Under the terms of the deal, the companies will collaborate to accelerate the pilot research, technical scale-up and commercialization of bio-propylene using Gevo’s ETO technology for use in renewable chemicals.

Gevo said its proprietary technology can target carbon neutral or carbon negative drop-in replacements for traditional petroleum-based building blocks such as propylene. The plant-based renewable olefin will be derived from atmospheric CO₂ captured through photosynthesis and is expected to deliver the same performance in the final product as its fossil-based counterpart.

“We believe Gevo’s ethanol-to-olefin’s process can be more capital and energy efficient than existing technologies to make the renewable olefin intermediates used in the production of chemicals or fuels,” said Gevo’s chief carbon and innovation officer Paul Bloom.

“Our partnership with LG Chem is a great example of how we intend to accelerate development and commercialization of our ETO technology to enable renewable chemicals with our world-class partner while Gevo plans to deploy the technology to lower the cost and carbon intensity for sustainable aviation fuel and other drop-in fuels like renewable diesel.”

Gevo said it expects the bio-propylene could play a pivotal role in the rapid growth of the bioplastic market and circular economy. Once commercialization is achieved, the renewable olefin could also be used as a drop-in replacement for petroleum-based materials in products for automobile interiors and exteriors, flooring and diapers.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist