Gevo, Inc. (GEVO) FY 2023 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”). Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis and set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Company Overview
We are a growth-oriented, carbon abatement company with the mission of solving greenhouse gas emissions for those sectors of the transportation industry that are not amenable to electrification or hydrogen. We believe that the market size for hydrocarbon fuels will continue to remain significant in the long-term even with the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and hydrogen technologies.
We are focused on transforming renewable energy into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as renewable fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”), with the potential to achieve a “net-zero” greenhouse gas (“GHG”) footprint. We believe that this addresses the global need of reducing GHG emissions with “drop in” sustainable alternatives to petroleum fuels. We use the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation model (the “GREET Model”) to measure, predict and verify GHG emissions across the life cycle of our products. The “net-zero” concept means Gevo expects that by using sustainably grown feedstock (e.g., low till, no-till and dry corn cultivation), renewable and substantially decarbonized energy sources, drop-in hydrocarbon fuels can be produced that have a net-zero, full life cycle footprint measured from the capture of renewable carbon through the burning of the fuel.
Our primary market focus, given current demand and growing customer interest, is hydrocarbon fuels, and SAF in particular. We believe that SAF from carbohydrates to alcohol is the most economically viable approach for carbon abatement. We also have commercial opportunities for other renewable hydrocarbon products, such as RNG; hydrocarbons for gasoline blendstocks and diesel fuel; ingredients for the chemical industry, such as ethylene and butenes; plastics and materials; and other chemicals. Global fuel consumption by commercial airlines continues to remain strong, with global fuel consumption of more than 100 MGPY and growing.
Project Updates
Net-Zero Projects. Our concept of “Net-Zero Projects” is a series of planned facilities to produce energy dense liquid hydrocarbons using renewable energy and our proprietary technology. Our initial Net-Zero Project, Net-Zero 1 (“NZ1”), is expected to be located in Lake Preston, South Dakota, and is being currently designed to produce approximately 65 million gallons per year (“MGPY”) of total hydrocarbon volumes, including 60 MGPY of SAF, which would fulfill part of our approximately 350 MGPY of SAF and hydrocarbon supply agreements. The liquid hydrocarbons, when burned, are expected to have a “net-zero” GHG footprint. Along with the hydrocarbons, NZ1 is expected to produce approximately 695,000 tons per year of high-value protein products for use in the food chain and more than 34 million pounds per year of corn oil. Our products will be produced in three steps: the first step is milling the corn to produce the carbohydrates needed for the production of SAF while simultaneously enabling the production of protein and oil; the second step produces alcohols using carbohydrate-based fermentation; and the third step is the conversion of the alcohols into hydrocarbons.
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We work with several technology, design and equipment partners, most notably Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT), Axens, and Praj. FQT and Axens provide area operation designs which have been incorporated into Gevo’s proprietary overall design of low CI carbohydrate-to-hydrocarbon plants, such as NZ1 plant. Praj is working with us on the proprietary design and construction of prefabricated process modules for our plants. Our partners are working with us on proprietary process designs that have the potential to lower capital and operating cost in the future. The advantage of utilizing Fluid Quip and Axens area operation and related process designs which are well proven in other applications, we believe we have chosen technology which is substantially de-risked.
We completed the value engineering on our NZ1 project and are proceeding with detailed engineering, modularization design, and capital costs updates. We are currently refining project cost estimates with engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) partners to identify cost saving opportunities, and currently expect to finance the construction of NZ1 at the subsidiary level using a combination of Company equity and third-party capital, to include non-recourse debt. The Company expects to have invested a cumulative total of $236 to $286 million of cash equity in the project at financial close. Cash distributions from future NZ1 earnings would be proportionate to Gevo’s ownership in NZ1 under this expected financing structure. The use of project debt and third party equity allows us to conserve capital for use on other growth projects. We expect to apply similar development and financing strategies to future Net-Zero Projects to enable growth of SAF production to meet demand for SAF.
