Gevo Flies High with USAF Alcohol-to-Jet Test Flight
03 July 2012 - 10:30PM
Business Wire
Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), working with the Air Force Research
Laboratories (AFRL), the Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification
Division (AFCD) and the 40 Flight-Test Squadron, provided fuel for
the first successful “alcohol-to-jet” (ATJ) fuel test flight, the
company announced.
The first flight using Alcohol to Jet
(ATJ), a cellulosic-based fuel, takes off from Eglin Air Force
Base. (U.S. Air Force photo taken by Samuel King Jr.)
At 18:30 hours, on June 28, the USAF flew an A-10 Thunder Bolt
jet aircraft powered by a Gevo-produced blend of 50% ATJ fuel and
50% JP-8. A series of flight test maneuvers, throttle bodies,
auxiliary power unit (APU) starts and engine assisted starts were
performed. The A-10 is a single-seat aircraft powered by two
high-bypass GE TF34 turbofan engines. A Honeywell 36-50 APU is used
for engine starting and in flight emergency power generation.
“We’re extremely proud to have witnessed and contributed to the
USAF’s first and only ATJ test flight,” said Chief Operating Office
and President Chris Ryan. “Last week’s test flight represented an
accumulation of more than 4,000 hours of hard work involving
innovative testing, multiple players and years of research on
everyone’s part. Together, we have proven that ATJ fuel is a
technically viable and promising alternative for both military and
commercial applications.”
“This is a great accomplishment for the USAF, Gevo and the
biofuels industry. We’ve validated that ATJ from isobutanol is a
clean burning, homegrown, drop-in jet fuel. The USAF’s flight has
taken the industry one step closer to full commercialization. We
remain committed to commercialization and believe we have the most
economic route to deliver aviation biofuels at scale,” Ryan
said.
Gevo, a leading renewable chemicals and next-generation biofuels
company, was put on contract last year to provide the USAF 11,000
gallons of its ATJ fuel derived from isobutanol for testing by the
AFCD. Gevo’s patented ATJ fuel is truly a drop-in fuel,
deliberately designed to be fully compliant with aviation fuel
specifications and provide equal performance, including
fit-for-purpose properties.
“The AF previously ran a series of engine ground tests, using
the 50/50 blend of the ATJ and JP-8,” said Jeffrey Braun, Division
Chief of AFCD. “Data was then compared with previous results from
JP-8 baseline testing. Engine performance parameters monitored
during the testing remained unchanged when utilizing the ATJ fuel
blend. We were very pleased with the technical performance of the
ATJ material.”
The A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-engine,
straight-wing jet aircraft originally developed by
Fairchild-Republic. The A-10 is a Close Air Support (CAS) platform,
providing support to ground forces by attacking tanks, armored
vehicles, and other ground targets with a limited air interdiction
capability.
About Gevo
Gevo is converting existing ethanol plants into biorefineries to
make renewable building block products for the chemical and fuel
industries. The Company plans to convert renewable raw materials
into isobutanol and renewable hydrocarbons that can be directly
integrated on a “drop in” basis into existing chemical and fuel
products to deliver environmental and economic benefits. Gevo is
committed to a sustainable biobased economy that meets society’s
needs for plentiful food and clean air and water. For more
information, visit www.gevo.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements include statements that are not purely statements of
historical fact, and can sometimes be identified by our use of
terms such as “intend,” “expect,” “plan,” “estimate,” “future,”
“strive” and similar words. These forward-looking statements are
made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and
assumptions of the management of Gevo and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All
such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are
made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
these statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. Although the company believes that the
expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be
expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a
further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ from those expressed in these
forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the
business of Gevo in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual
Report on Form 10-K of Gevo for the year ended December 31, 2011,
as amended, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and
other filings made with the SEC by Gevo.
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