FLYING HIGH make a difference ,” he says .
The first step in getting biofuels into any fossil-fuelled aircraft or vehicle is to prove to consumers that there are viable , even preferable , alternatives available .
“ One of the paradigm-busting things that we attempt to do is show everybody that just because [ isobutanol ] is bio-based doesn ’ t mean the performance is bad ,” Gruber continues . “ In fact , it ’ s contrary . It ’ s high performance and bio-based . And it can be cost-competitive , too .”
Gevo still lacks a full-scale production facility for jet fuel , and scaling up will have to coincide with an influx of capital from aviation firms looking to ‘ go green ’. In the short term , the company is seeking to secure more commercial agreements while preparing itself for an inevitable an influx of demand .
“ There ’ s a question of timing , who ’ s gonna do what , who will step up first ,” Gruber explains . “ Near as I can tell , we ’ re about in the right place at the right time with the right technology . I do believe that we have the most cost-competitive route to making a renewable resource-based jet fuel .” When the time for expansion is at hand , Gevo plans to equip its Minnesota fermentation plant for increased isobutanol production before building international production facilities . Another of isobutanol ’ s advantages is that it can be made from whatever cost-competitive carbohydrates are available in a given locale .
“ We designed our technology so that it could use a variety of sources of sugars ,” Gruber says . “ So if you ’ re going to dream big and make a difference , you can ’ t just say : ‘ I can only use sugar from Brazil ’. Then I ’ m stuck there .”
“ How about we make something that can be used anywhere and everywhere ?”
Gevo has already licensed its technology into Argentina and in five years ’ time , Gruber expects the company to be in outright growth mode with both low carbon jet fuel and gasoline .
“ We ’ re one of the last companies still standing who has been working in this space ,” Gruber said . “ And our technologies work at commercial scales , we ’ ve shown that already . It is all about growth and lining up with the markets .”
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