Biofuels company Sundrop Fuels Inc. says it has finalized a licensing agreement to use ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Co.'s methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) technology in its "green gasoline" production facility in Louisiana.

Sundrop Fuels says its plant will represent the first commercial production of biofuels using the MTG process, as well as its proprietary RP Reactor radiant particle heat transfer gassification technology. The company is breaking ground on the facility later this year, and it will produce up to 50 million gallons of renewable gasoline annually.

"ExxonMobil Research & Engineering's MTG technology gives Sundrop Fuels a proven fuels synthesis method to maximize the economic and environmental benefits gained through our company's production of clean, bio-based renewable gasoline," says Wayne Simmons, CEO of Sundrop Fuels.

Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. invested $155 million in Sundrop Fuels in mid-2011.