Comstock Fuels and the BDO Zone Initiative Align to Accelerate Sustainable Fuel Development

OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Inc. (NYSE American: LODE) today announced that its subsidiary, Comstock Fuels Corporation (“Comstock Fuels”), has joined the BDO Zone Strategic Partners Network, a group of leading companies in the bioenergy sector that help accelerate and de-risk biobased project development in BDO Zones. The BDO Zone Initiative is an internationally recognized standards-based assessment which certifies “regional readiness for bio-manufacturing,” creates global connections, and ignites an influx of clean energy opportunities.

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This groundbreaking collaboration combines the BDO Zone Initiative’s proven expertise and dedication in certifying “regional readiness for biomanufacturing” in biomass-rich regions with Comstock Fuels' innovative renewable fuel solutions. This partnership will accelerate the identification, pre-certification, and deployment of qualified feedstocks and investment-grade sustainable fuel production sites, with proven conversion technology.

“Ecostrat's BDO Zone Initiative has frankly revolutionized how we identify, validate and enable prime locations for sustainable biomass production,” said David Winsness, president of Comstock Fuels. “By integrating Comstock Fuels as a strategic partner for these pre-vetted regions, we're accelerating commercialization by adding high competencies while eliminating critical barriers and redundancies to site selection and project deployment.”

The BDO Zone Initiative's rigorous standards-based regional readiness assessments provide project developers and investors with sophisticated technical and financial analysis of biomass feedstock availability, infrastructure readiness, and operational feasibility. This systematic approach aligns perfectly with Comstock Fuels' technology deployment prerequisites, positioning a standardized, turnkey solution for site and sustainable fuel project development.

“Comstock Fuels’ expertise and innovative technologies are positioned to unlock a substantial amount of carbon-neutral, lignocellulosic feedstock production, representing a natural and strong addition to the BDO Zone Strategic Partners Network,” stated Jordan Solomon, chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative. “This partnership will materially increase the speed and development of advanced biofuel projects and aligns with our mission to accelerate sustainable, low-carbon initiatives within BDO Zones.”

This partnership is expected to significantly reduce project development timelines and risks, while increasing the success rate of new sustainable fuel facilities. The combined strengths of both companies in one, repeatable, effective, systemic process will help meet the growing North America demand for renewable fuel solutions.

About The BDO Zone Initiative

The BDO Zone Initiative certifies regional readiness for bio-based manufacturing, creates global connections with project developers, and ignites an influx of clean energy opportunities. A BDO Zone rating is an internationally recognized standards-based technical risk assessment of biomass feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure risk with respect to the development potential of new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas, and bioproduct plants. Investment grade ratings attract new bio-based manufacturing plants to the areas where they are most likely to succeed and create jobs. For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, contact [email protected].

About Ecostrat Inc.

Ecostrat Inc. is the North American leader in biomass due diligence for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance. Ecostrat led the USDOE/BETO-funded project to develop the new investment standards and ratings for biomass supply chain risk. To learn more, please visit www.ecostrat.com.

About Comstock Fuels Corporation

Comstock Fuels Corporation (“Comstock Fuels”) delivers advanced lignocellulosic biomass refining solutions that set industry benchmarks for production of cellulosic ethanol, gasoline, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”), and other renewable Bioleum™ fuels, with extremely low carbon intensity scores of 15 and market-leading yields of up to 140 gallons per dry metric ton of feedstock (on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis, or “GGE”), depending on feedstock, site conditions, and other process parameters. Comstock Fuels additionally holds the exclusive rights to intellectual properties developed by Hexas Biomass Inc. (“Hexas”) for production of purpose-grown energy crops in liquid fuels applications with proven yields exceeding 25 to 30 dry metric tons per acre per year.

The combination of Comstock Fuels’ high-yield Bioleum refining platform and Hexas’ high-yield energy crops allows for the production of enough feedstock to produce upwards of 100 barrels of fuel per acre per year, effectively transforming marginal agricultural lands with regenerative practices into perpetual “drop-in sedimentary oilfields” with the potential to dramatically boost regional energy security and rural economies.

Comstock Fuels plans to contribute to domestic energy dominance by directly building, owning, and operating a network of Bioleum Refineries in the U.S. to produce about 200 million barrels of renewable fuel per year by 2035, starting with its planned first 400,000-barrel-per-year commercial demonstration facility in Oklahoma. Comstock Fuels also licenses its advanced feedstock and refining solutions to third parties for additional production in the U.S. and global markets, including several recently announced and other pending projects.

About Comstock Inc.

Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) innovates and commercializes technologies that are deployable across entire industries to contribute to energy abundance by efficiently extracting and converting under-utilized natural resources, such as waste and other forms of woody biomass into renewable fuels, and end-of-life electronics into recovered electrification metals. Comstock’s innovations group is also developing and using artificial intelligence technologies for advanced materials development and mineral discovery for sustainable mining. To learn more, please visit www.comstock.inc.