Commercial contract agreed for renewable jet fuel

Gevo and Avfuel have entered into a long-term renewable jet fuel supply agreement. The new contract will see Gevo supply its renewable alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ) to Avfuel.

Avfuel is a global supplier of aviation fuel and services, servicing more than 3,000 locations worldwide.

"We are pleased to have a customer and partner like Avfuel. Avfuel has tremendous reach with more than 650 Avfuel-branded locations and 3,000-plus fueling locations worldwide to a vast scope of customers. We appreciate its vision and leadership in working with us to bring a better and more sustainable fuel to the market place,” said Patrick Gruber, Gevo's chief executive officer.

“Not only can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but we also can produce a higher quality product than petroleum-based jet fuel from a technical standpoint. The whole supply chain should benefit, as well as the end customer. This contract with Avfuel is an excellent first step and will serve as a catalyst for Gevo to build up the aggregate demand so we can proceed with the development of a larger scale ATJ facility,"

The supply agreement consists of two phases. In the first, Gevo will supply Avfuel from the smaller-scale hydrocarbon processing facility it operates in Silsbee, Texas, in partnership with South Hampton Resources. During the second phase, Gevo would supply Avfuel with larger volumes of ATJ, ramping up to 1,000,000 gallons of unblended ATJ per year, which, when blended with conventional jet fuel, would produce many millions of gallons of finished ASTM D1655 jet-fuel product for distribution annually.

Gevo ‘expects’ to construct a larger-scale hydrocarbon facility at its existing ethanol and isobutanol facility in Luverne, Minnesota during the first phase of the agreement, subject to the receipt of sufficient financing. Upon completion of the Luverne Hydrocarbon Facility, the second phase of the supply agreement would commence, which would have a term of five years, subject to extension upon the mutual agreement of the parties.

Craig Sincock, owner, president and CEO of Avfuel said: "As a leader in the global supply of aviation fuel and services, we have a social responsibility to make sustainable alternative jet fuel a reality in the marketplace. Our agreement with Gevo is a notable component in our overall strategy to support our industry's commitment to reduce carbon emissions and enhance sustainability to mitigate its effect on climate change."