Aemetis receives key equipment for MVR system at California ethanol plant

Aemetis on June 17 said it received key equipment for a $40 million mechanical vapor recompression system at its Keyes, California, ethanol plant, including high-efficiency turbofans. The company said the upgrade is designed to cut natural gas use at the 65 million gallon-per-year facility by about 80% while lowering carbon intensity.

The project is built around a tighter energy loop at the plant, which has operated since 2011. Aemetis has said the MVR system should generate about $32 million in incremental annual cash flow once it is running, with the value coming from lower fuel use, higher Low Carbon Fuel Standard revenues and transferrable Section 45Z production tax credits.

The latest equipment delivery follows a September 9, 2025 engineering, procurement and construction contract with NPL Construction Co., a subsidiary of Centuri Holdings, Inc., for an estimated total project cost of $30 million. Aemetis said in October that Praj Industries was supplying the advanced low-carbon solution and key equipment for the project, with NPL handling implementation.

Aemetis also said the upgrade had secured about $19.7 million in grants and tax credits from the California Energy Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service through Section 48C investment tax credits and related public incentives. In December 2025, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued the Authority to Construct air permits for the MVR project, which Aemetis said remained on track for completion in the second quarter of 2026.

The Keyes project is one of the clearest examples of how ethanol producers are trying to compete on operating efficiency as much as on volume. Aemetis has tied the investment to expected E15 adoption in California and to stronger LCFS pricing, and it has framed the MVR system as a way to improve operating margins and strengthen cash flow at a plant that already has a long operating history in the state.