It’s a small contract, but the first of many for the US Air Force, which wants its US-based airplanes to run on 50% alternative fuels by 2016.
Its purchasing arm, the Air Force Defense Logistics Agency, awarded Gevo (NASDAQ: GEVO) a contract to supply biofuel-based jet fuel.
Under the $600,000 contract, Gevo will supply up to 11000 gallons of ‘alcohol-to-jet’ based jet fuel, which will undergo engine testing and a feasibility flight demonstration using an A-10 aircraft.
Gevo is producing the fuel from isobutanol at its hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant in Silsbee, Texas and plans to start shipments in early 2012.
Gevo is converting existing ethanol plants into biorefineries to make renewable building block products for the chemical and fuel industries.
The company plans to convert renewable raw materials into isobutanol and renewable hydrocarbons that can be directly integrated on a "drop in" basis into existing chemical and fuel products to deliver environmental and economic benefits.
Gevo also received a $5 million grant from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop biojet fuel from woody biomass and forest product residues.
The award is a portion of a $40 million grant presented to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA), a consortium led by Washington State University.
"This is an opportunity to create thousands of new jobs and drive economic development in rural communities across America by building the framework for a competitively-priced, American-made biofuels industry," says Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary. "
NARA consists of a broad consortium of scientists from universities, government labs and private industry. The WSU-led grant aims to address the urgent national need for a domestic biofuel alternative for U.S. commercial and military air fleets.
The NARA project envisions developing a new, viable, aviation fuel industry using wood and wood waste in the Pacific Northwest, where forests cover almost half of the region. The project also will focus on increasing the profitability of wood-based fuels through development of high-value, biobased co-products to replace petrochemicals that are used in products such as plastics.
Gevo, the only product development company in this consortium, believes that woody biomass can be used as a cellulosic feedstock to create petroleum replacements such as isobutanol. This project is a critical next step in proving its effectiveness.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is currently evaluating Gevo’s biojet fuel; the company says it could be certified in 2013..
Other NARA members include Weyerhaeuser, Catchlight Energy, Oregon State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Minnesota.
Learn about NARA:
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