At the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology taking place
in Montreal, Canada, Praj Industries Ltd (Praj) and Gevo, Inc.
(Gevo) (NASDAQ:GEVO) unveiled a new commercial opportunity in
renewable bioproducts, jointly announcing that Gevo’s proprietary
isobutanol technology will now be available for licensing to
processors of sugar cane juice and molasses. This follows on the
back of Praj’s development work, adapting Gevo’s technology to
sugar cane and molasses feedstocks.
A Joint Development Agreement and a Development License
Agreement were entered into between Praj and Gevo in November 2015.
The goal of these agreements was for Praj to adapt Gevo’s
isobutanol technology to using non-corn based sugars and
lignocellulose feedstocks. The process technology development was
performed at Matrix, Praj’s R&D center located in Pune,
India.
In the first phase of development, Praj worked with Gevo’s
technology using sugar cane and molasses feedstocks, undertaking
test-runs in order to develop a process design package that will
now be offered for commercialization to cane juice and
molasses-based ethanol plants, as licensees of Gevo’s isobutanol
technology. Licensing is expected to be focused on Praj plants
located in India, South America and South East Asia, with initial
capacity targeted to come on-line in the 2019/2020 timeframe.
“We are pleased with the work that Praj has done in adapting our
technology using cane juice and molasses as feedstocks. Praj is a
great partner who shares our vision of low carbon fuels made from
sugars in high yields. Praj has a massive footprint across the
world. We look forward to working with Praj to license the
technology out, leveraging their access and capabilities,” said Dr.
Patrick Gruber, Chief Executive Officer of Gevo.
Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj, added, “We are
excited to offer this technology to our global customers who stand
to benefit from an additional revenue stream from isobutanol. Praj
has worked on 750 projects for ethanol plants across 75 countries.
This isobutanol platform can be offered as ‘bolt-on’ to an existing
ethanol plant or as a greenfield plant. This isobutanol technology
is the latest addition to Praj’s diverse product portfolio and
reinforces our organization’s leadership in the bioenergy
space.”
Isobutanol has several direct applications as a gasoline
blendstock or as a specialty chemical solvent, or it can be used as
an intermediate which can be further converted into other chemical
products or hydrocarbons such as Gevo’s alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ)
and isooctane.
In comparison to other renewable jet fuels, Gevo’s ATJ has the
potential to offer the optimal solution in terms of operating cost,
capital cost, feedstock availability and scalability. In addition
to being a lower carbon alternative, ATJ also offers performance
advantages such as lower particulates, low sulfur content and a
lower freezing point. Alaska Airlines, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S.
Army and the U.S. Navy have all flown flights using Gevo’s ATJ,
derived from isobutanol using corn and cellulosic materials as
feedstocks.
Isooctane and renewable gasoline made from cane juice- and
molasses-based isobutanol are expected to be very low in carbon
content, offering new approaches to markets where low carbon fuels
are valued, such as California and other geographies.
Gevo is expected to be the primary off-taker, marketer and
initial distributor for isobutanol produced from the plants built
by Praj that use Gevo’s isobutanol technology.
In the next phase of commercialization, Praj is working to adapt
Gevo’s technology to Praj’s 2nd generation bio-refineries, enabling
the production of isobutanol from lignocellulosic biomass.
About PRAJ
PRAJ is a global process solutions company driven by innovation
and integration capabilities, offers solutions to add significant
value to Bio-ethanol facilities, Brewery plants, Water &
Waste-water treatment systems, Critical Process Equipment &
Systems, Hi-Purity solutions and Bio-products. Over the past three
decades, PRAJ has focused on Environment, Energy and Agri process
led applications. PRAJ has been a trusted partner for process
engineering, plant & critical equipment and systems with over
750 references across five continents. Solutions offered by PRAJ
are backed by its state of the art R&D Center called PRAJ
Matrix. Led by an accomplished and caring leadership, PRAJ is a
socially responsible corporate citizen. PRAJ is listed on the
Bombay and National Stock Exchanges of India.
About Gevo
Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) is a leading 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 Gevo’s technology,
Praj’s development work adapting Gevo’s technology to sugar cane
and molasses feedstocks, Praj’s commercialization efforts, the
ability of Gevo to license its technology in India or elsewhere in
connection with the development work of Praj, and the benefits,
costs, scalability and physical 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.
Gevo Media Contact:
David Rodewald
The David James Agency, LLC
+1 805-494-9508
gevo@davidjamesagency.com
Gevo Investor Contact:
Shawn M. Severson
EnergyTech Investor, LLC
+1 415-233-7094
gevo@energytechinvestor.com
@ShawnEnergyTech
www.energytechinvestor.com
Praj Media Contacts:
Sandeep Jadhav
Praj Industries Ltd
+91-20-71802000 / 22941000
sandeepjadhav@praj.net
Suman Sharma
AOR Marcomm
+91 8600113106
suman.aormarcomm@gmail.com
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