NRC set to test renewable jet fuel

September 12, 2012, Berlin, Germany – Applied Research Associates (ARA)
and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) are partnering with the National Research
Council of Canada (NRC), the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., a Canadian firm with a growing presence in the
biofuel feedstock market, to evaluate CLG and ARA’s 100% drop-in ReadiJet™
Fuel.

ARA and
NRC will test the renewable jet fuel against ASTM and military specifications
and evaluate the fuel in ground based engine tests, with the initiative
culminating in a test flight with the NRC Falcon-20 twin-engine jet. This
flight will be the first time in the world a jet aircraft is powered by 100%
un-blended, renewable jet fuel that meets petroleum jet fuel specifications. ARA
produced the biofuel ReadiJet™ under contract to AFRL, from Agrisoma’s Resonance™
feedstock crop using CLG’s and ARA’s breakthrough Biofuel ISOCONVERSION
process.

During
the test flight a second aircraft, the National Research Council’s T33 jet,
will fly behind the Falcon 20 to measure the emissions of the engine operating
on both the ReadiJet biofuel and on conventional petroleum-based aviation fuel.
Systems onboard the Falcon 20 will allow NRC’s flight research team to switch
back and forth between the two fuel types throughout the flight. This data will
be the first of its kind to evaluate biojet fuel emissions of an aircraft
engine operating on 100% biofuel. NRC’s unique expertise will support Agrisoma
Biosciences and CLG/ARA efforts to validate the Resonance-based ReadiJet
biofuel as a viable and sustainable option for the aviation industry.

Resonance™ is a member of the mustard
oilseed crop family, and was introduced into commercial production in Canada in
2012. Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., a long-time NRC partner, commercialized the
oilseed to provide the industry with a sustainable energy feedstock crop: a
non-food, industrial oilseed that is well-suited for production in semi-arid
areas, making it ideal for producers who can grow the crops on marginal land.
“NRC is helping Agrisoma complete the value chain for Resonance-based
alternative jet fuels,” said Steven Fabijanski, President and CEO of Agrisoma.

The
Biofuel ISOCONVERSION Process is made up of:

•       ARA’s Catalytic Hydrothermolysis
(CH) process, which mimics nature’s way of converting biomass to petroleum
crude. While nature’s processes take millions of years to produce petroleum
crude, it takes minutes for the CH process to turn plant oils into a high
quality crude oil intermediate. The technology is proven in mature pilot
systems. A U.S. patent was granted to ARA in 2010 on the CH process.

•       CLG’s ISOCONVERSION™ Catalysts
efficiently upgrade the crude oil intermediate produced by the CH reactor into
on-specification, finished fuels. The final products are all fungible and
nearly identical to petroleum-derived fuels. ReadiJet™ fuel is tailored to meet
all commercial and military jet fuel specifications.

“The
integrated ARA/CLG Biofuel ISOCONVERSION process and Agrisoma’s Resonance™
feedstock provide a pathway for fulfilling the commercial and military
markets’ requirements for alternative fuels at parity with petroleum while
spurring opportunities for farmers,” said Chuck Red, ARA’s Alternative Fuels
Program Lead. “We look forward to this partnership with NRC to help us validate
the combination of Canadian developed and grown feedstocks and our processing
technology as a leading alternative fuel solution.”