Gevo to partner with Praj on licensing isobutanol technology

Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO) has signed license and joint development deals with India's Praj Industries Ltd (BOM:522205) to help roll out the US biofuels firm's isobutanol technology to processors of non-corn feedstocks.

As part of the agreements, Praj will invest substantial resources in the development and optimisation of the isobutanol technology for use with feedstocks such as sugar cane, sugar beets, cassava, rice, sorghum, wheat and certain cellulosic sugars, Gevo said this week. The Indian company would market the technology to its global customer base of ethanol plant owners and would provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for such projects. Gevo would be the direct licensor of its technology.

"Licensing is expected to be a key growth area for Gevo, and we very much look forward to Praj being one of Gevo’s key partners in rolling out our technology globally," said Gevo chief executive Patrick Gruber.

The development work is expected to build upon the process design packages that Gevo has already developed for corn.

As previously announced, the partners target licensing up to 250 million gallons (946 million litres) of Biobutanol capacity over the next 10 years.

The companies expect to also collaborate on commercialising Gevo's technology for making renewable jet fuel from isobutanol in India.

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