GEVO Company Profile

We are a renewable chemicals and next generation biofuels company. We have developed proprietary technology that uses a combination of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering to focus primarily on the production of renewable isobutanol as well as related products from renewable feedstocks. Isobutanol is a four-carbon alcohol that can be sold directly for use as a specialty chemical in the production of solvents, paints and coatings or as a value-added gasoline blendstock. Isobutanol can also be converted into butenes using dehydration chemistry deployed in the refining and petrochemicals industries today. The convertibility of isobutanol into butenes is important because butenes are primary hydrocarbon building blocks used in the production of hydrocarbon fuels, including isooctane, isooctene and alcohol-to-jet-fuel (“ATJ”), as well as lubricants, polyester, rubber, plastics, fibers and other polymers. We believe that the products derived from isobutanol have potential applications in substantially all of the global hydrocarbon fuels markets and in approximately 40% of the global petrochemicals markets.

In order to produce and sell isobutanol made from renewable sources, we have developed the Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology® (“GIFT®”), an integrated technology platform for the efficient production and separation of renewable isobutanol. GIFT® consists of two components, proprietary biocatalysts that convert sugars derived from multiple renewable feedstocks into isobutanol through fermentation, and a proprietary separation unit that is designed to continuously separate isobutanol during the fermentation process. We developed our technology platform to be compatible with the existing approximately 25 billion gallons per year (“BGPY”) of global operating ethanol production capacity, as estimated by the Renewable Fuels Association.

GIFT® is designed to permit (i) the retrofit of existing ethanol capacity to produce isobutanol, ethanol or both products simultaneously or (ii) the addition of renewable isobutanol or ethanol production capabilities to a facility’s existing ethanol production by adding additional fermentation capacity side-by-side with the facility’s existing ethanol fermentation capacity (collectively referred to as “Retrofit”). Having the flexibility to switch between the production of isobutanol and ethanol, or produce both products simultaneously, should allow us to optimize asset utilization and cash flows at a facility by taking advantage of fluctuations in market conditions. GIFT® is also designed to allow relatively low capital expenditure Retrofits of existing ethanol facilities, enabling a relatively rapid route to isobutanol production from the fermentation of renewable feedstocks. Alternatively, GIFT® can be deployed at a greenfield or brownfield site to produce isobutanol only. We believe that our production route will be cost-efficient, will enable relatively rapid deployment of our technology platform and allow our isobutanol and related renewable products to be economically competitive with many of the petroleum-based products used in the chemicals and fuels markets today.

We plan to commercialize our isobutanol primarily through a strategy of Retrofitting existing ethanol production facilities to produce isobutanol and related renewable products and have developed our technology platform to be compatible with the existing approximately 25 BGPY of global operating ethanol production capacity. We believe that our design will enable a switch between the production of isobutanol and ethanol, or the ability to produce both products simultaneously, which will allow optimization of asset utilization and cash flows at a facility by taking advantage of fluctuations in market conditions.
The Retrofit approach allows us to project potentially lower capital outlays and a faster commercial deployment schedule than the construction of new plants. We believe the ability of GIFT® to convert sugars from multiple renewable feedstocks into isobutanol will enable us to leverage the abundant domestic sources of historically low cost grain feedstocks (e.g., corn) currently used for ethanol production and will potentially enable the expansion of our production capacity into international markets that use sugar cane or other feedstocks that are prevalent outside of the U.S.

We plan to secure access to existing ethanol production facilities through joint ventures, licensing arrangements, tolling partnerships and direct acquisitions. We then plan to work with design, engineering, and construction partners to deploy GIFT® through Retrofits of these production facilities.

