US Gevo partners with French Axens to speed up ethanol-to-jet fuel projects

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US renewable fuels and chemicals company Gevo has agreed an alliance with French energy and chemicals technologies firm Axens to speed up the commercialisation of sustainable ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) projects in the US.

Gevo expects to develop, own and operate ETJ plants to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), either alone or with partners.

The alliance with Axens would allow Gevo to rapidly partner with existing ethanol producers to deploy proven technologies at ETJ projects – “at commercial scales consistent with the airline industry’s sustainability goals”, Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We see that there is great potential to convert ethanol into SAF and other hydrocarbons,” he added.

Axens is expected to contribute its technologies, engineering packages, proprietary catalysts and certain proprietary equipment required to convert ethanol into jet fuel to the alliance.

“Axens is a great partner, they have a lot of patents, expertise and a track record of success with their technologies to convert olefins into hydrocarbons,” Gruber said.

“In short, Axens de-risks the production technology,” he said.

Financial terms were not disclosed.