United States – Gevo intends to establish an alcohol-to-hydrocarbon process pilot unit at its Luverne site in Minnesota.
The pilot unit is being designed to produce market development quantities of sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”), renewable premium gasoline, other renewable fuel products, as well as provide capability to supply market development quantities of chemical products. The installation is planned to start in the third quarter of 2022, with startup demonstration production beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Furthermore, the business will test and analyze various prospective unit activities that may be incorporated into Gevo’s Net-Zero 1 production facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota, which is anticipated to begin production in 2024. The pilot unit’s installation in the Gevo-Luverne complex is part of the facility’s strategy to use it as a technological development and piloting location. The pilot unit will also be utilized in employee training for Net-Zero 1 and other future initiatives.
Agri-Energy, Gevo’s wholly-owned subsidiary that runs the Luverne Facility, rehired many former employees in early August and is currently hiring more to generate the isobutanol (IBA) that serves as the feedstock for the hydrocarbon pilot unit. Additional operations personnel will be required for hydrocarbon production, though an exact number cannot yet be determined.
