Subscribe to this RSS feed

In the News

Gevo to Supply Jet Fuel to Virgin Australia at Brisbane Airport in Australia Flights Expected to be Flown through the End of 2018

Gevo

October 3, 2017

Press Release

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), announced today that it expects to supply its renewable alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ) to the Virgin Australia Group, a leading Australian airline group.  The Virgin Australia Group will be responsible for coordinating the purchase, supply and blending of the ATJ into the fuel supply system at Brisbane Airport in Queensland, Australia. Gevo’s ATJ is expected to be blended with traditional jet fuel and supplied on flights departing Brisbane Airport, including Virgin Australia flights.  It is currently contemplated that Gevo will ship the first gallons of ATJ to the Virgin Australia Group in October 2017.

Gevo will supply the ATJ from its hydrocarbon plant based in Silsbee, Texas. The ATJ is derived from isobutanol produced at its commercial isobutanol plant located in Luverne, Minnesota (the “Luverne Facility”).

Gevo is looking to expand its isobutanol production capabilities at the Luverne Facility to enable larger production volumes of its ATJ in the future. Gevo has a goal in 2017 of obtaining binding supply contracts for a combination of isobutanol and hydrocarbon products (ATJ and isooctane) equal to at least 50% of the capacity of the anticipated expanded Luverne Facility. These supply contracts are expected to form the basis on which Gevo would set the specific configuration of the Luverne Facility in terms of end product mix between isobutanol, ATJ and isooctane.

The Queensland government is supporting the arrangement as a first step in the development of a renewable jet fuel production industry in the state. Queensland is looking to leverage carbohydrate-based feedstocks, abundant to its local agricultural sector, to support the build-out of renewable jet fuel production plants in the future. Gevo is well positioned to play a role in this growth, as the company believes its ATJ is cost advantaged in comparison to other renewable jet alternatives derived from carbohydrate-based feedstocks.

Virgin Australia Group Chief Executive Officer John Borghetti said: “This initiative builds on Virgin Australia’s commitment to be a leader in the commercialization of the sustainable aviation fuel industry in Australia. The project announced today is critical to testing the fuel supply chain infrastructure in Australia to ensure that Virgin Australia and Brisbane Airport are ready for the commercial supply of these exciting fuels.”

“Biojet is fast becoming a staple of the aviation industry, and Brisbane is joining major airports such as Los Angeles and Oslo in embracing a sustainable aviation future. Although the aviation biojet fuel sector is quite new, there has been more than a decade of work behind it and hundreds of thousands of hours of fuel testing to prove the fuels are compatible with fossil based fuels. The first aviation biojet fuels were approved for commercial flights in 2011,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

“We are excited to work in partnership with Virgin Australia, the Queensland government and the Brisbane Airport Corporation to enable flights out of the Brisbane Airport using our ATJ. We believe Queensland offers huge potential for low-cost, biomass-based feedstocks to produce biofuels. When I visited Queensland last year for the Biofutures Industry Forum, I discovered the depth and diversity of its agriculture sector. It really opened our eyes to Queensland's potential for sustainable aviation fuels based on Gevo’s ATJ technology,” added Dr. Patrick Gruber, Gevo’s Chief Executive Officer. 

About Gevo
Gevo is a renewable technology, chemical products, and next generation biofuels company. Gevo has developed proprietary technology that uses a combination of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering to focus primarily on the production of isobutanol, as well as related products from renewable feedstocks. Gevo’s strategy is to commercialize bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based products to allow for the optimization of fermentation facilities’ assets, with the ultimate goal of maximizing cash flows from the operation of those assets. Gevo produces isobutanol, ethanol and high-value animal feed at its fermentation plant in Luverne, Minnesota. Gevo has also developed technology to produce hydrocarbon products from renewable alcohols. Gevo currently operates a biorefinery in Silsbee, Texas, in collaboration with South Hampton Resources Inc., to produce renewable jet fuel, octane, and ingredients for plastics like polyester. Gevo has a marquee list of partners including The Coca-Cola Company, Toray Industries Inc. and Total SA, among others. Gevo is committed to a sustainable bio-based economy that meets society’s needs for plentiful food and clean air and water.

