Mississippi supports five wood-to-crude oil plants

Aug. 30, 2010, Pasadena, TX – KiOR Inc., a next-generation energy company, has agreed to
build five commercial-scale renewable crude oil production facilities in
Mississippi in return for a state assistance package that includes a $75
million loan. According to the agreement, KiOR will build three of the five
facilities over the next five years. By 2015, the project will deliver more
than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and an estimated $500 million worth of
investment. In addition to the loan, the state’s package includes assistance
with infrastructure needs and workforce training.

The company plans to use Mississippi’s abundant supply of woody biomass to produce
commercial volumes of Re-Crude, a high-quality crude oil that can be refined
into conventional fuel products, including gasoline and diesel, and deployed in
the country’s existing transportation fuels infrastructure.

KiOR has
developed a biomass-to-renewable crude oil conversion process that uses a
proprietary catalyst system and leverages a proven technology used in the oil
refining industry. It has significant cost advantages, including lower capital
and operating costs, compared to other biofuels technologies. KiOR will
initially use woody biomass in its process, but the technology can eventually
take advantage of other feedstocks such as agricultural residue or
purpose-grown energy crops. The process is being demonstrated successfully at
the company’s facility located outside of Houston, Texas, which is producing up
to 15 barrels/day of renewable crude oil from woodchips, a 400-times scale-up
from the company’s pilot plant.