Officials at Gevo Inc. discussed progress with the development of the company’s renewable natural gas (RNG) project in Iowa and the proposed Net-Zero 1 refinery under development in South Dakota during a first quarter earnings call, held May 9.

Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo, said that the company completed construction of its RNG project in northwestern Iowa on time and budget. The facility is served by three dairies that have more than 20,000 cows combined. According to Gruber, the digesters are in the startup phase and should reach a steady state of production in a matter of weeks. “We are producing biogas and starting up the equipment to process that gas into RNG for the pipeline distribution system,” he added.

Gruber also discussed ongoing work to partner with ADM and other ethanol producers for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). He noted that many ethanol producers are interested in providing feedstock for SAF production. Gevo is in the process of finding the best facilities to partner with in terms of the carbon intensity (CI) of the products they produced.

Chris Ryan, chief financial officer at Gevo, discussed progress being made toward the development of Gevo’s Net-Zero 1 facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota. That project is currently expected to become operational in 2025. Ryan said the company is on track with site development, engineering and commercial contracts. The company plans to finalize purchase of the proposed plant site soon, he said, noting dirt work could begin later this year. Gevo also reported that it recently received the conditional use permits for the plant and associated wind turbines, which will help power facility.

Gevo reported revenue of $200,000 for the first quarter, up from $100,000 reported for the same period of last year. The company sold approximately 35,000 gallons of SAF, isooctane and isooctane from its development facility in Luverne, Minnesota, during the quarter.

Gevo reported a net loss of $15.7 million, compared to a net loss of $10.1 million reported for the first quarter of last year. Non-GAAP cash EBITDA loss was $13.3 million, compared to a $7.8 million loss reported for the same period of 2021.