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, which include statements relating to the commercial flights to be flown by Virgin Australia, Gevo’s supply of ATJ, Gevo’s plans and goals, including its plans to expand the Luverne Facility, the Queensland government’s plans to develop the renewable jet fuel production industry and the properties of Gevo’s ATJ, 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, 2016, 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.

Media Contact
David Rodewald
The David James Agency, LLC
+1 805-494-9508
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Investor Contact
Shawn M. Severson
EnergyTech Investor, LLC
+1 415-233-7094
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
 @ShawnEnergyTech
www.energytechinvestor.com

Read the original press release: Gevo to Supply Jet Fuel to Virgin Australia at Brisbane Airport in Australia Flights Expected to be Flown through the End of 2018

Read more...

Trump Must Make the Renewable Fuel Standard Great Again

Des Moines Register

October 2, 2017

By Steve Roe

In the decade since the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been in place, it's been a tremendous success, providing a cleaner, lower-cost choice for consumers and boosting local economies.

However, two recent actions by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, and a rumored third proposal, threaten to reverse the progress made and put refiners — not consumers — in the driver's seat.

Administrator Pruitt has indicated he wants to lower the price of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), the credits used by refiners in the RFS to add flexibility and lower cost in the program. That's driving EPA's rationale for proposing to lower the 2018 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO), the first time the agency has lowered the RFS from the previous year's level.

Administrator Pruitt's RIN price destruction campaign is not ending there. Recently, EPA released a Notice of Data Availability, seeking comment on another idea hatched by the oil industry — to lower the 2018 RVO's equivalent to potential biodiesel imports, arguing that the RFS was intended as a domestic fuel program and imported volumes should not be accounted for in determining available supply. 

The problem with this approach is obvious. First, reducing the RVO will not discourage imports from entering the U.S., meaning that available supply will remain the same, but demand will have been butchered, thus lowering prices for refiners. Second, for the U.S. to use a domestic energy program to discourage imports has "World Trade Organization violation" stamped all over it.

Meantime, a rumor circulating now suggests EPA is considering a proposal to allow RINs attached to exported gallons to count toward a refiner's RFS obligation. Currently, those RINs are retired because the statute requires the renewable fuel be used in the United States. It is a domestic energy program, after all.

One might conclude that if EPA were to lower the RFS to account for imports, it would increase the RFS to account for exports. But that's apparently not what EPA is contemplating. The objective here is to add about 1.2 billion RINs (the approximate amount exported today) to an already saturated RIN market, cratering the market and undermining any future investment in biofuels infrastructure or technology.

Administrator Pruitt is missing a critical point — lowering the price of RINs does not translate into consumer savings. RINs are free. When ethanol producers sell a gallon of biofuel to a gasoline marketer, EPA requires them to supply an RIN, as well. The RIN market is created when obligated parties separate them from the gallon of biofuel and sell them to another obligated party that has failed to blend enough ethanol to meet their obligation.

Consumer prices are unaffected.

Whenever President Trump visits Iowa, he extols the virtues of ethanol, American energy and the RFS. It is past time for the President to act on his commitment. He must rein in his EPA administrator, who is implementing the RFS in a way that accommodates oil companies, not renewable fuels and certainly not consumers. He must make the RFS great again.

Read the original article: Trump Must Make the Renewable Fuel Standard Great Again

Read more...

RFA Signs Letter Urging President Trump to Maintain Strong Commitment to Biofuels

Renewable Fuels Association

October 3, 2017

By Emily Druckman

The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent “consideration of drastic, unprecedented changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard” would undermine the future growth of the biofuels industry, the Renewable Fuels Association and 10 other biofuel groups wrote today to President Trump. In the letter, the groups urged the president to ensure the administration remains firm in its commitment to the U.S. biofuels industry.

