Biomass facility to operate next to Gevo, will increase available feedstocks

Officials with Gevo Inc. announced Tuesday their intent to bring a new project to the Luverne processing site.
While plans are still at an early stage, they anticipate that Sweetwater Energy Inc. will co-locate a biomass processing facility on site in Luverne.
According to the memorandum of understanding, Sweetwater plans to build, own and operate a facility adjacent to Gevo’s existing plant in Luverne.
It would produce high-value, plant-based products from cellulose and lignin while supplying Gevo with up to 30,000 tons of biomass-derived cellulosic sugars annually, with opportunities for expansion.
Sweetwater’s anticipated plant-based products, derived from cellulose and lignin, is targeted for packaging, resins and other applications, while displacing petroleum-based products.
Gevo plans to use the offtake of the low-cost, cellulosic sugars co-produced by Sweetwater for the anticipated production of cellulosic alcohols and renewable hydrocarbons.
“We’re very excited to work with Gevo,” said Arunas Chesonis, chairman and CEO of Sweetwater Energy.
“This partnership fits perfectly with our goal for the company — replacing petroleum products with renewable solutions at a price point so low that making the right decision for the planet is also the right decision for our customers. This is the beginning of a collaboration that will pay very real dividends for present and future generations.”
Gevo was the first company to demonstrate conversion of cellulosic sugars to make sustainable aviation fuel meeting the ASTM D7566 specification allowing it to be used for commercial flights.
The company expects it can be commercialized effectively when cost-effective sources of these sugars meet sustainability goals. In addition, cellulosic D3 RINs are high value and create an opportunity for Gevo to leverage its Luverne plant with anticipated better returns to make higher value products that are in demand in the marketplace.
Sweetwater plans to increase the types of feedstock used in the Luverne plant to include qualified wood products and agricultural residues.
Construction of the Sweetwater facility adjacent to the Luverne facility is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2022.
“Combining forces with Sweetwater is a great way to leverage the best technology and resources from both parties to expand our addressable feedstocks to produce cellulosic alcohols and energy dense hydrocarbon fuels and plant-based products,” said Dr. Paul Bloom, chief carbon and innovation officer of Gevo.
“Working together, we anticipate delivering products to the market faster while decreasing risk throughout the value chain and lowering overall product carbon intensities. This is an important step to expand the portfolio of carbohydrates we intend to process to include cellulosic sugars that represent a huge amount of feedstock globally.”