GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, US — Sustainable Oils, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc., on Nov. 19 announced the company will soon begin construction of a 600,000-bushel storage and rail loading facility for its proprietary camelina oilseed in the first quarter of 2022.

The new facility, to be built on 45 acres near Great Falls, Montana, further expands Sustainable Oils’ presence in the state and creates significant logistical advantages at camelina harvest for both Sustainable Oils and its contract growers, the company said.

“Montana is the headquarters and epicenter for Sustainable Oils production in North America,” said Mike Karst, president, Sustainable Oils. “A dedicated grain facility in Havre provides regional contract growers added convenience and flexibility for delivery and storage of harvested camelina.

“With our adjacent proximity to the CHS Big Sky-Havre rail siding, we will be able to directly load unit trains of our grain to streamline transportation logistics to GCEH’s biorefinery in Bakersfield, California, or other extraction plants.”

Beginning in 2022, ExxonMobil has made a five-year commitment to purchase up to 220 million gallons of renewable diesel made from GCEH’s Bakersfield Renewable Fuels refinery in California.

Sustainable Oils’ long-term goal is to secure contracts to grow more than 1 million acres of Sustainable Oils’ camelina varieties across Montana and the High Plains.

Camelina traditionally has been cultivated as an oilseed crop to produce vegetable oil and animal feed. Ample archeological evidence shows it has been grown in Europe for at least 3,000 years. 

Studies have shown camelina-based jet fuel reduces net carbon emissions by about 80%. The United States Navy chose it as the feedstock for their first test of aviation biofuel, and successfully operated a static F414 engine in October 2009 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.