Praj Industries and Gevo Inc. (NASDAQ: Gevo) announced the signing of a Development & Commercialization Agreement for Bio-Isobutanol (Bio-IBA) technology in India, reinforcing their long-standing association to advance sustainable low-carbon fuel solutions.

Under the agreement, Praj will lead the commercialization of Bio-IBA technology in India, with exclusive rights to deploy the technology in the country. The partnership will focus on developing commercial opportunities for Bio-IBA, with primary emphasis on diesel blending applications that have the potential to reduce the carbon intensity of one of the world's most widely used transportation and industrial fuels.

The agreement builds upon more than a decade of association between the two companies to adapt, develop and advance Bio-IBA technology for Indian feedstocks and market requirements. Praj's deep understanding of India's sugar- and starch-based feedstocks, its expertise in engineering, project execution, scale-up and market development, combined with Gevo's Bio-IBA technology, will support its scale-up and commercial adoption in India.

In a separate development aligned with the broader objective of advancing Bio-IBA adoption, Praj is currently establishing India's first commercial Bio-IBA demonstration plant for a leading Oil Marketing Company (OMC). The project is being designed, engineered, supplied and erected by Praj based on Gevo's licensed Bio-IBA technology. The demonstration plant is expected to play an important role in validating production, supply chain and market-development pathways for future commercialization opportunities in India.

Bio-IBA presents a promising opportunity for reducing the carbon footprint of diesel across a wide range of applications, including transportation, agriculture, mining, construction and industrial operations. Given India's large diesel economy and abundant renewable feedstock resources, Bio-IBA has the potential to become an important component in the country's transition towards lower-carbon fuels.