Gevo, ValvTect to bring isobutanol fuel blends to marinas
Gevo, Inc., and ValvTect will collaborate on bringing renewable isobutanol fuel blends to ValvTect branded marinas, the companies announced Wednesday.
With a distribution network of over 700 marinas, believed to represent more than half of the marinas in the U.S., this collaboration provides Gevo with access to marinas that currently utilize ValvTect additives. In addition, this partnership is expected to open the door for Gevo and ValvTect to continue the expansion into additional marinas, which will look to provide high-performance gasoline blends comprising Gevo’s renewable isobutanol and ValvTect’s additives.
“We are impressed with the quality of Gevo’s isobutanol fuel blend,” said Marvin Griffin, president of ValvTect. “When combined with ValvTect’s marine fuel additive, you’re looking at a final product that we believe is a superior fuel for boat engines. This is a winning scenario for all parties – ValvTect, Gevo, marinas and boating enthusiasts alike.”
Gevo’s announcement comes after a series of tests were run using clear (ethanol-free) gasoline that was combined with 16 percent isobutanol and ValvTect’s marine fuel additive. The results proved the compatibility of the combination.
When used in marine fuel, the tests indicate that Gevo’s isobutanol provides higher energy content than ethanol blends, prevents moisture absorption and phase separation and reduces engine corrosion. In addition, Gevo’s isobutanol was recently endorsed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
“The Gevo team is extremely pleased with the results of blending our isobutanol biofuel with ValvTect’s marine fuel additive,” said Dr. Patrick Gruber, Gevo CEO. “The data shows that when used together, these two top-quality fuel products are beneficial to the performance of marine engines. ValvTect is a well-known and trusted brand in the marina market, so the fact that ValvTect is collaborating with Gevo should give marina customers confidence in the reliability of their fuel.”
I look forward to the introduction of isobutanol into your marine gasoline. I live reasonably close to Lake Conroe in Texas and would like to know when I can expect it to be made available.
Ron Stubblefield
Thanks for your great question. The isobutanol market is very small right now, but there is a big push for it as a potential replacement for ethanol in some markets. ValvTect has fully tested fuels blended with isobutanol and determined that these blends are acceptable for formulating ValvTect Marine Fuel. Right now the Isobutanol people are currently conducting additional long term testing data on isobutanol blended gasoline at one marina in the Midwest. It will probably be a while before you see isobutanol blended gasoline in wide spread use because of the time it takes to get a product like this to market and the current cost vs the cost of ethanol make it more of a niche fuel. As far as the cost. right now it is more expensive than ethanol and the production capacity is not enough to meet total market needs as a full replacement for ethanol.
In addition to my inquiry on the slated availability of isobutanol gasoline for Texas Marinas, can you also provide an estimated price per gallon for this product?
Thanks