Amyris and U.S. Venture Announce Plans for Joint Venture in Development of Renewable Lubricants

Amyris, Inc., a leading producer of integrated renewable products, today announced plans to establish a joint venture with U.S. Venture, Inc., a distributor of industrial and automotive aftermarket products and lubricants, for the production, marketing and distribution of finished lubricants for the North American market. The joint venture would market and sell lubricants employing Amyris’s synthetic renewable base oils derived from Biofene™. The parties aim to sign definitive agreements in the second quarter of this year.

The plans for the joint venture anticipate that U.S. Venture would contribute to the joint venture its existing regional lubricants business, known in the market as U.S. Lubricants, including products and customer relationships in the industrial, commercial and consumer segments. Amyris would facilitate access to a supply of its proprietary synthetic renewable base oils and formulations for a range of lubricant products using those base oils.

“This joint venture will be an important step in accelerating our capability to develop and commercialize our No Compromise® renewable lubricants,” said Amyris CEO John Melo. “U.S. Venture is a leader in industrial lubricants, and we’re looking forward to combining our breakthrough technology and products with an established technology partner and distributor.”

“This relationship addresses U.S. Lubricants’s drive to meet the evolving needs of our customers and to expand our reach in key target sectors of our lubricants business. We believe that Amyris’s renewable base oil technology would be highly complementary to our existing product line and would provide our customers with access to high performing lubricants with reduced environmental impact,” said John Schmidt, CEO of U.S. Venture.

Under the planned arrangement, Amyris would become the majority economic beneficiary of the joint venture. Amyris is working on the production of a complete line of renewable lubricants, including hydraulic, compressor, turbine and gear oil and grease, as well as 2-cycle and 4-cycle engine oil. The product line would be designed to provide No Compromise performance and equipment protection equal or superior to that of existing synthetic lubricants, while offering environmental benefits such as improved biodegradability and low toxicity compared to traditional petroleum-based lubricants.