We have substantially completed the engineering design of NZ1. We have substantially completed value engineering and we are now focusing on detail engineering with an EPC partner, to reduce and contractually finalize a negotiated lump-sum, fixed price agreement whereby the EPC will build and deliver the plant. This detail engineering work is focused specifically on increasing the modularization of component parts on the NZ1 plant design, which means that we expect that the process equipment would be built into modules at a factory, then the modules would be assembled onsite at NZ1, with the goal of minimizing specialized field work typical in plant construction of this type. This approach is expected to lower the risk and cost of, and access to, skilled labor at the site and reduce the supply chain constrictions for some of our long-lead equipment. Increasing the modularization of the plant design is also expected to reduce our spend in advance of securing third-party equity and debt financing for NZ1 and increase the certainty of construction schedule for those counterparties.
In order to achieve full construction financing for NZ1, we need to secure third-party equity and debt. Upon receiving an invitation from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”), we submitted a Part II Application for a DOE loan guarantee for a direct lending from Federal Financing Bank. In August 2023, Gevo was invited to enter the due diligence and underwriting phases with DOE. Given the current interest rate environment and general macroeconomic conditions, a DOE-guaranteed loan is our most attractive debt option and is expected to offer the lowest cost of debt for the project. We expect that obtaining a DOE-guaranteed loan will have the benefit of reducing the overall amount of equity required to finance NZ1 and should result in higher project equity returns for investors which should increase the likelihood of Gevo successfully financing NZ1. The DOE loan application process is targeted to be complete in 2024. We expect that our NZ1 plant start-up date will occur twenty-four to thirty months after the NZ1 financing closes, the timing of which is uncertain. In parallel with the DOE-guaranteed loan process, we continue to explore debt financing for NZ1 without the benefit of the DOE-guaranteed loan. We are also working to secure access to carbon capture and sequestration at the site.
We are evaluating and performing early site development work at several sites in the U.S. for other greenfield sites. These sites include several greenfield locations that are particularly advantageous in terms of potential economics, opportunities to decarbonize, and time to market. In addition, we are pursuing potential Net-Zero Projects with several existing ethanol plant sites. Existing ethanol plants need to be decarbonized with renewable energy or de-fossilized energy and/or carbon sequestration. Gevo has developed a preferred list of potential partners and sites with decarbonization in mind and is engaged in preliminary feasibility and development discussions with several of these potential partners. We plan to give priority to existing industrial plant sites that have attractive potential economics and high predictability of timeline for decarbonization.
Renewable Natural Gas Project. The Gevo RNG project started up and began producing and injecting initial volumes of biogas in 2022, during the project’s testing and ramp-up period. The project achieved stable production levels and surpassed our annual production target of 310,000 MMBtu for 2023. In addition, we completed an expansion to the Gevo RNG project to increase its annual design capacity from 355,000 MMBtu to 400,000 MMBtu.
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Gevo’s revenue from the RNG project in Northwest Iowa (the “RNG Project”) stems from sales of RNG and from the environmental attributes associated with its RNG sales, including the attributes available from California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”) program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Renewable Fuels Standard (“RFS”) program to receive renewable identification numbers (“RINs”). Gevo was granted registration approval by the EPA in 2022, allowing us to participate in its Renewable Fuel Standard Program (“RFS Program”) to receive renewable identification numbers (“RINs”).
During the first quarter of 2023, we received approval for a temporary pathway under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”) program. We continue to realize substantial sales for our environmental attributes of both LCFS credits and RINs in 2023.
Verity. It is critical that we can prove the CI of our products, ensuring that these values are accurate and auditable. The mission of Verity (“Verity”), including Verity Tracking and Verity Carbon Solutions, is to document CI and other sustainability attributes and apply Distributed Ledger Technology, commonly referred to as blockchain, to create a record of the products throughout the entire business system. Verity starts by calculating carbon intensity of feedstocks from data collected at the farm and field level. We plan to track these feedstocks through production at our plants where we intend to use a mix of renewable electricity, biogas, renewable hydrogen and other potentially decarbonized energy sources in production. The CI data would then be combined to deliver a comprehensive CI reduction in a finished renewable fuel. The resulting CI reduction value has potential to be quantified as a digital asset and monetized in voluntary or compliance carbon markets, and providing compliance needs for tax incentives while preventing double-counting. We believe that in the future, regenerative agricultural practices have the potential to sequester large quantities of soil organic carbon while improving soil health.
