Yilkins joins as the first BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partner

— YILKINS TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP DE-RISK AND ACCELERATE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN BDO ZONES —

January 12^th, 2022 Eastern daylight time

Ecostrat is pleased to announce that Yilkins has joined as the first BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partner– Technology Group. BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partners are best-of-kind companies that help de-risk bio-based project development in BDO Zones.

“The BDO Zone Initiative delivers critical biomass feedstock knowledge and sources to enable new, biomass-based sustainable supply chains for which Yilkins has developed highly efficient and cost-efficient biomass conversion technologies which produce valuable products for energy, industrial, chemical, and bio-fuels applications. Our strategic partnership with the BDO Zone Initiative contributes to sustainable value creation, sustainable development goals, and new jobs in rural areas” says Guy Penard, Vice President, Yilkins North America.

Jordan Solomon, President of Ecostrat, states: “A BDO Zone rating signals that a region has undergone rigorous and extensive due diligence using over 100 standardized, transparent, and validated risk indicators based on the BSCR Standards for biobased investment. “A” and “AA” BDO Zone Ratings identify areas in the country best positioned for low-risk bioeconomy project development.

BDO Zones do three key things: they help project developers identify new project locations easier and faster; they help investors more quickly deploy capital in these regions; and they help communities create new clean energy jobs. Oftentimes, small communities don’t have the platform or the credibility to promote themselves as great areas for future biobased development. BDO Zone designations change that, and raise the flag over these communities as some of the best areas in the country to build the next bio-based plant.”

American biomass provides an economic development engine with the potential to create 160,000 jobs and nearly $15 billion of economic benefit. The BDO Zone Initiative can help the U.S. realize this potential by supporting new market development for American bioenergy, advanced biofuels, biobased heat and power, bio-materials, and clean hydrogen.

About Yilkins

Yilkins is an innovative, renewable technology company dedicated to the valorization of biomass residues into renewable energy and high-value industrial and chemical products. Yilkins proprietary technology platform enables companies to produce high quality solid biofuel from biomass residues for energy, industrial and chemical applications.

The company’s technology platform offers solutions in drying, torrefaction, separation of residue streams and the manufacturing of high carbon containing products like biochar from biomass residues and organic waste material including herbaceous, agricultural biomass and sludges.

For more information about Yilkins, visit www.yilkins.com. To connect with Guy Penard, Vice President, Yilkins North America, email g.penard@yilkins.com.

About The BDO Zone Initiative

The BDO Zone Initiative (www.bdozone.org) is an economic development platform that enables local communities to deploy powerful economic development tools – BDO Zone Ratings—to achieve the goal of driving, accelerating and catalyzing biobased investment and commercial project development in BDO Zone designated regions for new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas and bioproduct plants. BDO Zone ratings do this by carrying out credible technical evaluations on feedstock and infrastructure risk, and then enabling communities to effectively and easily signal and promote key feedstock and infrastructure “success” characteristics valued by biobased developers and investors around the world.

‘AA’ or ‘A’ rated BDO Zones identify the best areas for low-risk bioeconomy project development. BDO Zone ratings enable distressed communities to add capacity to support deployment of innovative technology and infrastructure, and this drives regional economic development to areas where poverty has been persistent for generations, harnessing natural resources to support biobased manufacturing and renewable energy production.

BDO Zones have the ability to move the needle on job creation, decarbonization, and social justice. By achieving the goal of 1,000 BDO Zones in four years across the US, this Initiative has the potential to create over 160,000 clean jobs, reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions by 2.59%, and provide $30,000,000/year into the local economy.

BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partners are best-of-kind companies that help de-risk bio-based project development in BDO Zones. It is divided into four groups: Capital Market Partners, Project Partners, Technology Partners, and Supply Chain Partners.

For more information about the BDO Zone Initiative, please visit www.bdozone.org.

About Ecostrat

Ecostrat led the USDOE/BETO funded project to develop the new investment Standards and Ratings for Biomass Supply Chain Risk. Its Biomass Supply Group has over 25 years of experience in sourcing and supplying over 5 million tons of biomass feedstock for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects across North America. Its Advisory Group combines the BSCR Standards with powerful predictive analytics to understand and minimize supply chain risk.

Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat. He has overseen development and operation of biomass supply chains for over 5,000,000 tons of feedstock over two decades for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects.

Jordan Solomon can be reached at jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com.

For more information on Ecostrat, visit the company’s website at www.ecostrat.com/standards.