Gevo Advances Biofuels Project in DOE Loan Guarantee Program

Gevo, a leading producer of advanced biofuels, has announced significant progress in its Net-Zero 1 Development project. The company has completed the engineering work and is now in the "diligence phase" of the Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee program to secure funding for the construction of the ethanol-to-jet project.

In addition, Gevo has commenced ordering long-lead equipment for Net-Zero 1 Development, a sustainable aviation fuel production facility in South Dakota. The facility, which is currently under construction, will have a capacity of 65 million gallons per year. Gevo also plans to utilize the plant to produce other hydrocarbons and approximately 1.5 billion pounds of high-value nutritional products annually.

Gevo made significant strides in August 2023 when Net-Zero 1 advanced to the next phase for a $950 million loan guarantee under the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. The DOE recognized the project's potential to join its portfolio of loans. While Gevo expressed confidence in securing funding, it identified the DOE loan guarantee program as the potential bottleneck in achieving financial close. The company is also exploring additional locations for future Net-Zero plants.

As part of its initiative to finalize the contracted price, Net-Zero 1 is currently in the value engineering phase. Gevo's contract with McDermott, an oil and gas-focused engineering firm, is nearing finalization, pending only the contracted construction price.

Furthermore, Gevo provided an update on Verity, its end-to-end carbon accounting solution SaaS software business. The company expects to generate its first revenue from Verity in 2024 and aims to pursue scalable customer growth by 2025.

On a separate note, Gevo's pilot plant utilizing ethanol-to-olefins technology has commenced production and is operating as anticipated.