Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) outlined its strategy to expand from ethanol and carbon capture operations into larger-scale sustainable aviation fuel production during a presentation at the Lytham Partners Spring 2026 Investor Conference.
Eric Frey, Gevo’s vice president of finance and strategy, said the company is positioned as a platform for sustainable aviation fuel, or synthetic aviation fuel, with operations spanning ethanol production, carbon capture, renewable natural gas and digital tracking of low-carbon products.
North Dakota Assets Anchor Growth Plan
Frey said Gevo’s acquisition in North Dakota last year provided a foundation for ethanol production and carbon capture while creating a base of cash flow for future Alcohol-to-Jet development. He said the acquisition helped the company generate $16 million of EBITDA last year.
Gevo’s North Dakota facility includes one of the few permitted and operating Class VI carbon capture wells, according to Frey. He said the site has approximately 1 million tons per year of capacity to inject carbon dioxide about one mile underground, where it mineralizes and is rated for more than 1,000 years of permanence.
The company is currently using about 17% of that capacity, injecting roughly 170,000 tons per year, Frey said. He said Gevo plans to increase usage by producing more carbon dioxide on-site and by bringing in third-party volumes.
Frey said Gevo is targeting a $40 million annual EBITDA run rate through execution this year, with efficiency improvements and expansion of the ethanol and carbon capture segment serving as a key part of that plan.
Alcohol-to-Jet Seen as Core SAF Route
Frey said Gevo’s longer-term strategy centers on Alcohol-to-Jet technology, which converts ethanol into jet fuel. He said the process is attractive because ethanol can be produced from plant sugars, which are abundant, and because jet aircraft are difficult to electrify.
He said the Alcohol-to-Jet process produces a product stream that is about 90% jet fuel, compared with fossil fuel refineries that generally produce about 9% jet fuel from a barrel of crude oil. Frey also said demand for jet fuel is rising while broader fossil fuel demand is in decline.
According to Frey, the cash cost of production for a first-generation ethanol-to-jet facility is about $3 to $4 per gallon of jet fuel, before accounting for the value customers and regulators may assign to lower carbon intensity. He said fossil jet fuel was above $4 per gallon at the time of the presentation due to international conflict.
Gevo has licensed existing technologies to convert ethanol into jet fuel and is developing a project called ATJ30 in North Dakota, Frey said. The company refers to the broader North Dakota effort as Project North Star. Frey said that once financing is in place and the project enters construction, Gevo expects construction to take two to three years.
Carbon Markets and Verification
Frey said Gevo can monetize carbon reductions through regulatory low-carbon fuel markets and voluntary carbon dioxide removal markets. He cited low-carbon fuel programs in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Canada as markets where lower-carbon fuels can generate credits.
He also said Gevo has been developing sales into voluntary carbon dioxide removal markets, naming Nasdaq, PayPal and Bank of Montreal as companies that have paid Gevo for tons of sequestered carbon dioxide.
Frey highlighted Verity, Gevo’s digital audit trail platform, as a way to document the source and carbon attributes of low-carbon products. He said traceability is needed because sustainable aviation fuel and conventional jet fuel look and function the same in engines.
Renewable Natural Gas and Strategic Partnerships
Gevo also operates a renewable natural gas business, Frey said. Through dairy farm partners, the company captures fugitive methane emissions from manure, cleans the gas and injects it into pipelines. Frey described the resulting renewable natural gas as “negative carbon” because more carbon is captured upfront than is emitted when the gas is burned.
In its technology development efforts, Frey said Gevo is working with strategic partners including LG Chem and Axens to improve the efficiency and cost profile of future Alcohol-to-Jet plants. He said the company does not intend to stop with a first plant and is seeking second- and third-generation improvements in capital and operating efficiency.
Long-Term Vision
Frey said Gevo’s growth plan has three steps: optimize and expand existing operations, deploy the ATJ30 project and then replicate the model. He said the company believes there is potential to build many Alcohol-to-Jet plants by using ethanol plants in the U.S. and globally as part of the supply base.
He said building about 70 Alcohol-to-Jet plants could produce roughly 2 billion gallons per year of jet fuel, which he described as about the amount of additional jet fuel the U.S. will demand over the next 10 years. Frey cautioned that Gevo is not saying 70 plants would be built immediately, but said the company sees scope for a broader industry to develop.
Frey also said biofuels have received broad policy support, noting that the past two U.S. administrations have passed and extended biofuel-related tax credits and that the current administration released what he called the largest renewable volume obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Robert Blum, managing partner at Lytham Partners, hosted the presentation and said investors could contact Gevo’s investor relations team or Frey directly with questions.
About Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO)
Gevo, Inc (NASDAQ: GEVO) is a renewable chemicals and biofuels company that develops and produces low-carbon alternatives to petroleum-based products. The company’s core technology platform converts fermentable sugars into isobutanol, which can be further processed into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Gevo’s integrated biorefinery model combines fermentation, recovery, and downstream processing to deliver scalable, drop-in replacements for conventional fossil-derived hydrocarbons.
Gevo’s primary products include isobutanol, a four-carbon alcohol used as a building block for various fuels and chemicals, and hydrocarbon fuels that meet ASTM specifications for aviation and road transport.
