Department of Energy’s National Labs to Collaborate with Gevo to Optimize Ethanol-to-Olefins (ETO) Catalyst Performance
October 09 2017 - 9:00AM
Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), announced today that it will be
partnering with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) on a project to fine-tune the composition of the catalyst
used in Gevo’s proprietary ETO process, in order to improve
performance and accelerate scale-up efforts. ChemCatBio, a
consortium within the US Department of Energy, awarded funding to
the national labs in support of the project.
As previously disclosed, Gevo is developing its ETO technology,
a process using ethanol as a feedstock for the production of
hydrocarbons, renewable hydrogen, and other chemical intermediates.
The process produces tailored mixes of isobutylene, propylene,
hydrogen and acetone, which are valuable as standalone molecules,
or as feedstocks to produce other chemical products and longer
chain alcohols. At this time, Gevo’s ETO technology has only been
operated at a laboratory scale. If successfully scaled-up to
commercial level, however, this technology may provide the
estimated 25BGPY global ethanol industry a broader set of
end-product market and margin opportunities.
In addition, Gevo’s catalyst is capable of converting complex
mixtures of other bio-based alcohols, acids and other oxygenates to
primarily propylene or isobutylene along with significant levels of
renewable hydrogen. Suitable feedstocks could include difficult to
process side streams from fermentation plants, biomass gasification
plants, syngas plants, municipal or industrial waste processing
plants, or crude petro-based chemical streams. Gevo believes this
catalytic technology could provide a cost-competitive option for
industrial plants to upgrade lower value products and side streams,
and facilitate entry into markets actively pursuing more
sustainable options. These markets could include renewable fuels
and plastics, renewable hydrogen and renewable downstream chemicals
based on propylene or butylenes.
“We are excited to begin this collaboration with Gevo and
believe that the state-of-the-art capabilities and expertise
available through the Advanced Catalyst Synthesis and
Characterization (ACSC) project within the ChemCatBio Consortium
will enable us to gain a fundamental understanding of critical
catalyst features that can change over time and impact the
performance of Gevo’s ETO catalysts. We’ll use a combination of
high energy X-ray characterization techniques at ANL,
subatomic-resolution microscopy at ORNL, and highly sensitive
vibrational spectroscopies at NREL to deliver insight into the
atomic-level structure of these catalysts under reaction relevant
conditions. Armed with a detailed knowledge of the “working”
catalyst structure we can design and synthesize catalyst
composition that have dramatically improved stability and lifetime
in Gevo’s ETO process,” said Dr. Susan Habas, a Principal
Investigator in the ChemCatBio Consortium.
“Converting alcohols using catalytic chemistry has been key to
our successes with jet fuel and isooctane. We have made good
progress in developing the catalysts to convert ethanol to olefins
and hydrogen. This project with the Department of Energy’s national
labs is expected to help further optimize these catalysts, as well
as expand the feedstock base beyond ethanol, to include a variety
of water-based, organic chemical streams produced in a variety of
industries. Our interest is in developing the catalysts and
processes to become commercially ready, so we can license them,”
said 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 Gevo’s ETO
technology and catalysts, markets for Gevo’s ETO technology and
catalysts, the capabilities of Gevo’s ETO technology and catalysts,
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 ContactDavid RodewaldThe David James
Agency, LLC+1 805-494-9508gevo@davidjamesagency.com
Investor ContactShawn M. SeversonEnergyTech
Investor, LLC+1
415-233-7094gevo@energytechinvestor.com @ShawnEnergyTechwww.energytechinvestor.com
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