There is increasing regulatory and stakeholder pressure on global corporations to lower emissions. These trends are driving demand for carbon credits, giving rise to two sets of markets, the regulated compliance carbon market and the unregulated voluntary carbon market, both of which could grow meaningfully in the coming decades. The total value of major compliance carbon markets is expected to be greater than $800 billion in 2023, according to Bloomberg. Verity intends to document and account for carbon capture in conjunction with scientifically supported measurement techniques. The potential for Verity is broad and could be applicable to tracking the CI of various items beyond Gevo’s internal businesses, including, but not limited to, renewable fuels, food, feed and industrial products through their respective business systems and value chains. Our robust scientific measurement, reporting, and verification plan and approach is expected to provide a high-quality credit that should meet regulated compliance and unregulated carbon markets.
In March 2023, we entered into a joint development framework agreement with Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy; in August 2023, we entered into a joint development framework agreement with a second ethanol producer in the Midwest that has over 100 million gallons of capacity; and in October 2023, we entered into an agreement with a third ethanol producer in the Southwest. These agreements include commercial terms and profit-sharing frameworks. As we grow Verity as an externally facing business, we are working to sign up additional ethanol and biofuel customers. Each of these agreements will focus on implementing Verity technology and developing the market for carbon credits to help farmers and biofuel producers quantify the CI reductions for their products.
During the second quarter of 2023, we launched the Verity Tracking platform (the “Platform”) with farmers in the Lake Preston, South Dakota area who participated in our 2022 grower program. In its initial release, the Platform allows the users to measure, report, verify, and view the CI scores at both the farm average and field-by-field levels. The Platform provides insights into the contributors and removers behind the CI, helping users to understand the factors that drive differences in CI performance between fields. Users can also compare their scores with the U.S. national average calculated by the GREET model.
Key Verity project highlights include:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Verity Carbon Solution began development in 2020 as a necessary and value-added services for our SAF production; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | 3 ethanol producer customers contracted, and growing; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | 2% of the total US ethanol market or more than 300 million gallons per year; |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | 100% farmer retention in the grower program comprising 65,000 acres and growing; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Total value pool of all major global compliance carbon markets in 2023 was $800 billion; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Capital light, fee-based, industry agnostic business |
Luverne Facility. In 2022, the activities at our Luverne Facility were transitioned to care and maintenance, market development, and customer education, as we shifted focus to our Net Zero Projects. The workforce adjustment which resulted allowed us to retain key personnel and redeploy some resources to our NZ1 and RNG projects to provide valuable knowledge and experience for the future strategic growth of the Company. The Luverne Facility is well equipped and positioned as a development site as it provides a unique opportunity to showcase our decarbonization and business systems and raise awareness for future partnerships, investors, and local communities, even though operations at the site have been minimized. Future operations, if any, will be tailored to support a focus on advancing our technology, testing, optimizing alternative feedstocks and yeast strains, and unit operations as well as partnership development for fuels and specialty chemicals with integrated solutions for GHG reductions. We continue to evaluate incentive opportunities recently introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act, which may positively impact the future economics of our operation at Luverne.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. In September 2023, we executed a Notice of Grant and Agreement Award with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) for a Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant of up to $30.0 million for Gevo’s Climate-Smart Farm-to-Flight Program, with project activity beginning for the 2023 crop year. The project expects to create critical structural climate-smart market incentives for low CI corn as well as to accelerate the production of SAF to reduce the sector’s dependency on fossil-based fuels. In addition, this program will help provide support and incentive payments for farmers to produce, measure, report and verify low CI corn using climate smart agricultural practices, as well as accelerate development of the low-CI corn supply chain for low-carbon ethanol and SAF.