In July, EPA proposed to reduce the total 2018 RFS renewable fuel blending requirements below the levels required in 2017 and late last month, the agency said it was considering further reductions to the 2018 RFS volumes. This is in addition to rumors that EPA is considering a proposal in which U.S. biofuel export volumes would count towards compliance with the RFS.

“If the proposed changes are finalized, EPA’s actions would cause severe harm to our industry, undermining your efforts to drive economic growth and secure America’s status as the global leader in biofuel production. We urge you to act quickly to continue to grow the RFS….” the groups wrote.

In the letter, the groups clarified that they oppose any weakening of the 15 billion gallon conventional biofuel requirement, believe the proposed reduction of the 2018 advanced biofuel requirement is unwarranted and the current treatment of imports and exports under the RFS should be maintained.

“President Trump has been a strong and consistent supporter of fuel ethanol generally and the RFS specifically,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “However, recent proposals by EPA appear to run counter to the president’s renewable energy vision. We want to ensure a strong RFS is maintained, providing consumers with the cleanest, lowest cost and highest octane fuel on the planet.”

To view a copy of the letter, visit: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/POTUSletterOct3.pdf.

Read the original release: RFA Signs Letter Urging President Trump to Maintain Strong Commitment to Biofuels

Read more...

Al-Corn Ethanol Project Will Benefit Area Corn Farmers

BrownField Ag News

September 20, 2017

By Mark Dorenkamp

The CEO of an ethanol plant in southeast Minnesota says area corn farmers will benefit from an ongoing construction project.

Randy Doyal with Al-Corn Clean Fuel in Claremont tells Brownfield the 50 million-gallon facility is being updated to become more efficient.

“I know that the producers who sell to Al-Corn are licking their chops because they know we’re going to really increase our corn draw.  That means our local corn price is going to go up.”

When finished, the Al-Corn plant will generate some of its own electricity using a combined heat and power (CHP) unit.

“What it really is (like) is a jet engine.  And this jet engine doesn’t burn kerosene, it burns natural gas.  As it spins and turns the generator to generate electricity.  We’ll be generating about as much power as we use in the current plant, so not quite half of what we’re going to be using in the future.  But a nice amount.”

Doyal says the CHP system also produces steam for the plant by taking exhaust and running it through a boiler.

“So we’re generating both electricity and steam off the same BTU of natural gas.  That makes it really efficient.”

The Al-Corn expansion and modernization project is expected to be completed by next spring.

Read the original story and listen to the full interview: Al-Corn Ethanol Project Will Benefit Area Corn Farmers

Read more...

EPA Mulls Counting Ethanol Exports Against Mandates: Sources

Reuters

September 27, 2017

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a change to U.S. biofuels policy that would allow exports of ethanol to count toward the country’s annual biofuels volumes mandates, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

The proposal would represent a significant shift from the original mandate of the 2005 renewable fuel program, designed to increase the amount ethanol and biodiesel in the country’s fuel pool while boosting the U.S. agricultural sector.

The move would benefit U.S. merchant refiners like Valero and PBF Energy, who are required under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard to blend increasing volumes of ethanol and other biofuels into the country’s gasoline and diesel every year, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The refiners, led by billionaire Carl Icahn, fought to get the Trump Administration to shift the obligation further down the supply chain, but those efforts failed.

The current proposal, still in the discussion stage in the office of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, is seen as a way to reduce their financial burden.

Under the program, refiners must either blend the renewable fuels into the fuel pool or buy credits from those who do.

Currently, U.S. biofuels policy only counts fuels blended in the United States toward the annual volumes mandates and does not count ethanol that is produced in the United States and exported for use abroad.

By counting the exports, it would increase the amount of available credits by the equivalent of as much 1 billion gallons of biofuel and push down prices.

