Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber presented testimony before the House Agriculture Committee this week on the future of climate smart crops and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) with updated carbon accounting and a system that rewards farmers for sustainable practices.

“Net zero hydrocarbon drop in fuels are what the marketplace is interested in,” Gruber told the committee, outlining Gevo’s concept of a Net-Zero manufacturing plant for SAF they hope to be operational by 2025. The plant would use 35 million bushels of “climate smart” corn to produce feed products, oil, net-zero jet fuel, gasoline, and diesel, all while being “off the grid” with a wind farm, and water-treatment plant that produces enough biogas to offset the need for fossil-based natural gas.

Gruber says what they are learning can apply to existing ethanol plants. “If we can decarbonize their energy, we can add jet fuel and hydrocarbon production to those facilities as well,” and the way Gevo believes net zero can be achieved is by updating our lifecycle carbon accounting method to the Argonne GREET model. “There’s lots of carbon accounting models used around the world and we need to use the best, that’s the Argonne GREET model, it’s the gold standard, it’s the foundation for others.”

Because achieving net zero begins with sustainable farming practices, Gevo has just signed an agreement with digital agriculture company Farmers Edge to work together on a new type of carbon inset management program. “We think farmers should be paid for their corn and then be rewarded for the benefit they provide all of us in capturing carbon,” said Gruber.

Here is Gruber’s opening statement to the committee:
GEVO CEO Testifies at House Ag Hearing (4:55)