SEATTLE, June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The skies are a
little greener today after two Alaska Airlines jets departed the
Emerald City fueled by the first alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ) made
from sustainable U.S. corn. The two Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK)
flights departed today with Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) fuel and flew
from Seattle to San Francisco International Airport and Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport.
"Alaska is committed to doing
its part to reduce its carbon emissions. Advancing the use of
alternative jet fuels is a key part of our emission reduction
strategy," said Joseph Sprague,
Alaska Airlines' senior vice president of communications and
external relations. "Gevo's jet fuel product is an important step
forward, in that it has the potential to be scalable and cost
effective, without sacrificing performance."
While the 1,500 gallons of biofuel used on these flights have a
minimal impact to Alaska Airlines' overall greenhouse gas
emissions, if the airline were able to replace 20 percent
of its entire fuel supply at Sea-Tac Airport, it would reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by about 142,000 metric tons of
CO2. This is equivalent to taking approximately 30,000
passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
Alaska estimates the 20 percent
biofuel blend it is using for the two flights will reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an estimated 50 percent. The
demonstration flights mark the first biofuel produced from a new
feedstock to be certified and approved by ASTM International, the
industry's fuel standards association, since 2011. Additionally,
today's flights are a successful step toward the production of new
fuels that will help airlines to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions. Gevo's production process converts bio-based isobutanol
into an alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK)
fuel.
When compared to other fuel options, Gevo believes that its
renewable ATJ has the potential to offer benefits to operating
cost, capital cost, feedstock availability and scalability, and
will translate across geographies.
"Flying a commercial flight with our ATJ made from renewable
resources has been a vision of ours for many years, and it has
taken many years of work to get this far," said Gevo CEO
Pat Gruber. "We believe our
technology has the potential to be the lowest cost, renewable
carbon-based jet fuel, given the efficacy of our technology. We
look forward to moving forward with Alaska, and others in the airline industry, to
make renewable jet fuel widely successful as a product that
substitutes for fossil fuels, and ultimately helps to reduce carbon
emissions."
The renewable fuel is made from sustainable corn grown and
harvested by farmers who incorporate sustainable best practices
from seed to harvest, including David
Kolsrud of The Funding Farm. Using advanced farming
techniques to maximize corn production and minimize the use of
water, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, Kolsrud began low
carbon farming at his farm in Brandon,
South Dakota in 2010.
"I grow non-edible field corn and sell it to Gevo, which
separates the nutritional protein portion of the corn for animal
feed and then converts the starch from the kernel to isobutanol,
which is then converted to jet fuel," said Kolsrud. "This practice
is a game-changer for traditional farmers like me, as this allows
us to extend the use of our crop and create new jobs that frankly
didn't exist six years ago."
Alaska Airlines has been a leader in seeking more sustainable
fuels and these flights are part of the company's long-term
commitment to its sustainability strategy. The Seattle-based company was the first U.S.
airline to fly multiple commercial passenger flights using a
biofuel from used cooking oil. The carrier flew 75 flights between
Seattle and Washington, D.C. and Seattle and Portland in November
2011.
Additionally, Alaska Airlines is teaming up with the
Washington State University-led
Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) to advance the
production and use of alternative jet fuel made from forest
residuals, the tree limbs and branches that remain after a forest
harvest. In the coming months, Alaska will fly a demonstration flight using
1,000 gallons of Gevo's ATJ being produced by the NARA team and its
many partners.
Alaska has set an ambitious
goal of using sustainable aviation biofuel on all flights at one or
more of its primary airports by 2020. In a step toward meeting this
milestone, Alaska is collaborating
with Boeing and the Port of Seattle on a Biofuel Infrastructure
Feasibility Study for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Read more about Alaska's
sustainability efforts at alaskaair.com/sustainability.
Biofuel multimedia available for download:
- On the Alaska Airlines' blog: Isobuto-What?: Alaska
partners with Gevo to bring biofuels to the sky
- Passenger handout describing the biofuel flights
- Broadcast quality b-roll and still photos of AS Flight 388
being fueled will be posted to the Alaska Airlines' blog by
3 p.m. Pacific time, June 7, 2016.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK),
together with its partner regional airlines, serves more than 100
cities through an expansive network in the United States, Canada, Costa
Rica and Mexico. Alaska
Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional
Carriers in North America" in the
J.D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study for nine
consecutive years from 2008 to 2016. Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan
also ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty
Rewards Programs" in the J.D. Power Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program
Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years. For
reservations, visit www.alaskaair.com. For more news and
information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom at
www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.
About Gevo
Gevo is a leading renewable technology, chemical products, and
next generation biofuels company. Gevo has developed proprietary
technology that uses a combination of synthetic biology, metabolic
engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering to focus primarily
on the production of isobutanol, as well as related products from
renewable feedstocks. Gevo's strategy is to commercialize bio-based
alternatives to petroleum-based products to allow for the
optimization of fermentation facilities' assets, with the ultimate
goal of maximizing cash flows from the operation of those assets.
Gevo produces isobutanol, ethanol and high-value animal feed at its
fermentation plant in Luverne,
Minnesota. Gevo has also developed technology to produce
hydrocarbon products from renewable alcohols. Gevo currently
operates a biorefinery in Silsbee,
Texas, in collaboration with South Hampton Resources Inc.,
to produce renewable jet fuel, octane, and ingredients for plastics
like polyester. Gevo has a marquee list of partners including The
Coca-Cola Company, Toray Industries Inc. and Total SA, among
others. Gevo is committed to a sustainable bio-based economy that
meets society's needs for plentiful food and clean air and
water.
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, which relate to Gevo's engagement of a financial
advisor and its review of strategic and financial alternatives, are
made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and
assumptions of the management and Board of Directors 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 Gevo undertakes no obligation to update
or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Although Gevo 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 and the
company cannot provide any assurance that its efforts will result
in the company pursuing any potential strategic or financial
alternative or that such an alternative, if pursued, will be
completed. 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 Dec. 31, 2015, and in subsequent reports on Forms
10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission by Gevo.
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines