Gevo, Inc. operates as a growth-oriented, carbon abatement company. The company focuses on transforming renewable energy into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as renewable fuels, such as SAF, with the potential to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint.
The company uses the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation model (the GREET Model) to measure, predict and verify GHG emissions across the life cycle of...
Gevo, Inc. operates as a growth-oriented, carbon abatement company. The company focuses on transforming renewable energy into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as renewable fuels, such as SAF, with the potential to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint.
The company uses the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation model (the GREET Model) to measure, predict and verify GHG emissions across the life cycle of its products. The company’s net-zero concept means the production of drop-in hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals by using sustainably grown feedstocks (e.g., low till, no-till and dry corn cultivation, or other carbohydrate sources); renewable, substantially decarbonized energy sources; and process technologies to lower GHG emissions, resulting in an expected net-zero carbon footprint from the full life cycle of the fuel measured from the capture of renewable carbon through the burning of the fuel.
The company’s primary market focus, given current demand and growing customer interest, is hydrocarbon fuels, and SAF in particular. The company has commercial opportunities for other renewable hydrocarbon products, such as RNG; hydrocarbons for gasoline blendstocks and diesel fuel; ingredients for the chemical industry, such as ethylene and butenes; plastics and materials; and other chemicals. Global fuel consumption by commercial airlines continues to remain strong, with global fuel consumption at more than 100 billion gallons per year (BGPW) and growing.
Greenfield Projects
The company’s initial greenfield Net-Zero Project, Net-Zero 1 (NZ1), is expected to be located in Lake Preston, South Dakota, and is designed to produce approximately 65 million gallons per year (MGPY) of total hydrocarbon volumes, including 60 MGPY of SAF. The plant is expected to be powered by wind-based electricity. The liquid hydrocarbons, when burned, are expected to have a net-zero GHG footprint. Along with the hydrocarbons, NZ1 is expected to produce approximately 695,000 tons per year of high-value protein products for use in the food chain and more than 34 million pounds per year of corn oil. The company’s products will be produced in three steps: the first step is milling the corn to produce the carbohydrates needed for the production of SAF while simultaneously enabling the production of protein and oil; the second step produces alcohols using carbohydrate-based fermentation; and the third step is the conversion of the alcohols into hydrocarbons.
The company completed the value engineering on its NZ1 project and are proceeding with detailed engineering and modularization design. The company has substantially completed the engineering design of NZ1. The company has substantially completed value engineering. The company focuses on detail engineering with its EPC partners, to reduce and contractually finalize a negotiated lump-sum, fixed price agreement whereby the EPC partners will build and deliver the plant.
The company has substantially completed the engineering design of NZ1. The company has substantially completed value engineering and focuses on detail engineering with its EPC partners, to reduce and contractually finalize a negotiated lump-sum, fixed price agreement whereby the EPC partners will build and deliver the plant.
Segments
The company operates through three segments: Gevo, Agri-Energy and Renewable Natural Gas.
Gevo
The Gevo segment is responsible for all research and development activities related to the future production of SAF, commercial opportunities for other renewable hydrocarbon products, such as hydrocarbons for gasoline blendstocks and diesel fuel; ingredients for the chemical industry, such as ethylene and butenes; plastics and materials; and other chemicals. The Gevo segment also develops, maintains and protects its intellectual property portfolio, provides corporate oversight services, and is responsible for development and construction of the company’s Net-Zero Projects and Verity.
Agri-Energy
The Agri-Energy segment is responsible for the operation of the company’s Luverne Facility, and the development and optimization of the production of isobutanol, ethanol and related products.
Renewable Natural Ga
The Renewable Natural Gas segment produces-pipeline quality methane gas captured from dairy cow manure.
Facilities and Projects
Development Scale Facility
The company owns a development scale plant, the Luverne Facility. The Luverne Facility is located on approximately 55 acres of land containing approximately 50,000 square feet of building space. In 2022, the activities at the company’s Luverne Facility were transitioned to care and maintenance, market development, and customer education, as it shifted focus to its Net-Zero Projects. The Luverne Facility is well equipped and positioned as a development site as it provides a unique opportunity to showcase its decarbonization and business systems and raise awareness for future partnerships, investors, and local communities, even though operations at the site have been minimized.
RNG Facilities
The company developed Gevo’s initial RNG project, Gevo RNG, in Northwest Iowa to generate RNG captured from dairy cow manure which is supplied by three dairies located in Northwest Iowa. Gevo RNG has a designed capacity of 400,000 MMBtu of RNG per year. The RNG is sold into the California market under dispensing agreements BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and BP Products North America Inc. (collectively, BP) have in place with Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the largest fueling infrastructure in the U.S. for RNG. The company commenced construction of the Gevo RNG project in April 2021, and in the third quarter of 2022, the Gevo RNG project ramped up production of biogas, raw biogas upgrading to RNG and the injection of RNG into an interconnected natural gas pipeline.
The company has four leases for land and three fuel supply agreements related to the Gevo RNG project. Under these contracts, the company leases land from dairy farmers on which it has built a gas upgrading unit, three anaerobic digesters, related equipment and pipelines. These leases expire at various dates between 2031 and 2050.
Development Properties
In July 2022, the company purchased approximately 240 acres of land for NZ1 in Lake Preston, South Dakota, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony in Lake Preston in September 2022
Intellectual Property and Technologies
The processes used to convert carbohydrates to drop in hydrocarbons using isobutanol as the intermediate alcohol is protected by a global patent portfolio with more than 300 patents, as well as proprietary processes and know-how. Certain production technology to convert ethanol to hydrocarbons has been exclusively licensed to Gevo in the U.S. by Axens, and incorporates more than 60 patents, as well as proprietary production technology and know-how. Additionally, the company has multiple patents and patent applications covering the ethanol to hydrocarbons routes.
The company has a proprietary fermentation yeast biocatalyst that has been designed to consume carbohydrates and produce isobutanol as a product. The company’s technology team developed the company’s proprietary biocatalyst to efficiently convert fermentable sugars of all types into isobutanol by engineering isobutanol pathways into the biocatalyst.
Government Regulation - Environmental Compliance
The company’s air emissions are subject to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and similar state and local laws and associated regulations.
History
The company was founded in 2005. It was incorporated in Delaware in 2005. The company was formerly known as Methanotech, Inc. and changed its name to Gevo, Inc. in 2006.