Global agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has teamed up with renewable energy company Gevo to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other hydrocarbon fuels, ADM announced on 25 October.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the production of ethanol and isobutanol that would be transformed using Gevo’s processing technology into renewable hydrocarbons, including SAF, ADM said.
About 900M gallons of ethanol produced at ADM’s dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as well as its Decatur complex in IIlinois, was expected to be processed into 1.8bn litres (500M gallons) of SAF and other renewable hydrocarbons, according to the statement, while the isobutanol was expected to be produced at a proposed new facility in Decatur.
“The potential conversion of 3.4bn litres (900M gallons) of ethanol – more than half of our production capacity – to serve growing demand for sustainable aviation fuel would represent a major step in the continued evolution of our carbohydrate solutions business to focus increasingly on new, high-growth opportunities,” ADM chairman and CEO Juan Luciano said.
The companies said they plan to start SAF production in 2025/26.