LG Chem Agreement. In April 2023, we entered into a joint development agreement with LG Chem, Ltd. (“LG Chem”) a leading global chemical company to develop bio-propylene for renewable chemicals using our Ethanol-to-Olefins (“ETO”) technology. Gevo’s proprietary ETO technology can target carbon neutral or carbon negative drop-in replacements for traditional petroleum-based building blocks called olefins, including bio-propylene, which can be used for renewable chemicals or fuels including sustainable aviation fuel. These plant-based, renewable olefins would be derived from atmospheric CO2 captured through photosynthesis and are expected to deliver the same performance in final products on the market today. Under the terms of the agreement, we will provide the core enabling technology it has developed for renewable olefins to be produced from low-carbon ethanol and together the parties will collaborate to accelerate the pilot research, technical scale-up, and commercialization of bio-propylene. LG Chem is expected to bear all scale-up costs for chemicals and make certain payments to Gevo. We received $1.1 million, net of foreign taxes of $0.2 million, in the second quarter of 2023 under the agreement, and we expect to receive an additional $1.2 million over the next two years to help defray costs associated with the joint development efforts. In addition, LG Chem agreed to make certain payments to us upon commencement of commercialization as follows:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | $5.0 million upon commencement of commercialization, to be paid ratably over a period of five years. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | 1% royalty on Net Sales for the first production facility beginning six years from commercial operation. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | 1% royalty on Net Sales for all subsequent production facilities upon commencement of operations. |
Nasdaq Listing Rules Compliance
On February 29, 2024, we received notice from Nasdaq that we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”), as the minimum bid price of our common stock had been below $1.00 per share for the previous 30 consecutive business days. We have 180 calendar days, or until August 27, 2024, to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement. To regain compliance, the minimum bid price of our common stock must meet or exceed $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the compliance grace period. In the event we do not regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement by August 27, 2024, we may be eligible for an additional 180-calendar day compliance period. Our failure to regain compliance during the compliance period could result in delisting.
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Key Operating Metrics
Total operating revenues reflect both sales of RNG and sales of related environmental attributes. As a result, our revenues are primarily affected by unit production of RNG, production of environmental attributes, and the prices at which we monetize such production. The following table summarizes the key operating metrics described above, which metrics we use to measure performance:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | ||
| | | Year Ended December 31, | | | | | | | ||||
| (in thousands, unless otherwise indicated) | 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change % | ||||||||
| Revenues | | | | |||||||||
| Natural gas commodity | | $ | 659 | | $ | 640 | | $ | 19 | | 3 | % |
| Natural gas environmental attributes - RINs | | 9,888 | | 214 | | 9,674 | | 4,521 | % | |||
| Natural gas environmental attributes - LCFS | | 4,910 | | — | | 4,910 | | 100 | % | |||
| Total revenues | | $ | 15,457 | | $ | 854 | | $ | 14,603 | | | |
| Production expenses (1) | | $ | 11,481 | | $ | 2,626 | | $ | 8,855 | | 337 | % |
| RNG metrics | | | | | | |||||||
| RNG production volumes (MMBtu) | | 314 | | 125 | | 189 | | 151 | % | |||
| Plus: prior period RNG volumes dispensed in current period | | 116 | | — | | 116 | | 100 | % | |||
| Less: RNG production volumes not dispensed | | (34) | | (116) | | 82 | | (71) | % | |||
| Total RNG volumes available for RIN and LCFS generation (2) | | 396 | | 9 | | 387 | | 4,300 | % | |||
| RIN metrics | | | | | | |||||||
| RIN generation (3) | | 4,639 | | 101 | | 4,538 | | 4,493 | % | |||
| Plus: Prior period RINs | | — | | — | | — | | — | % | |||
| Total RINs available for sale | | 4,639 | | 101 | | 4,538 | | 4,493 | % | |||
| Less: RINs sold | | (4,639) | | (101) | | (4,538) | | 4,493 | % | |||
| RIN inventory | | — | | — | | — | | | | |||
| RNG volumes not dispensed for RINs (MMBtu) (4) | | 34 | | 116 | | (82) | | (71) | % | |||
