Benz, have issued warranties for the use of ten percent Amyris renewable diesel blends in Brazil. Amyris has developed a performance-driven, pure-hydrocarbon renewable diesel fuel derived from plant-based sugars that does not require engine or infrastructure modifications. Amyris’s renewable diesel’s proven superior cold weather performance, high cetane and comparable energy density to petroleum diesel have enabled the company to obtain the highest blending registration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. OEM partners continue to validate that Amyris’s fuels enhance the performance of existing fuels and enable significant reductions in greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions.
About Amyris, Inc.
Amyris is an integrated renewable products company focused on providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Amyris uses its industrial synthetic biology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of hydrocarbon molecules - flexible building blocks which can be used in a wide range of products. Amyris is commercializing these products both as No Compromise® renewable ingredients in cosmetics, flavors and fragrances, polymers, lubricants and consumer products, and also as No Compromise renewable diesel and jet fuel. Amyris Brasil S.A., a subsidiary of Amyris, oversees the establishment and expansion of Amyris's production in Brazil. Amyris also has fuel distribution capabilities in the United States through its subsidiary, Amyris Fuels, LLC. More information about Amyris is available at www.amyris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events (such as statements regarding the commercial adoption and use of Amyris diesel, the performance and benefits of such diesel, and revenues that may be generated due to such adoption) that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including those associated with any delays or failures in development, production or commercialization of products, our reliance on third parties to achieve our goals, and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” sections of Amyris’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 14, 2011 and quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on May 11, 2011. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, Diesel de Cana, and No Compromise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.