MOU Underpins Feedstock Confidence for NEXT; Expands Global Trading for Dansuk.
HOUSTON, May 15, 2023 – NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. (“NEXT”) and Dansuk Industrial Corporation (“Dansuk”) have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to jointly develop strategic and commercial partnerships including, but not limited to, partnerships involving feedstock, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (collectively, “Feedstock and Biofuels”).
Dansuk is a leading biodiesel producer and feedstock aggregator headquartered in South Korea. Dansuk has significant positions in low-carbon feedstocks in the Asia region and ample tank farm infrastructure for feedstock and product storage. This MOU is Dansuk’s first feedstock agreement with an American clean-fuels company. NEXT is designing a world-scale clean fuels facility in Oregon to provide low-carbon renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel to global markets.
The MOU envisions creating a Definive Framework Agreement involving (i) a two-party commercial arrangement that could include the supply and sale of Feedstock and Biofuels between the pares through NEXT’s wholly-owned subsidiary, GoLoBiomass, LLC; and/or (ii) a strategic arrangement between the pares which could involve investment in, and development of, feedstock pre-treatment facilities in South Korea, the United States and/or other countries.
“Our MOU with Dansuk advances our relaonship with a global leader in low-carbon feedstock aggregaon and renewable fuel producon while connuing to build our compeve advantage in producing clean fuels in the United States,” said Christopher Efird, CEO and Chairperson of NEXT. “We are thrilled to be working with Dansuk and excited to be able to leverage their experse in the industry as we work toward establishing low carbon intensity feedstock supply lines worldwide.”
Christopher Efird, CEO and Chairperson of NEXT
Dansuk is working to contribute to human society by pursuing its social and environmental responsibilities under the founding philosophy of “A company must continue to thrive and develop as it contributes to human society.” Through active investment in eco-friendly business, it has successfully built a biofuel business that achieved exporting roughly 70 percent of the total biofuel export in Korea in 2022. The biofuel exported by Dansuk over the past 10 years has contributed to reducing global carbon emissions by about 2.4 million tons. Dansuk plans to further expand its recycling biofuel business portfolio to include sustainable marine fuels, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation businesses.
“Biofuel is a newly emerging eco-friendly renewable fuel, a sustainable and future-oriented business field, and I am delighted to advance our decarbonization efforts through the MOU with NEXT. Dansuk aims to become a global company, and we have high confidence in this partnership as it is our first feedstock agreement with an American clean fuels company.” said Seung-uk Han, CEO and Chairperson of Dansuk.
The MOU focuses on feedstocks derived from used cooking oil and animal tallows, but other sources could also be included. Historically, used cooking oil and animal tallows would be discarded in landfills, but companies like NEXT and Dansuk would use this waste to create fuels that are 60-80 percent cleaner than petroleum-based fuels. The United States and South Korea have established goals to accelerate the use of clean fuels in an effort to combat climate change and decarbonize the transportation industry. The DansukNEXT collaboration will contribute to these broader decarbonization efforts through partnerships across the value chain focusing on low-carbon feedstocks. Additionally, the collaboration could also include infrastructure and pretreatment development as the two companies explore leveraging each other’s existing and future facilities through commercial agreements to further strengthen the companies’ strategic partnership.
MEDIA CONTACT
Michael Hinrichs
805-453-1346
michael@nxtclean.com
About NEXT
NEXT is a next generation fuels company dedicated to sustainably producing clean, low-carbon fuels. The company’s initial project is a 50,000 barrel-per-day / 750 million gallon-per-year Renewable Diesel (“RD”) / Sustainable Aviation Fuel (“SAF”) refinery in Oregon with easy multimodal access to the West Coast demand markets. The project is advancing through permitting and expects to begin construction upon completion of an Environmental Impact Statement currently underway with the US Army Corp of Engineers. RD and SAF are high-margin liquid transportation fuels worldwide and there is a global demand for increased supply. To learn more about NEXT, please visit www.nxtclean.com.
About Industrial Tech Acquisitions II, Inc.
ITAQ is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. ITAQ is sponsored by Texas Ventures, a leading technology and venture capital firm with expertise in capital markets and structured finance. The firm provides guidance, insight, and capital to assist entrepreneurial teams and managers who have the desire and talent to build exceptional companies. The Texas Ventures’ approach is to identify emerging trends and opportunities prior to recognition by the broader marketplace and to take a proactive approach in working with entrepreneurs and managers who they believe have the ability to build world-class companies.
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