President Obama Says Biofuels Critical to National Security

Highlights Military Use of Camelina-Based Biojet Fuel Made by Sustainable Oils

WASHINGTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Sustainable Oils CEO Tom Todaro was one of only 10 VIP guests invited to attend President Obama’s event on energy security today at Andrews Air Force Base. In his remarks, the President reinforced his commitment to domestic energy security through continued development of the U.S. biofuel industry, as well as increased offshore oil drilling. He highlighted the use of renewable fuels by the U.S. military, including biojet fuel produced by Sustainable Oils.

“[T]his announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy”

“[T]his announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy,” said President Obama.

The President highlighted the military’s use of biofuels to power aircraft and ground vehicles, including last week’s historic flight of an Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, which ran on a 50-50 blend of biojet fuel produced by Sustainable Oils. Next month, the Navy will fly an FA-18 “Green Hornet” on the same camelina-based jet fuel. It will be the first aircraft ever to fly faster than the speed of sound powered by renewable, domestically-produced biojet fuel.

“Today, President Obama made it clear that our overall national security is tied to how quickly we can develop domestic energy supplies,” said Todaro. “Sustainable Oils is committed to meeting that imperative by working with farmers across America to produce renewable, sustainable and domestic fuel that not only increases our national security, but also reduces emissions and creates jobs and economic opportunity.”

Camelina was selected for initial testing by the military because it does not compete with food crops, has been proven to reduce carbon emissions by more than 80 percent, and has already been successfully tested in a commercial airline test flight. In addition, camelina has naturally high oil content, is drought tolerant and requires less fertilizer and herbicides. It is an excellent rotation crop with wheat, and can also grow on marginal land.

Camelina is the most readily available renewable fuel feedstock that meets the military’s criteria, with the ability to scale up acreage to meet demand. The camelina for the test flights was primarily grown in 2009 and harvested in September 2009 by farmers in Montana. The company also has several field trials in Washington state.

Camelina has also been proven to significantly reduce carbon emissions in aviation fuel. A life cycle analysis (LCA) of jet fuel created from camelina conducted at Michigan Tech University in conjunction with UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company, and Sustainable Oils found that the renewable fuel reduces carbon emissions by 80 percent compared to petroleum jet fuel.

About Sustainable Oils

Sustainable Oils, LLC is a producer and marketer of renewable, environmentally clean, and high-value camelina-based renewable fuels. A joint venture between Targeted Growth, Inc., a renewable energy bioscience company, and Green Earth Fuels, a vertically integrated biodiesel energy company, Sustainable Oils is focused on the continued research and development of dedicated energy crops such as camelina. Sustainable Oils solidly supports both agricultural and green energy initiatives with camelina, which is efficiently and economically grown even on marginal lands, harvested with traditional equipment, and requires minimal water. More information is available at www.susoils.com.