Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Gevo has teamed up with olefins technology provider Axens to help scale up its alcohol-to-jet production in the US. Announcing the collaboration Oct. 12, Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber urged ethanol producers to get in touch: “To any ethanol plant owners out there who want to change their game and get into net-zero type SAF and hydrocarbons, please give us a call ... Our customers want SAF and other low-carbon hydrocarbons sooner, rather than later.” The US is targeting SAF production of 3 billion gallons/yr by 2030 to meet airline decarbonization targets, versus current output of only 4.5 million gallons/yr. Axens has been developing and commercializing technology that converts fossil-based olefins ethylene, propylene, and butylene into gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel blendstocks for decades. Instead of making olefins from petroleum, Gevo wants to use the exact same technology to make low-carbon fuels from renewable sources like ethanol and butanol. “Gevo’s approach makes it possible to decarbonize the ethanol supply chain and thus utilize technologies originally developed and well-proven for fossil-hydrocarbon production to produce renewable, drop-in fuels,” said Axens CEO Jean Sentenac. Gevo says it will develop, own and operate the ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) plants, utilizing its expertise in renewable alcohol production and technologies, net-zero business model, project financing expertise and customer base. Axens will provide technology and process guarantees for commercial ETJ projects.