| Average realized RIN price (5) | | $ | 2.13 | | $ | 2.13 | | $ | — | | — | % |
| LCFS metrics | | | | | | |||||||
| LCFS generation (6) | | | 76 | | | — | | | 76 | | 100 | % |
| Less: LCFS sold | | | (76) | | | — | | | (76) | | 100 | % |
| LCFS inventory | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | |
| RNG volumes not dispensed for LCFS (MMBtu) | | 34 | | 116 | | (82) | | (71) | % | |||
| Average realized LCFS price (5) | | $ | 64.79 | | $ | — | | $ | 64.79 | | 100 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (1) | The higher per unit cost reflects lower production volumes during the commissioning and ramp-up phase, which was substantially completed by the end of Q3 2023. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (2) | Represents gas production which has not been dispensed to generate RINs and LCFS. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (3) | RINs are generally generated in the month following the gas being dispensed. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (4) | One MMBtu of RNG has approximately the same energy content as 11.727 gallons of ethanol, and thus may generate 11.727 RINs under the RFS Program. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (5) | Realized prices for environmental attributes are net of third-party commissions and thus do not correspond directly to index prices. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (6) | LCFS credits are generally generated in the calendar quarter following the gas being dispensed. |
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Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes to those Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
This section of this Report discusses year-to-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022. The complete Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for year-to-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021 and other discussions of 2021 items can be found within Part II, Item 7, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 9, 2023, which is available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and our corporate website at www.gevo.com.
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
(in thousands)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Year Ended December 31, | | | |||||||||
| | 2023 | 2022 | Change ($) | Change (%) | ||||||||
| Total operating revenues | | $ | 17,200 | | $ | 1,175 | | $ | 16,025 | | 1,364 | % |
| Operating expenses: | | | | | | | ||||||
| Cost of production | | 11,991 | | 8,698 | | 3,293 | | 38 | % | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | | | 19,007 | | | 7,887 | | | 11,120 | | 141 | % |
| Research and development expense | | 6,637 | | 7,427 | | (790) | | (11) | % | |||
| General and administrative expense | | 42,628 | | 39,941 | | 2,687 | | 7 | % | |||
| Project development costs | | 14,732 | | 10,061 | | 4,671 | | 46 | % | |||
| Facility idling costs | | 4,040 | | 4,599 | | (559) | | (12) | % | |||
| Impairment loss | | — | | 24,749 | | (24,749) | | (100) | % | |||
| Loss on disposal of assets | | — | | 499 | | (499) | | (100) | % | |||
| Total operating expenses | | 99,035 | | 103,861 | | (4,826) | | (5) | % | |||
| Loss from operations | | (81,835) | | (102,686) | | 20,851 | | (20) | % | |||
| Other income (expense) | | | | | | | ||||||
| Interest expense | | (2,161) | | (1,167) | | (994) | | 85 | % | |||
| Interest and investment income | | 19,090 | | 3,481 | | 15,609 | | 448 | % | |||
| Other income (expense), net | | (1,309) | | 2,365 | | (3,674) | | (155) | % | |||
| Total other income, net | | 15,620 | | 4,679 | | 10,941 | | 234 | % | |||
| Net loss | | $ | (66,215) | | $ | (98,007) | | $ | 31,792 | | (32) | % |
Operating revenue. During the year ended December 31, 2023, revenue increased $16.0 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to sales of RNG and environmental attributes from our RNG project. Sales under our RNG project commenced in the third quarter of 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold 313,572 MMBtu of RNG from our RNG project, resulting in biogas commodity sales of $0.7 million and environmental attribute sales of $14.8 million, see Key Operating Metrics above. Additionally, we recognized $1.3 million of licensing and development revenue from the agreement with LG Chem as well as $0.4 million from the sale of isooctane during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Cost of production. Cost of production increased $3.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to the production and sales from our RNG project, which significantly increased in 2023, after the ramp-up phase, as well as lower costs at the idling Luverne Facility in 2023.
Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization increased $11.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to a full three quarters of additional depreciation expense in 2023 for RNG assets placed into service in Q3 2022 and accelerated depreciation on Agri-Energy segment assets due to shorter lives stemming from the impairment assessment during the third quarter of 2022. See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
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Research and development expense. Research and development expense decreased $0.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to a reduction of consulting expenses, partially offset by an increase in personnel related costs due to additional headcount added during the year ended December 31, 2023.
General and administrative expense. General and administrative expense increased $2.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to increases in personnel costs related to the hiring of highly qualified and skilled professionals, professional consulting fees, and stock-based compensation. On a periodic basis, we assess our Corporate cost allocation estimates. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we performed an assessment which resulted in the implementation of Corporate cost allocations across all segments to reflect the use of centralized administrative functions as well as the allocation of personnel costs related to our project development efforts. If we had applied the most recent cost allocation estimate to the year ended December 31, 2023, it would have resulted in a decrease in General and administrative expense of approximately $28.4 million, with a corresponding increase primarily to Project development costs, representing the nature of the Company’s expenditures related to those growth projects: namely our view that substantial portions of these expenditures may be reimbursed to us upon financial close of NZ1, and their growth-oriented non-recurring and discretionary nature. The allocations did not impact the Company’s operating loss or net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Project development costs. Project development costs are related to our future Net-Zero Projects and Verity which consist primarily of employee expenses, preliminary engineering costs, and technical consulting costs. Project development costs increased $4.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to increases in personnel costs and consulting fees.
Facility idling costs. Facility idling costs are related to care and maintenance of our Luverne Facility. Facility idling costs decreased by $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to one-time charges recorded during 2022 related to removing flammable and other hazardous items from the site, writing off certain patents, and reduction in the workforce.
Impairment loss. No impairment loss was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2023. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded a $24.7 million impairment loss on long-lived assets, which reduced the carrying value of certain property, plant, and equipment, and a leased right of use asset, at the Agri-Energy segment to its fair value. The impairments recorded relate to the determination to suspend production at the Luverne Facility and shift the plant into an idled, care and maintenance status during the third quarter of 2022. The impact of the one-time impairment charge of $24.7 million was $0.11 of basic and diluted impairment loss per share for the year ended December 31, 2022. See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
Loss on disposal of assets. The Company did not record a loss on disposal of assets for the year ended December 31, 2023. As a result of suspending the production of ethanol at the Luverne Facility, we wrote-off $0.5 million of costs during the year ended December 31, 2022, related to ancillary equipment and spare parts that are no longer expected to be utilized at the Luverne Facility. The equipment and spare parts had been planned to be used in ethanol production.
Loss from operations. The Company’s loss from operations decreased by $20.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to increased revenue from RNG operations and LG Chem licensing in 2023, as well as the prior year impairment loss, partially offset by the increase in costs for our Net-Zero, Verity, and USDA Climate-Smart Grant projects.
Interest expense. Interest expense increased by $1.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to the interest on the 2021 Bonds, which was capitalized into construction in process during the construction phase of our RNG Project in the prior periods.
Interest and investment income. Interest and investment income increased $15.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to an increase in interest earned on our cash equivalent investments as a result of higher interest rates.
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Other income. Other income decreased $3.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to the receipt of $0.4 million from the USDA's Biofuel Producer Program in 2023 compared to $2.9 million in 2022. In addition, our termination of the expediting procurement agreement with a local utility resulted in a one-time charge of $1.6 million in 2023.
Sources of Our Revenues
Our current and historic revenues are primarily derived from: (i) the sale of RNG commodities and the related environmental attributes; (ii) licensing and development sales; (iii) hydrocarbon sales consisting primarily of the sale of isooctane derived from our isobutanol and SAF; and (iv) the sale of isobutanol and related products.
