Gevo Secures Funding from Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Feb. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) has been awarded part of The Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund to support the development of waste to biofutures projects in Queensland, Australia.

The W2B fund provides targeted funding for pilot, demonstration or commercially scalable biorefinery projects in Queensland that use conventional waste streams or biomass to produce bioenergy, biofuels and high-value bioproducts.



“We are thrilled to be awarded funding from W2B, which will allow us to further our assessment of a contemplated second generation (2G) feedstock to biofuel project in Queensland. Queensland is rich in renewable biomass resources and has expressed the desire to invest in the future of biofuels. This opportunity opens the door for the development of a project that not only supplies low carbon gasoline to Queensland, but also the possibility to supply commercial quantities of 2G sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to the Brisbane Airport, expanding upon our demonstrations of SAF supply to commercial airlines like those conducted with Virgin Australia over the last several months,” said Patrick Gruber, Chief Executive Officer of Gevo. 

Gevo supplied the renewable fuel used in Virgin Australia’s trial of sustainable aviation fuel at Brisbane Airport which was completed in June last year.

Speaking from the Bio Based Aviation and Marine Fuels Summit in Gladstone, Queensland, the Minister for State Development, Cameron Dick, said, “The Queensland Government was excited to be supporting Gevo’s research collaboration with the Queensland University of Technology to turn Queensland sugarcane waste and wood waste into SAF.

"Gevo has recognized that Queensland is the place to be when it comes to the future of biofuels and we look forward to an ongoing partnership which has the potential to bring even more business to Queensland, as demand for biofuels grows. In addition to offering environmental benefits by reducing the carbon footprint of plane travel, this project will also help position Queensland as a world-leading location for investment in the manufacture and distribution of this fuel in the global bioproducts and services market. Gevo’s participation in the successful sustainable aviation fuel trial at the Brisbane Airport led to Queensland being considered as the location for the company’s first biorefinery outside of the United States.

“Having the ability to turn our agriculture waste into sustainable fuel means more jobs in agriculture and biofutures across our regions," Minister Dick concluded.

For this project, Gevo is evaluating the most likely 2G biomass to carbohydrate conversion process to use in conjunction with its proven carbohydrate to low carbon biofuel process. 

Presently, at Gevo’s facility in Luverne, Minnesota, Gevo fractionates grain from sustainably produced crops to produce protein and animal feed while using the residual carbohydrate portion of the grain for fermentation to produce the intermediate chemical: isobutanol. The isobutanol is then chemically transformed using a hydrocarbon processing facility into renewable gasoline, diesel and SAF meeting ASTM D7566 (Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons). The SAF made by this process has very low sulfur, low particulates, and slightly higher energy density than petroleum-based jet fuel.



For every gallon of renewable hydrocarbons produced, like our SAF, Gevo also produces approximately 10 pounds of protein that goes into the food supply chain and can sequester up to 2 pounds of carbon dioxide as carbon into the soil making it one of the only renewable jet fuels to produce both food and fuel while sequestering carbon dioxide and lowering the GHG emissions as compared to traditional fossil-based jet fuel.

About Gevo

Gevo is commercializing the next generation of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel with the potential to achieve zero carbon emissions and address the market need of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sustainable alternatives. Gevo uses low-carbon renewable resource-based carbohydrates as raw materials and is in an advanced state of developing renewable electricity and renewable natural gas for use in production processes. As a result, Gevo is able to produce low-carbon fuels with substantially reduced carbon intensity (as measured by the level of greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard petroleum fossil-based fuels across their lifecycle). Gevo’s products perform as well or better than traditional fossil-based fuels in infrastructure and engines, but with substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to addressing the environmental problems of fossil-based carbon fuels, Gevo’s technology also enables certain plastics, such as polyester, to be made with more sustainable ingredients. Gevo’s ability to penetrate the growing low-carbon fuels market depends on the price of oil and the value of abating carbon emissions that would otherwise increase greenhouse gas emissions. Gevo believes that its proven, patented technology that enables the use of a variety of low-carbon sustainable feedstocks to produce price-competitive, low carbon products, such as jet fuel, gasoline components like isooctane and isobutanol and diesel fuel, yields the potential to generate project and corporate returns that justify the build-out of a multi-billion-dollar business. Learn more at .

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to a variety of matters, including, without limitation, statements related to Queensland Waste to Biofuels (W2B) Fund, the technical analysis, Gevo’s plans and ability to do business in Queensland, Gevo’s ability to produce greater quantities of SAF, including commercial quantities of 2G SAF, and other statements that are not purely statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Gevo and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Gevo undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Gevo believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Gevo in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Gevo for the year ended December 31, 2018, as amended, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Gevo.

Investor and Media Contact

Shawn M. Severson

Integra Investor Relations