The EPA proposed a requirement that refiners and importers blend in 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol and other conventional renewable fuels next year. Last year, the United States exported more than 1 billion gallons of ethanol in 2016, mainly to Brazil, Canada and China, according to the Energy Information Administration.

It was unclear if the proposal would require legislative approval. If so, it would face stiff opposition from the powerful corn lobby.

The sources, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on the issue, said the EPA was considering the idea but had not made a decision.

EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman did not respond to a request for comment.

Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, said that counting exports was illegal under the 2007 Renewable Fuels Standard, which was supposed to increase the amount of biofuels used in the United States.

He said making such a change at a time when companies have already invested under the program was wrong and would discourage future investments.

Read the original article: EPA Mulls Counting Ethanol Exports Against Mandates: Sources

Read more...

US EPA Considers Cutting 2018-19 Advanced Biofuel Mandate on Biodiesel Supply

Platts

September 26, 2017

The US Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it was considering cutting by up to 15% how much advanced biofuel and biodiesel must get mixed into the US fuel supply in 2018 and 2019, based on a potential spike in biodiesel prices.

The agency said new US duties expected on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, coupled with the expiration of a federal tax credit at the end of 2016, could disrupt biodiesel supply and drive up prices.

It asked industry in a regulatory notice to weigh in on that possibility and comment on whether EPA has statutory authority to cut volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard. As of early Tuesday afternoon, there was no closing date for the comment period.

"EPA remains concerned about the high cost of advanced biofuels," the notice said.

RIN prices quickly reacted to the notice, plunging after a morning uptick.

Biodiesel (D4) RINs for 2017 compliance traded as low 95 cents after S&P Global Platts assessed them at $1.0375 on Monday. Ethanol (D6) RINs also tumbled, trading as low as 75 cents after Platts assessed them at 83.5 cents Monday.

In July, EPA proposed requiring refiners and blenders to mix 19.24 billion gallons of total renewable fuel, including 4.24 billion gallons of advanced biofuel, in 2018. It proposed the 2019 biodiesel blending mandate at 2.1 billion gallons.

Cutting the advanced biofuel and biodiesel portions of the blending mandate would also lower the total volume to keep conventional ethanol's share from climbing above 15 billion gallons.

EPA said the expiration of the $1/gal biodiesel blenders tax credit at the end of 2016 has had a significant impact on the effective price of biodiesel sold to blenders.

"We also expect the price of biodiesel used in the US could increase further following a recent preliminary determination by the Department of Commerce that it would be appropriate to place countervailing duties of 41%-68% on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia," the notice said.

The Commerce Department is expected to make a final decision on the countervailing duty orders on December 29.

A biofuels trader said the cuts contemplated by EPA would zero out any gains domestic biodiesel producers were hoping to realize from countervailing duties.

"It was like, 'Here you go, we will impose duties on imports. Oh and by the way, for that we are reducing demand domestically,'" the trader said.

Read the original article: US EPA Considers Cutting 2018-19 Advanced Biofuel Mandate on Biodiesel Supply

Read more...

Grassley: Proposed Biofuel Reduction Seems Like "Bait-And-Switch"

Ag Web

September 26, 2017

On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced they wanted comments for the potential options for reducing biofuels and renewable fuel volumes lower than those proposed in the 2018 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

The Notice of Data Availability (NODA) issued by the EPA outlined how the EPA could reduce the 2018 biofuel volume requirement from a proposed 4.24 billion gallons to 3.77 billion gallons, and the total renewable fuel volume requirement from a proposed 19.24 billion gallons to 18.77 billion gallons.

These proposed decreases are driven by concerns over biofuel imports.

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, issued a statement, explaining his continuing frustrations to the proposed cuts from the EPA. It reads in part:

 

“There is no rationale for further lowering either the 2018 advanced biofuel volume requirement or the total renewable fuel volume…We see no statutory basis whatsoever for attempting to limit biofuel imports through the use of a general waiver.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.) expressed his concerns about the opportunity for the public to comment on the potential reductions. His statement reads in part:

“It’s outrageous that the EPA would change course and propose a reduction in renewable fuel volumes. This seems like a bait-and-switch from the EPA’s prior proposal and from assurances from the President himself and Cabinet secretaries in my office prior to conformation for their strong support of renewable fuels. That’s contrary to the goal of America first. I plan to press the Administration to drop this terrible plan.”

