Gevo, Inc. (Englewood, Colo.; www.gevo.com) and Renmatix, Inc. (King of Prussia, Pa.; www.renmatix.com) announced a joint development agreement to evaluate the commercial feasibility of creating renewable jet fuel by integrating Renmatix’s Plantrose Process with Gevo’s GIFT technology and alcohol-to-jet process. Renmatix’s Plantrose Process converts cellulosic feedstocks such as wood, agricultural residues, or other cellulosic raw materials to cellulosic-based sugars, the basic building blocks of sustainable fuels. Together, Renmatix and Gevo will explore project opportunities for renewable and low-emission fuel, isobutanol, jet fuel and isooctane in markets where there is a convergence of low-cost biomass and low-carbon fuel incentives.
This Agreement to evaluate the commercial feasibility of developing renewable, low-carbon fuels from cellulosic material also comes at a time when global refiners and airline carriers are working toward reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions by looking to enter into affordable and large-scale agreements for the supply of renewable jet fuel and gasoline.
“At Gevo, we are replacing fossil-based jet fuel and gasoline with better-performing, renewable low-carbon jet fuel and isooctane to lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to our approach that produces protein for food chain use while generating fermentable sugars used in the production of low-carbon fuels, we believe Renmatix’s Plantrose Process could enable us to achieve a cost-effective and sustainable means of producing low-carbon jet fuel and gasoline from fermentable sugars using cellulosic feedstocks. We look forward to working with Renmatix to create a fully integrated system that is capable of converting cellulosic materials to low-carbon renewable fuels at scale,” said Patrick Gruber, Ph.D., CEO of Gevo.
Cellulosic sugars are one of the most abundant feedstocks in the world, and in many geographies with dense vegetation, using woody biomass feedstocks to generate useful sugars is the most cost-effective solution. The Joint Development Agreement between Renmatix and Gevo to evaluate the commercial feasibility to convert cellulosic feedstocks into renewable, low-carbon products addresses a major global need for automotive biofuels worldwide, as well. Much like jet fuel, the automotive biofuels market is undergoing rapid growth, expected to reach more than $195 billion by 2023, up from nearly $119 billion in 2017, according to Research and Markets. Demand for sustainable aviation fuels is also increasing; according to the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), incremental demand is expected to grow by 3 billion gallons per year.
“Renmatix has been committed to cellulosic feedstocks as the means to enabling the bio-based economy, from recent efforts to liberate valuable fractions into food and cosmetic ingredients, to our cellulosic sugar technology for jet fuel developments. Given Gevo’s first cellulosic-based jet fuel and recent advancements, to today, with demand for renewable jet fuel increasing, we believe it’s an ideal time to explore our combined ability,” said Mike Hamilton, CEO of Renmatix. “Despite continued innovation in biofuels, it is impossible to make enough renewable fuels at the scale that the world will ultimately need without unlocking the massive resource of cellulosic sugars. Our Plantrose technology produces high-quality, cost-effective sugars from a broad range of feedstocks, which is why we’re working with Gevo to solve this critical hurdle.”