Principal Components of Our Cost Structure
Cost of Production. Our cost of production consists primarily of costs directly associated with the production of RNG and other renewable hydrocarbon products, including isobutanol, SAF, and isooctane. Such costs include direct materials, direct labor, other operating costs and certain plant overhead costs. Direct materials include feedstock, denaturant and process chemicals. Direct labor includes compensation (including stock-based compensation) of personnel directly involved in production operations. Other operating costs include utilities and natural gas and wind power usage.
Research and Development. Our research and development expense consists of costs incurred to identify, develop and test our technologies for the production of renewable hydrocarbon products and the development of downstream applications thereof. Research and development expense includes personnel costs (including stock-based compensation), consultants and related contract research, facility costs, supplies, license fees paid to third parties for use of their intellectual property and patent rights and other overhead expenses incurred to support our research and development programs.
General and Administrative. General and administrative expense consists of personnel costs (including stock-based compensation), consulting and service provider expenses (including patent counsel-related costs), legal fees, marketing costs, insurance costs, occupancy-related costs, travel and relocation expenses and hiring expenses. Our corporate personnel, consisting of subject matter experts, including chemists, engineers, and sustainability experts, dedicate the majority of their time and efforts for the development of our growth projects. Costs incurred have not yet been allocated to the specific growth projects on the face of our financial statements.
Project Development Costs. Project development costs consist of consulting, preliminary engineering costs, personnel expenses (including stock-based compensation) and research and development expenses to support the business activities of our Net-Zero Projects.
Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization relates to property, plant and equipment associated with the production of RNG and other renewable hydrocarbon products, including isobutanol, SAF, and isooctane, as well as that used in product development.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $298.3 million and current restricted cash of $77.3 million, totaling $375.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. As of December 31, 2023, we had net working capital of $295.0 million, with $91.4 million of current liabilities. Our cash equivalents primarily consist of investments in U.S. government money market funds. We expect to use our cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash for the following purposes: (i) identification, development, engineering, licensing, acquisition and construction of production facilities and the Company’s other Net-Zero Projects; (ii) potential investment in RNG projects; (iii) potential development of the Luverne Facility; (iv) operating activities at the Company’s corporate headquarters in Colorado, including research and development work; (v) exploration of strategic alternatives and additional financing, including project financing; and (vi) future debt service obligations. We believe as a result of our cash and cash equivalents balances, and the performance of our current and expected operations, we will be able to meet our obligations and other potential cash requirements during the next 12 months from the date of this report.
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Since our inception in 2005, we have devoted most of our cash resources to the development and commercialization of routes to efficiently produce fuels and chemicals from carbohydrates, such as renewable feedstock, using alcohols (isobutanol and ethanol) as intermediates. We have incurred losses since inception, have a significant accumulated deficit, and expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future. Historically we have financed our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of equity, warrants, debt securities, and borrowings under debt facilities. Our current sources of cash include sales of RNG, environmental attributes, and licensing fees. We may also fund future operations through additional private and/or public offerings of equity or debt securities. In addition, we may seek additional capital, on acceptable terms, through arrangements with strategic partners or from other sources. Notwithstanding, there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional funds or achieve or sustain profitability or positive cash flows from operations.
Our transition to profitability is dependent upon, among other things, the successful development and commercialization of our product candidates, the development, licensing, acquisition and construction of commercial level production facilities to support our offtake agreements, the achievement of a level of revenues adequate to support the Company’s cost structure, and the ability to raise capital to finance the development, licensing, acquisition, and construction of additional productions facilities.
