Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO) (FRA:ZGV3) announced Wednesday that it and HCS Group GmbH have signed a project memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop and build a renewable hydrocarbon facility at HCS Group’s site in Germany, which would utilize Gevo’s low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology.
In a statement, Gevo said the MOU anticipates a first project that is estimated to produce about 60 kMT (22 million gallons per year) of renewable hydrocarbons, advanced renewable fuels, and low-carbon SAF at HCS Group’s site by the end of 2024.
HCS Group’s manufacturing center in Speyer, operated by the Haltermann Carless brand, is strategically located in the geographical center of Europe at the Rhine river and in the vicinity of Frankfurt airport.
READ: Gevo and Scandinavian Airlines amend sales deal to up sustainable aviation fuel purchase minimum
Gevo said the site offers excellent prerequisites for supplying customers in Europe with SAF, certified under Europe’s Renewable Energy Directive (EU REDII), and a portfolio of certified renewable drop-in fuels and specialty chemicals.
“This project, developed in technology partnership with Gevo, is a key element of HCS Group’s strategy and our aspiration to be a perpetual pioneer in the area of high-value hydrocarbons, while making a clear contribution to defossilization and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” said HCS CEO Henrik Krüpper.
“This is a unique opportunity to enter the SAF market as the first commercial producer in Germany, building on our market success with renewable hydrocarbons.”
Krüpper added: “We are excited to enable our customers in the aviation, premium fuels and personal care industries with bio-based solutions to meet their sustainability goals. Using our existing infrastructure in Speyer, including our new hydrogenation plant allows us to minimize time-to-market, certification and approval processes, and costs for this first-of-its-kind project.”
Gevo CEO Dr Patrick Gruber noted that his company and HCS Group have a long-standing and productive relationship at supplying products to service existing HCS Group customers with renewable chemicals and high-octane products.
“Given that history, and the need for SAF in Europe, it made strategic sense to develop a joint project in the EU,” Dr Gruber said. “Gevo’s technology creates the building blocks for making hydrocarbons. We will need to establish several suppliers of our renewable building blocks, throughout EU, made from sugary agricultural residues.”
He added: “Gevo’s technology and business system for producing renewable hydrocarbons for fuels, chemicals, and plastics can be a contributor to fight climate change, get production off a fossil-based system and be at the forefront of future use of residues and waste feedstocks under EU REDII Annex IX in Europe.”
Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham