Gevo to Work With Praj Industries to Commercialize Renewable Isobutanol, Jet Fuel and Isooctane in India
April 09 2019 - 9:00AM
Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO)
announced today that it has signed a binding, definitive
Construction License Agreement with Praj Industries Ltd., dated
April 4, 2019, to commercialize the production of renewable
isobutanol using sugary-based feedstocks, such as juice, syrup and
molasses made of sugarcane and sugar beets (the “Construction
License Agreement”). Pursuant to the Construction License
Agreement, Praj will provide engineering procurement and
construction services to certain third party customers using a
process design package that incorporates Gevo’s proprietary
isobutanol biocatalyst and is designed for use with sugary-based
feedstocks (the “PDP”). The PDP is jointly owned by Gevo and
Praj. Gevo has granted a license to Praj that would allow
Praj to provide such services to certain third party customers.
In addition, Gevo also signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(“MOU”) with Praj Industries Ltd. to commercialize Gevo’s renewable
hydrocarbons products in India, including Gevo’s renewable
alcohol-to-jet fuel (“ATJ”) and renewable isooctane, derived from
Gevo’s renewable isobutanol. The MOU contemplates two
phases. In phase one, Praj will implement a pilot plant in
India for the purpose of introducing Gevo’s technology to potential
customers. Following phase one, Praj and Gevo expect to enter
into a commercial license agreement for the production of renewable
hydrocarbons. Together, Gevo and Praj expect to use a combination
of their respective technologies for the conversion of sugars to
renewable hydrocarbon products.
“Praj is a company that shares our vision of the utilization of
renewable resources and renewable energy to decarbonize
transportation fuels,” said Patrick R. Gruber, Chief Executive
Officer of Gevo. “India already has a biofuel mandate primarily
focused on ethanol. With Gevo’s technology and Praj’s
execution, ethanol can become substituted with isobutanol and
drop-in gasoline. Gevo expects to leverage Praj’s Enfinity
technology to produce second generation drop-in hydrocarbons
utilizing Gevo’s existing technology that has already been
proven. We expect to scale up quickly and be ready for the
Indian market as early as 2020.”Dr. Gruber continued, “We have a
longstanding partnership with Praj and this strengthening of our
businesses helps us both continue with our shared vision of
low-carbon fuels made from sugars in high yields. These types of
visions can help benefit the world.”
Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman of Praj, added, “the
addition of isobutanol technology to Praj’s diverse product
portfolio is a step in our endeavor towards smart biorefineries
that facilitate sustainable decarbonization. This solution
can be offered both as a ‘bolt-on’ to an existing ethanol plant or
as a Greenfield plant. We value our partnership with Gevo and
believe that this technology will help the aviation industry
fulfill its obligation of Green House Gas (GHG) reduction.”
The Construction License Agreement is the product of the Joint
Development Agreement and Development License Agreement that Gevo
and Praj entered into in November 2015. Pursuant to those
agreements, Praj adapted Gevo’s technology to use sugar cane and
molasses feedstocks. Praj is a global leader in providing
engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, services to the
ethanol industry. The Construction License Agreement will
allow Praj to leverage its extensive customer base to identify
customers interested in licensing Gevo’s technology to produce
isobutanol utilizing the PDP. Gevo’s partnership with Praj
provides Gevo with access to markets outside of North America that
utilize sugar-based feedstocks not prevalent in North America,
particularly in regions such as India, Southeast Asia, Australia,
South America and even parts of Europe where sugar beets are
processed.
In connection with the Construction License Agreement, Gevo and
Praj have also entered into a new Joint Development Agreement and a
new Development License Agreement, dated April 4, 2019, to continue
their joint development efforts to produce isobutanol using
sugarcane juice, sugarcane syrup, sugarcane molasses, sugar beet
juice, sugar beet syrup, sugar beet molasses, sugar beet pulp,
cassava, rice, wheat, sorghum, bagasse, rice straw, wheat straw,
corn stover, cotton stalk and empty fruit bunches (collectively,
the “Development Agreements”). In particular, Gevo and Praj
are nearing the completion of work to develop a process design
package to use agricultural residues, such as empty fruit bunches,
wheat straw, rice straw or corn stover, to produce
isobutanol. These second generation biomass feedstocks are
the lowest cost feedstocks in some markets and have the additional
benefit of having a very low carbon footprint. The use of
agricultural residues as a feedstock to produce isobutanol should
provide Gevo feedstock optionality in markets that are targeting
decarbonization from second generation forms of biomass.
About Gevo
Gevo is a next generation “low-carbon” fuel company focused on
the development and commercialization of renewable alternatives to
petroleum-based products. Low-carbon fuels reduce the carbon
intensity, or the level of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to
standard fossil-based fuels across their lifecycle. The most common
low-carbon fuels are renewable fuels. Gevo is focused on the
development and production of mainstream fuels like gasoline and
jet fuel using renewable feedstocks that have the potential to
lower greenhouse gas emissions at a meaningful scale and enhance
agricultural production, including food and other related products.
In addition to serving the low-carbon fuel markets, through Gevo’s
technology, Gevo can also serve markets to produce chemical
intermediate products for solvents, plastics, and building block
chemicals. Learn more at our website: www.gevo.com.
About Praj Industries Limited
Praj is a Bio energy process solutions provider with a
diversified portfolio offering integrated solutions for
bio-energy, high purity water, zero liquid discharge systems,
critical process equipment & Skids systems and brewery plants.
Praj is focussed upon providing sustainable decarbonizing solutions
across the industrial spectrum through its state
of the art R&D Centre – Matrix. . Over three decades, Praj has
been a trusted partner with over 750 references across 75
countries. . Headquartered in India; Praj is listed on BSE and NSE.
For more information, visit www.praj.net.
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 Gevo’s
partnership with Praj, the Construction License Agreement, the
Development Agreements, the MOU, Gevo’s technology, Praj’s
technology, the PDP, Praj’s customers, demand for Gevo’s
isobutanol, ATJ and isooctane in India and elsewhere and the timing
of activities contemplated in this press release,
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 +1 415-226-7747
gevo@integra-ir.com |
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