Gevo Reports Progress with RNG, Net-Zero 1 Projects

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Officials at Gevo Inc. discussed progress with the development of the company’s renewable natural gas (RNG) project in Iowa and the proposed Net-Zero 1 refinery under development in South Dakota during a first quarter earnings call, held May 9.

Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo, said that the company completed construction of its RNG project in northwestern Iowa on time and budget. The facility is served by three dairies that have more than 20,000 cows combined. According to Gruber, the digesters are in the startup phase and should reach a steady state of production in a matter of weeks. “We are producing biogas and starting up the equipment to process that gas into RNG for the pipeline distribution system,” he added.

Gruber also discussed ongoing work to partner with ADM and other ethanol producers for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). He noted that many ethanol producers are interested in providing feedstock for SAF production. Gevo is in the process of finding the best facilities to partner with in terms of the carbon intensity (CI) of the products they produced.

Chris Ryan, chief financial officer at Gevo, discussed progress being made toward the development of Gevo’s Net-Zero 1 facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota. That project is currently expected to become operational in 2025. READ MORE

Excerpt from Biomass Magazine: When at full operational capacity, the RNG Project is expected to generate approximately 355,000 MMBtu of RNG per year, which will be transported and sold in California. BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and BP Products North America Inc. will market the RNG in California on behalf of Gevo, and Gevo expects that the RNG Project will generate between $16 and $22 million of Project EBITDA per year beginning by 2023 depending on a variety of assumptions, including the value of credits under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California. Gevo expects to be able to get approval for renewable identification numbers (RINs) through RFS and carbon credits from LCFS later this year or next year.

“The success that Gevo is achieving in Northwest Iowa right now is the result of the team of dedicated people who are working to change the world by converting waste into useful energy, animal bedding, and soil fertilizer,” says Chris Ryan, president and chief operating officer of Gevo, Inc. “These talented people have been tasked with an important, complex job, and work every day to identify issues, formulate solutions, and execute their plan to achieve our goals. As this renewable energy supply becomes reliable, the entire circular economy model can grow and prosper. Supplying value added animal feed to dairies and to other animal feed operations, capturing the manure, then converting the manure to make RNG for use in the production of transportation fuels, more animal feed, and later, jet fuel when our Net-Zero 1 plant operates. This is an example of the circular economy in action.”

“In addition to being good for us, California and the world, our dairy partners are also expected to reap benefits from the RNG Project over the long term,” Ryan said. “The manure digesters are expected to improve the farms’ sustainability and lay the groundwork for more efficient recycling of nutrients and better soil health. It’s important that they share in the value,” Ryan said. READ MORE