Gevo to Snap Red Trail Energy Assets in North Dakota Including Operating Low-Carbon Ethanol Production And Carbon Sequestration Facilities For $210M

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | September 12, 2024 07:00am

Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), a leading developer of net-zero hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the ethanol production plant and carbon capture and sequestration ("CCS") assets of Red Trail Energy, LLC ("Red Trail Energy") for $210 million.

 

Acquisition highlights:

• The Adjusted EBITDA1 from Red Trail Energy ethanol and CCS assets, when combined with Adjusted EBITDA1 from Gevo's renewable natural gas ("RNG") business, and other businesses, including Verity, is expected to make Gevo's Adjusted EBITDA positive in 2025.
  
   
• The purchase price includes the ethanol production asset and the CCS asset. Gevo expects that its capability of marketing carbon abatement in conjunction with delivery of advanced liquid fuels should deliver superior value to shareholders.
  
   
• This acquisition is consistent with Gevo's strategy while providing an ideal Net-Zero site for future sustainable aviation fuel ("SAF") production that is well positioned to serve the U.S. and Canadian markets.
  
   
• Synergistic with Gevo's Net-Zero 1 SAF project in Lake Preston, South Dakota, by providing access to a wholly owned CCS site and additional supply of low carbon intensity ("CI") ethanol.
  
   
• The acquisition includes existing CCS assets with total sequestration capacity of 1 million metric tons per year, of which 160,000 metric tons per year are currently being utilized. This site could accommodate many future Net-Zero-type and related projects.
  
   
• Accelerates Gevo's fundamental capabilities related to feedstock procurement, plant operations, and the business of carbon abatement, which are expected to benefit Net-Zero 1 and other future SAF projects.
  
   

STRATEGIC RATIONALE

This acquisition accelerates Gevo's mission to transform renewable carbon and photosynthetic energy into net-zero liquid transportation fuels and chemicals while abating carbon.

• Expands the footprint and platform for Gevo for future alcohol-to-jet ("ATJ") SAF at an operating site with existing low-carbon ethanol supply and CCS. Gevo expects to expand the site to include net-zero SAF production, leveraging the low-carbon ethanol combined with defossilized energy.
• Accelerates cash flow focused on Gevo's core business of carbon abatement via fuel products and is synergistic with its Net-Zero projects. Gevo plans to continue operating the Red Trail Energy facility while integrating Gevo's proprietary solutions to further enhance the plant's efficiency, sustainability and further reduce the ethanol CI.
  
   
• Provides operating assets that have years of demonstrated financial performance, including:
  
  
  • Low-carbon ethanol plant with 65 million gallons per year of capacity.
  • Operating CCS site that has been in operation since 2022, currently capturing 160,000 metric tons of carbon annually and generating monetizable tax credits under section 45Q of the tax code.
  • The plant has a long track record of safe, reliable operations. Gevo plans to retain the employees currently operating the plant and CCS well.
  • CCS site that can be used for Gevo's own fuel and chemical products and energy production.
    
     
• Ownership of the CCS asset, which is on well-located acreage in the core of the Broom Creek formation and provides carbon sequestration expansion potential of more than five times current operations by utilizing available pore space and wellhead capacity. One of the few operating CCS sites in the country, the large capacity enables the future production of defossilized energy and steam needed for net-zero fuels and chemicals and provides opportunities for Net-Zero 1, if needed.
• Underscores Gevo's dedication to providing innovative solutions that address the challenges of global climate change, U.S. energy security, and rural community development.

Posted In: GEVO