NASA buys renewable jet fuel from Gevo

Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO) said on Monday it has sold Alcohol-to-Jet fuel (ATJ) to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for aviation use at its research centre in Ohio.

The US biofuels and biochemicals firm did not reveal any specific terms regarding the deal.

This type of renewable jet fuel is produced at Gevo’s Silsbee demonstration biorefinery in Texas, using renewable isobutanol made at its Luverne plant in Minnesota. The Silsbee biorefinery is run in conjunction with South Hampton Resources.

Gevo mentioned that NASA has, over the past several years, been analysing the effects of alternate biofuels on engine performance, emissions and aircraft-generated contrails at altitudes typical for commercial flights. Recent tests have indicated that a blend of renewable jet fuel and standard jet fuel has substantially lowered emissions when compared to using just standard jet fuel. This improvement has not been achieved at the cost of affecting flight operations in any way, the firm added.

Gevo’s CEO Patrick Gruber noted that, through testing initiatives, the company’s partners such as Lufthansa and the US military are seeking to certify the particular drop-in jet fuel and to step up its full-scale commercialisation.

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