Gevo starts up first new plant, shares jump

Reuters
Fri May 25, 2012 4:57pm EDT

(Reuters) - Gevo Inc started production at a converted ethanol plant in Minnesota, bringing on line the world's first commercial-scale facility to make advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals. Shares rose more than 9 percent.

Gevo said it had flipped the switch on the plant, which will produce isobutanol from corn starch, on Wednesday and it expects to ship the first rail cars of the chemical to its customer Sasol around the end of June.

Sasol plans to the sell the isobutanol into the solvents and specialty chemicals markets, although the organic compound can also be used as an alternative to gasoline.

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