In September 2010, we acquired a 22 million gallon per year (“MGPY”) ethanol production facility in Luverne, Minnesota (the “Agri-Energy Facility”). The Agri-Energy Facility is a traditional dry-mill facility, which means that it uses dry-milled corn as a feedstock. In partnership with ICM, Inc. (“ICM”), we developed a detailed Retrofit design for this facility and began the Retrofit in 2011. In May 2012, we commenced initial startup operations for the production of isobutanol at the Agri-Energy Facility. In September 2012, as a result of a lower than planned production rate of isobutanol, we made the strategic decision to pause isobutanol production at the Agri-Energy Facility at the conclusion of startup operations to focus on optimizing specific parts of the process to further enhance isobutanol production rates.
In 2013, we made modifications to our Agri-Energy Facility designed to increase the isobutanol production rate. In June 2013, we resumed the limited production of isobutanol, operating one fermenter and one GIFT® separation system in order to (i) verify that the modifications had significantly reduced the previously identified infections, (ii) demonstrate that our biocatalyst performs in the one million liter fermenters at the Agri-Energy Facility, and (iii) confirm GIFT® efficacy at commercial scale at the Agri-Energy Facility. In August 2013, we expanded production capacity at the Agri-Energy Facility by adding a second fermenter and second GIFT® system to further verify our results with a second configuration of equipment. For these initial production runs, we demonstrated fermentation operations at commercial scale combined with the use of our GIFT® separation system using a dextrose (sugar) feedstock. Based on the results of these initial production runs, in October 2013 we began commissioning the Agri-Energy Facility on corn mash to test isobutanol production run rates and to optimize biocatalyst production, fermentation separation and water management systems.
In March 2014, we decided to leverage the flexibility of our GIFT® technology and further modify the Agri-Energy Facility in order to enable the simultaneous production of isobutanol and ethanol. In July 2014, we began more consistent co-production of isobutanol and ethanol at the Agri-Energy Facility, with one fermenter utilized for isobutanol production and three fermenters utilized for ethanol production.

In September 2015, we began deploying additional capital at our Agri-Energy Facility, primarily designed to decrease the cost of production for isobutanol by bringing parts of the process to the facility that have previously been done off-site by third parties. Key equipment installed at the plant included a distillation system to purify isobutanol on site, an addition to our seed train to improve our ability to grow our yeast on site and a stainless steel fermenter to replace one of the existing carbon steel fermenters that had reached the end of its useful life. Completed in 2016, the installation of this equipment enabled increased isobutanol production volumes and decreased isobutanol production costs at our Agri-Energy Facility.

Through December 31, 2016, we have incurred capital costs of approximately $70.8 million on the Retrofit of the Agri-Energy Facility. The Retrofit of the Agri-Energy Facility includes a number of additional capital costs that are unique to the design of the facility, including additional equipment that we believe will allow us to switch between ethanol and isobutanol production, modifications to increase the potential production capacity of GIFT® at this facility and the establishment of an enhanced yeast seed train to accelerate the adoption of improved yeast strains at this facility and at future plants. Capital expenditures at the Agri-Energy Facility also include upfront design and engineering costs, plant modifications identified as necessary during initial startup operations for the production of isobutanol and capitalized interest.
Until May 2012, when we commenced initial Retrofit startup operations for the production of isobutanol at the Agri-Energy Facility, we derived revenue only from the sale of ethanol, distiller’s grains and other related products produced as part of the ethanol production process at the Agri-Energy Facility. Continued ethanol production during the Retrofit process allowed us to retain local staff for the operation of the plant, maintain the equipment and generate cash flow. Our Retrofit strategy includes the ability to switch between the production of isobutanol and ethanol, or produce both products simultaneously, with an emphasis on maximizing cash flows at a site. Historically, we have been able to switch between the production of isobutanol and ethanol at the Agri-Energy Facility. In the future, we believe that we will be able to continue to transition between the production and sale of ethanol and related products at the Agri-Energy Facility, in whole or in part, if we were to project positive cash flows from ethanol operations versus maintaining the facility at idle or producing isobutanol, including any costs related to the transition, but there is no guarantee that this will be the case. As a result, the historical operating results of our subsidiary, Agri-Energy, LLC (“Agri-Energy”), and the operating results reported during the Retrofit to isobutanol production may not be indicative of future operating results for Agri-Energy or Gevo’s consolidated results. The future return on our invested capital depends on our ability to maximize cash flows from the Retrofit of the Agri-Energy Facility.