Gevo Touts North Dakota Carbon Capture, $40M EBITDA Goal, Eyes 2026 SAF Plant FID at Conference – MarketBeat

Gevo’s Strategic Focus on Sustainable Development Goals through Renewable Fuels

Overview of Business Lines Aligned with SDGs

Gevo (NASDAQ: GEVO) presented its current asset base, near-term earnings priorities, and long-term plans to scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production during a virtual investor conference. The presentation, led by Eric Frey, Vice President of Finance and Strategy, emphasized the company’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and climate action (SDG 13).

Gevo’s activities focus on converting renewable, biomass-based carbon resources into “drop-in” fuels and chemicals compatible with existing engines and infrastructure, thereby reducing carbon footprints compared to fossil-derived products. The company prioritizes domestic renewable feedstocks to support sustainable industrial development.

1. Gevo Fuels: Operates an ethanol plant producing ethanol and carbon dioxide, with a development pipeline focused on alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel technology, advancing clean energy solutions.
2. Gevo RNG: Converts dairy manure in Iowa into renewable natural gas (RNG) through methane capture and pipeline injection, supporting SDG 12 and SDG 13 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Verity: A cloud-based track-and-trace software platform providing auditable chain of custody and emissions data across agricultural and biofuel supply chains, enhancing transparency and sustainability reporting.
4. Gevo Chem: Research and development aimed at improving ATJ technology to reduce operating expenses by 20-30%, promoting innovation and sustainable industrial processes.

Leadership Transition Supporting Sustainable Growth

Gevo announced a leadership transition with CEO Pat Gruber planning retirement and Paul Bloom, PhD in chemistry and experienced in sustainable industrial operations, set to become CEO. This change supports the company’s strategic focus on innovation and sustainability aligned with SDG 9 and SDG 13.

North Dakota Acquisition and Carbon Capture Initiatives

Gevo completed a transformative acquisition of a North Dakota ethanol plant with 500 acres, featuring one of only three ethanol plants globally with wholly owned carbon capture technology. This facility captures concentrated fermentation CO₂ and injects it underground for long-term storage, directly contributing to climate action (SDG 13) and responsible production (SDG 12).

The site serves as both a revenue and margin engine and a platform for future ATJ deployment, demonstrating scalable sustainable infrastructure development (SDG 9).

Financial Performance and EBITDA Growth Strategies

Gevo reported $6.7 million EBITDA in the last quarter, targeting approximately $40 million annualized EBITDA within several quarters by optimizing carbon accounting and sales without significant capital expenditure. Further EBITDA growth to about $110 million is anticipated by maximizing the North Dakota asset’s carbon storage capacity and increasing production volumes.

• Utilization of 1 million tons per year of pore space for CO₂ storage supports carbon sequestration efforts aligned with SDG 13.
• Incremental production increases and carbon monetization enhance economic sustainability.

Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ30) Project: Advancing Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Gevo’s ATJ technology aims to increase jet fuel supply with a lower carbon footprint, addressing the challenge of electrifying aviation and rising jet fuel demand. The process yields approximately 90% jet fuel, significantly higher than traditional refinery outputs.

Key economic and development highlights include:

• Production cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) estimated at $3 to $4 per gallon, with additional value from low-carbon attributes, supporting affordable and clean energy (SDG 7).
• Planned commercial-scale ATJ facility in North Dakota with a $500 million investment and projected $150 million EBITDA, demonstrating sustainable industrial innovation (SDG 9).
• Integration of corn-to-ethanol and ethanol-to-jet processes to reduce carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency, including renewable power use.
• Targeted final investment decision (FID) in the second half of 2026, with construction expected to take 2 to 3 years.

Gevo’s approach supports climate action (SDG 13) by providing scalable, low-carbon aviation fuel alternatives and fostering sustainable industrial growth.

Verity Software and Bushel Integration: Enhancing Supply Chain Transparency

Verity is essential for verifying low-carbon claims of biofuels by tracking data from farms through processing to end customers while maintaining confidentiality. The recent integration with Bushel, a widely adopted platform among farms and grain elevators, aims to scale Verity as a plugin, enhancing sustainable supply chain management aligned with SDG 12.

Gevo is generating software-as-a-service revenue from Verity, with potential for significant growth as sustainability reporting demands increase.

Capital Allocation and Growth Priorities

Gevo’s capital allocation strategy prioritizes:

• Optimizing existing assets to expand EBITDA without major new capital expenditures.
• Investing modest self-funded capital to debottleneck operations and improve carbon economics.
• Pursuing larger-scale growth through financing and construction of commercial ATJ facilities for replication, supporting sustainable industrialization (SDG 9) and climate action (SDG 13).

About Gevo

Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) is a renewable chemicals and biofuels company dedicated to developing and producing low-carbon alternatives to petroleum-based products. The company’s core technology converts fermentable sugars into isobutanol, which is further processed into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Gevo’s integrated biorefinery model combines fermentation, recovery, and downstream processing to deliver scalable, drop-in replacements for conventional fossil-derived hydrocarbons, directly contributing to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Primary products include isobutanol and hydrocarbon fuels meeting ASTM specifications for aviation and road transport, supporting the transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
   • Gevo’s focus on renewable, biomass-based fuels and renewable natural gas aligns with increasing access to clean energy sources.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
   • Development of advanced biofuel technologies (alcohol-to-jet fuel), carbon capture, and integration of cloud-based tracking software reflect innovation and infrastructure improvements.
3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
   • Use of renewable feedstocks, carbon capture, and efforts to reduce carbon footprint support sustainable production and consumption patterns.
4. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • Carbon capture and storage, production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with lower carbon emissions, and tracking emissions data contribute to climate change mitigation.
5. SDG 15: Life on Land
   • Utilization of agricultural residues and manure for renewable natural gas supports sustainable land use and reduces environmental impact.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
   • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
   • Target 7.a: Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
   • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors.
3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
   • Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
   • Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle.
4. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation.
5. SDG 15: Life on Land
   • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil.
   • Target 15.5: Take urgent action to reduce degradation of natural habitats.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

1. SDG 7 Indicators
   • Proportion of energy from renewable sources in total final energy consumption (implied by Gevo’s production of renewable fuels and renewable natural gas).
   • Installed renewable energy generation capacity (implied by the scale-up of sustainable aviation fuel production and renewable natural gas operations).
2. SDG 9 Indicators
   • Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP (implied by Gevo Chem’s R&D efforts to improve ATJ technology).
   • Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP (implied by the ethanol and jet fuel production facilities).
3. SDG 12 Indicators
   • Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP (implied by use of renewable feedstocks and efficient resource use).
   • Carbon footprint reduction metrics (implied by carbon capture and emissions tracking via Verity software).
4. SDG 13 Indicators
   • Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of value added (implied by efforts to reduce carbon footprint and capture CO2).
   • Number of countries with integrated climate change measures (implied by collaboration with U.S. Department of Energy and government loan programs).
5. SDG 15 Indicators
   • Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area (implied by use of agricultural residues and manure for renewable natural gas, reducing waste and land degradation).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: marketbeat.com