American Refining Group takes stake in Novvi

American Refining Group, Inc. (ARG) and Novvi LLC, a joint venture of Amyris, Inc., an integrated renewable products company, and Cosan S.A., one of the largest corporations in Brazil, with businesses in energy and infrastructure, including lubricants, announced that American Refining Group will take a one-third stake in the joint venture. Both Amyris and Cosan will continue to hold stakes in Novvi. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Novvi’s products and technology are recognized by the global lubricant market to deliver the best sustainable, high-performance solutions in a range of lubricant applications. American Refining Group’s Bradford, Penn., U.S.A.’s refinery, founded in 1881, is the oldest continuously operating refinery in North America.

“Our launch of Novvi’s synthetic base oils has been embraced by manufacturers in a range of top-tier lubricant segments, across both automotive and industrial applications,” said Jeff Brown, Novvi CEO. “Our partnership with American Refining Group will help accelerate our growth by providing the necessary resources to ensure manufacturing, supply, and delivery capabilities to scale our business for volume and to meet customer expectations.”

“ARG’s Bradford refinery was built on innovation and market leadership in 1881, and today we are seeing a change in the hydrocarbon economy, coupled with performance requirements in the base oil industry. This is an opportunity for ARG to lead the market once again — this time with a renewable product,” said Tim Brown, American Refining Group CEO.  “When we explored the value and synergies, we were struck by the enormous benefit to both companies. The potential benefits cut across our base oil, finished lubricants, solvents, and drilling fluids businesses.”

“We are very pleased with ARG’s financial, technical and commercial support of Novvi and their participation along with the strong demand for Novvi technology enables us to significantly grow into another billion dollar market for our farnesene technology,” said John Melo, president and CEO of Amyris.

“This agreement is the first of several we expect this year where we are divesting from non-core marketing activity while remaining key technology developers and producers of high performance chemistry that is remaking the world in a more sustainable way. And, with ARG’s support, we have the opportunity in working together with Cosan to more quickly expand the availability of renewable products into the global markets for base oils and lubricants, which are expected to reach USD 42 billion and USD 70 billion in size, respectively, by 2020. This market is yet another example of how Amyris’s farnesene is able to support the growth of large and diverse markets.”