Gevo Provides Company and Project Updates

Gevo, Inc., a renewable fuels company focused on the production of sustainable aviation fuel, provided an update on the Company and projects currently in process.

Addition of New Director

Gevo recently announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Carol Battershell as a new independent director. Carol is a seasoned executive with nearly 40 years in the energy sector in the United States and internationally. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Battersea Energy LLC, an energy consulting company, and she previously served as Principal Deputy Director in the Office of Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”). In her ten years with the DOE, Carol led multi-billion-dollar technical programs; ran the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy field operations office and was a key contributor to two multi-Agency energy policy reviews. Prior to the DOE, Carol worked for 25 years in the energy industry for BP where she held roles in operations management, strategy development, financial management, and policy development.

Net-Zero 1 Status

Following Gevo’s groundbreaking ceremony in September 2022, progress continues at the Lake Preston, South Dakota, Net-Zero 1 (“NZ1”) location. FEED work is substantially complete and detailed engineering continues. Equipment procurement is expected to begin soon and detailed planning for this year’s construction ramp up has commenced. The project remains on schedule for a 2025 operational startup.

Gevo recently selected a partner as its engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) contractor for NZ1. That firm provides the expertise required for the Net-Zero plant design and construction. This firm also offers deep experience in the energy industry and a collaborative nature to work with the Gevo engineering team in the design and buildout of the net-zero production facility. Gevo is currently negotiating an EPC agreement with this firm and will disclose more details when the contract is finalized.

We are in discussions with multiple strategic and financial entities that are interested in providing equity funding for a portion of the NZ1 project. The progression of these discussions and the debt raise process will guide the timing for financial close and Final Investment Decision (“FID”) for NZ1, which we expect to occur in the second half of 2023. Until financial close, we will use our balance sheet to fund EPC activities. At the invitation of the Department of Energy (“DOE”), we have submitted a Part II application to the DOE’s Title 17 loan guarantee program and have begun the DOE’s loan guarantee process. This process could take several months as the DOE Loan Programs Office performs due diligence on the project, structures the potential loan and negotiates terms with Gevo prior to the loan closing process. The timeline for this process is not within Gevo’s control; however, the more favorable terms of these loans warrant pursuing a DOE loan guarantee simultaneous with Gevo’s pursuit of non-recourse debt with commercial debt fund lenders.

Progress on Key Development Milestones

Accomplished Through year-end 2022:

• Close the purchase of the land for NZ1 in Lake Preston, S.D.
• Execute NZ1 Carbon Capture and Sequestration agreement
• Reach indicative terms on DBOOM development agreements for:
• NZ1 Wind energy
• Green hydrogen
• Select NZ1 engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) contractor
• Select NZ1 fabricator for hydrocarbon plant modules
• Substantial Completion of NZ1 Front-End Engineering Design
• Break ground and begin site preparation for NZ1 at Lake Preston

Through year-end 2023:

• Begin ordering long lead equipment for NZ1
• Execute NZ1 lump-sum turnkey EPC contract
• Complete final negotiations with U.S. Department of Agriculture and initiate Gevo’s Climate-Smart Farm-to-Flight grant with an award ceiling of up to $30MM
• Begin receiving Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”) credits for renewable natural gas (“RNG”) production
• Close NZ1 construction financing, including non-recourse debt and equity participation from one or more third parties
• FID for NZ1
• Finalize Net-Zero 2 location and partners

Throughout 2023, Gevo expects to update stockholders about certain key milestones related to the development, financing, and construction of NZ1 as well as subsequent Net-Zero plants. Updates to those milestones will be found in the Company’s press releases and investor presentations in the Investor Relations section of Gevo’s website.

Additional Plant Sites

Gevo continues to make steady progress on securing future SAF production locations beyond NZ1. These future sites must offer an appealing mix of attributes that enable the Company to produce low-cost fuels with the lowest carbon footprint possible. Gevo has signed agreements and letters of intent with multiple parties to secure access to several sites. In addition to greenfield sites, we believe that there are several existing ethanol plants that could be attractive for an alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) plant that would be largely copied from NZ1.

Renewable Natural Gas Project Status

Gevo’s RNG project in Northwest Iowa continues to ramp up and stabilize production. Gevo will recognize a full quarter of revenue for RNG sales in the fourth quarter of 2022; however, this revenue will be limited to the value of the commodity sales for much of the period. Revenue from Renewable Identification Number (“RIN”) environmental benefits for a small portion of the quarter’s gas production are expected as well. The full extent of the available RIN and LCFS credits will begin contributing to revenue at mid-year in 2023 due to timing of the approval and documentation process for the LCFS credits.

Management Comment

Dr. Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo commented, “We remain on track with our projects, and I am very optimistic about the future of Gevo’s one billion gallons per year goal of Net-Zero fuels. We have multiple attractive sites that we are considering for Net-Zero 2 and beyond. Our process to raise project financing is underway and going well. I believe that momentum is going our way. For example, support for SAF is growing not only at the federal level, but also at the state level. The Illinois House and Senate recently passed SB 2951 which contains a SAF incentive of $1.50 per gallon for airlines that purchase SAF. The term of this incentive is for ten years beginning in June of 2023. This bill allows for the use of Argonne GREET inclusive of agricultural practices and CCS to measure carbon intensity score.”