Read the original article: Grassley: Proposed Biofuel Reduction Seems Like "Bait-And-Switch"

?

Read more...

U.S. Corn Ethanol Producers Aim To Out-Pump Competitors

Reuters

By Michael Hirtzer

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. ethanol makers, taking advantage of low corn prices, are ramping up production and expanding capacity to try to squeeze less-efficient competitors out of an overcrowded market.

The ethanol industry, which for years bolstered corn prices and U.S. farming, faces saturated domestic demand and lost exports as trade wars bite into the global market.

But U.S. producers have added more capacity in 2017 than in any of the previous six years and hit record output levels - and there is more to come.

“There’s only two speeds - there’s full throttle or off,” said Randall Doyal, chief executive officer of Al-Corn Clean Fuel in Minnesota. His company, which accounts for about 1 percent of total U.S. ethanol production, is three months ahead of schedule to double annual capacity to 120 million gallons by early 2018. “We are going to oversupply the market,” he said.

Since 2007, nearly every gallon of gasoline sold in the United States is mixed with about 10 percent ethanol as part of a mandate enacted to reduce dependence on foreign oil and boost use of renewable fuels.

Doyal said the expansion would increase fixed costs only slightly, enabling more profit per unit from higher volumes.

The top U.S. ethanol producer, Archer Daniels Midland Co, is also wielding its volume power. “We’ll probably run our plants to maximize yield,” Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano said last month on a conference call with analysts. ADM can produce about 1.8 billion gallons annually - more than total U.S. exports last year.

The United States currently has production potential of about 16.3 billion to 16.4 billion gallons a year, according to producers and analysts, up from roughly 15.2 billion in 2016. That is more than enough to cover the call from the domestic market, which should be about 15 billion gallons in 2018, according to requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Production hit 1.060 million barrels a day (44.52 million gallons) at the end of August, close to the all-time high touched at the end of January.

THIN MARGINS, HIGHER YIELDS

Average margins in the top ethanol state of Iowa hit a 2017 high of 30 cents a gallon in August. That was less than a third of the record highs seen in late 2014, despite corn prices near one-year lows. Efficiencies have boosted yields only slightly, to 2.91 gallons from a bushel of corn from 2.84 gallons last year, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.

Exports, which sucked up much of the oversupply last year at 1.17 billion gallons, were up 30 percent in the first seven months of this year to 803 million gallons.But now that outlet is under threat after Brazil and China - the second- and third-biggest importers in 2016 after longtime No. 1 buyer Canada - slapped on tariffs. China’s imports plunged to 53,000 gallons through the end of July from 146 million gallons in the same period of 2016 after tariff hikes in January, while Brazil set a limit on tax-free imports on Sept. 1.

“Added capacity for the industry will have to lean heavily on exports, and that’s why the Brazil decision is so damaging,” said Scott Irwin, agricultural economist for the University of Illinois.

Those that can, continue to ramp up output. No. 2 ethanol maker POET LLC, which can make nearly 1.6 billion gallons, is spending $120 million to expand an Ohio plant to 150 million gallons from 70 million gallons by late 2018.

Ring-Neck Energy & Feed LLC is pouring concrete for a $140 million plant in South Dakota and Tharaldson Ethanol of North Dakota has a $3.4 million expansion funded in part with a $341,000 federal grant.

Those that cannot expand could face closure, said John Christianson of consultancy Christianson & Associates.

“There’s a laggard group that hasn’t had the ability to improve themselves,” he said, declining to name specific companies. “If we produce too much... there’s a bottom group that runs out of cash and they will shut down.”

Read the original story here.

Read more...
Page 55 of 92