Comstock Fuels completes financing with Marathon Petroleum

Comstock Inc. announced Feb. 28 a new investment and strategic collaboration with Marathon Petroleum Corp. to advance its lignocellulosic biomass refining solutions to commercial maturity.

Comstock Fuels Corp., a subsidiary of Comstock Inc., has entered into a series of definitive agreements with subsidiaries of Marathon Petroleum involving the purchase of $14 million in Comstock Fuels equity.

The investment includes $1 million in cash and $13 million in payment-in-kind assets by Marathon, comprised of equipment, related intellectual properties and other materials located at a Marathon renewable fuel demonstration facility in Madison, Wisconsin.

Comstock Fuels will use the Madison facility to increase Comstock Fuels’ current pilot-production capabilities in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Comstock Fuels said its lignocellulosic biomass refining solutions are designed to align with oil producers by converting massive supplies of historically inaccessible biomass feedstock into drop-in hydrocarbon fuels for use in existing petroleum-based infrastructure.

“Most current forms of renewable fuel draw from the same pool of conventional feedstocks, including corn, soy and various vegetable oils in the U.S., and the entire universe of those feedstocks only represents a tiny fraction of the domestic fuel demand,” Comstock stated.

“In contrast, the U.S. DOE has previously estimated that America can produce upwards of 1 billion tons per year of biomass for conversion into fuel,” the company added. “That’s enough untapped feedstock to produce more than 3 billion barrels of fuel per year with Comstock Fuels’ refining solutions.”

Kevin Kreisler, Comstock Fuels’ chief technology officer, said, “We’re excited to collaborate with Marathon’s team as we work to integrate the Madison facility and advance our unique renewable fuels technology to commercial maturity.”

Comstock added that the transaction documents included Comstock Fuels’ board observation rights for Marathon and reiterated the parties’ commitment to finalize an offtake agreement, joint-development agreement and warrant agreement on or before May 31.

Additional information on the transaction documents is available online in Comstock’s Feb. 28 current report on Form 8-K.