Gevo Inc., the world's only commercial producer of renewable isobutanol, announced that it is selling renewable isooctane to Total for formulation into Formula 1 racing fuel. The Total racing fuel incorporating Gevo's renewable isooctane is being used by the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team and has achieved Grand Prix victories in Canada, Hungary and Belgium.

Gevo has worked closely with the teams from Total Additives & Special Fuels and Total R&D who have successfully blended renewable isooctane into Formula 1 racing fuel formulations. Gevo and Total are proud to have enabled this new fuel technology for Formula 1, and validated it through Total's long standing collaborations with Renault Sport F1 and partner teams.

Isooctane is a valuable gasoline additive, used to increase knock resistance, improve energy density, and lower the reid vapor pressure (RVP) of the finished fuels. Gevo's renewable isobutanol from Luverne, Minnesota, is being converted into bio-isooctane at its biorefinery at South Hampton Resources, where Gevo also produces its renewable jet fuel and para-xylene.

Bruno Pahlawan, managing director of Total ACS, stated, "By using a renewable bio-hydrocarbon and designing new formulations, we have been able to maximize the energy content from the 100 kg of fuel that the Renault Energy 2014-F1 power unit is allowed to use in each race. Innovation is at the core of our strategy and partnering with innovative companies is a rapid and efficient way to bring more value to our customers, Gevo demonstrates this with their pioneering approach that leverages both fermentation and chemistry to produce products that move the industry forward. Total ACS and Gevo are looking forward to building on this success to include future formulations and product offerings."

"We are very pleased to be working with Total to supply renewable racing fuel for Formula 1. It's exciting to develop a high performance renewable racing fuel component that can also be utilized in the broader global fuel markets," said Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo.