Sundrop Fuels selects IHI E&C International Corp. for inaugural commercial and demonstration plant

LONGMONT, Colo., July 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sundrop Fuels, Inc., a privately-held advanced biofuels company, announced that it has engaged international engineering and construction firm IHI E&C International Corporation, a US subsidiary of Tokyo-based IHI Corporation, as contractor of choice for its inaugural facility near Alexandria, Louisiana. The combined commercial and demonstration plant will annually produce about 60 million gallons of finished gasoline from natural gas while providing the platform for Sundrop Fuels to prove its proprietary gasification technology for making renewable "green gasoline" from woody biomass.

The success of Sundrop Fuels' integrated commercial and demonstration plant will put in motion the company's plan to build a series of renewable gasoline "megaplants," each producing more than 200 million gallons of drop-in cellulosic biofuel annually. Sundrop Fuels expects to eventually have four such facilities in operation, representing a combined production capacity of more than one billion gallons – a significant percentage of the total cellulosic advanced biofuels goal set by the nation's Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

"With IHI E&C's talent and resources, Sundrop Fuels looks forward to formally breaking ground on the final stepping-stone toward becoming a major producer of affordable, drop-in biofuel," said Sundrop Fuels Chief Executive Officer Wayne Simmons. "It has extensive experience and a long history of successful project execution in plants with similar configurations and process units."

"We are very excited to be involved in this gas to gasoline commercial project that utilizes proven technologies for the conversion of natural gas, first to methanol, and then to gasoline," said Glyn Rodgers, IHI E&C President.

Located one mile west of Alexandria in Boyce, Louisiana, Sundrop Fuels has begun site preparation on the combined commercial and demonstration plant, which will occupy approximately 100 of the 1,213 acres that the company purchased in February. Formal construction is scheduled to begin late this year, with operations expected to begin at the end of 2015.

About Sundrop Fuels, Inc.

Sundrop Fuels, Inc. is a privately-held advanced biofuels company with corporate headquarters in Longmont, Colorado. The company is preparing to launch construction in Central Louisiana of its inaugural fuels facility, a combined commercial production and technology demonstration plant representing the first phase in Sundrop Fuels' path to become the nation's premier mass-scale provider of renewable biogasoline. Sundrop Fuels is backed by its strategic partner, Chesapeake Energy Corp., and by two of the world's premier venture groups, Oak Investment Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. For more information please visit www.sundropfuels.com or contact Steven Silvers, Sundrop Fuels, Inc. Corporate Affairs & Communications, at (303) 596-9960 or by email at [email protected].

About IHI E&C

IHI E&C provides engineering and construction services to the global oil and gas industry, specializing in design, engineering, procurement, construction, start-up and project management for the synthesis gas & derivatives, gas processing, LNG, power, chemicals & petrochemicals, refining and mining markets. IHI E&C is based in Houston, Texas. To learn more, visit www.ihi-ec.com.

IHI Corporation (IHI) is a global engineering, construction and manufacturing company with approximately 27,000 employees in more than 10 manufacturing centers in Japan, 18 branches and sales offices in Japan, 14 offices and 142 subsidiaries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ihi.co.jp/en/index.html.

NOTE: The term "finished gasoline" refers to all products that are commonly known or sold as gasoline and are suitable for immediate use as a motor fuel.

CONTACT
Steven Silvers
Corporate Communications & Public Relations
Sundrop Fuels, Inc.
Mobile: 303-596-9960
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sundrop Fuels, Inc.