The following table sets forth the major sources and uses of cash for each of the periods set forth below (in thousands):
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Year Ended December 31, | ||||
| | 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (53,719) | $ | (44,311) | ||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | | $ | 114,129 | | $ | 85,092 |
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | | $ | (189) | | $ | 138,562 |
Operating Activities
Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are personnel-related expenses, and research and development-related expenses, including costs incurred under development agreements, costs of licensing of technology, legal-related costs, expenses for the development and commercialization of routes to efficiently produce fuels and chemicals from renewable feedstock carbohydrates using alcohols (isobutanol and ethanol) as an intermediate.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $53.7 million compared to $44.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Non-cash charges primarily consisted of depreciation and amortization of $19.0 million, stock-based compensation expense of $17.1 million, which reflects higher amortization expense for the stock awards issued in the prior period with higher market value, see Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information, and non-cash expense of $0.1 million related to the amortization of marketable securities premiums. The net cash outflow from changes in operating assets and liabilities increased $23.9 million, primarily due to an increase in cash outflows of $23.0 million related to prepaid expenses and other current assets, deposits and other assets, $2.6 million related to increases in accounts receivable as well as $0.9 million related to accounts payable and accrued liabilities. These were partially offset by $2.7 million of decreased costs associated with the sale of environmental attribute inventory.
Investing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we had $114.1 million in cash provided by investing activities, of which $168.6 million related to proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities, partially offset by $54.5 million of investments in our capital projects, including $28.2 million in NZ1, $6.4 million in the RNG Project, and $19.9 million in other projects.
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We completed the value engineering on our NZ1 project and are proceeding with detailed engineering, modularization design, and capital costs updates. We are currently refining project cost estimates with engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) partners to identify cost saving opportunities, and currently expect to finance the construction of NZ1 at the subsidiary level using a combination of Company equity and third-party capital, to include non-recourse debt. The Company expects to have invested a cumulative total of $236 to $286 million of cash equity in the project at financial close. Cash distributions from future NZ1 earnings would be proportionate to Gevo’s ownership in NZ1 under this expected financing structure. The use of project debt and third party equity allows us to conserve capital for use on other growth projects. We expect to apply similar development and financing strategies to future Net-Zero Projects to enable growth of SAF production to meet demand for SAF.
In 2022, we allocated approximately $25.0 million to develop our next Net-Zero Project, of which we have spent approximately $15.0 million. Gevo is in the process of identifying and performing early site development work for additional Net-Zero production locations. These potential sites include greenfield and brownfield (i.e., at an existing ethanol plant) locations that are advantageous in terms of potential economics, opportunities to decarbonize, and time to market.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we had $85.1 million in cash provided by investing activities, of which $299.6 million related to proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities, partially offset by the reinvestment of $130.4 million in marketable securities, and $84.1 million of investments in our capital projects, including $34.7 million in the RNG Project, $43.3 million in NZ1 and $2.0 million in other Net-Zero Projects, as well as $4.1 million in other isobutanol related projects.
Financing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we had $0.2 million of net cash used in financing activities, due to payments for equipment loans and finance lease liabilities.
We currently expect to finance the construction of NZ1 at the subsidiary level using a combination of our own, third-party, and debt capital. The Company expects to retain an equity interest in the project and may invest equity in the project using the proceeds from the reimbursement of the Company’s NZ1 development expenditures. Cash distributions from future NZ1 earnings would be proportionate to Gevo’s ownership in NZ1 under this expected financing structure which would allow us to conserve and redeploy our capital on other growth projects, including our Net-Zero 2 project (“NZ2”). We expect to apply similar development and financing strategies to NZ2 and future Net-Zero Projects to enable growth of SAF production to meet demand for SAF.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we had $138.6 million of net cash provided by financing activities, primarily due to $139.0 million of net proceeds from the issuance of common stock and common stock warrants in a registered direct offering in June 2022, offset by $0.4 million of payments primarily for net settlement of common stock under stock plans and certain equipment loans.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are based on the application of U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes. Future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty; therefore, the determination of estimates requires the exercise of judgment. We believe our judgments related to these accounting estimates are appropriate. However, if different assumptions or conditions were to prevail, the results could be materially different from the amounts recorded. We have determined that we have no critical accounting estimates material to our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flow related to our consolidated financial statements included in this Report.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplemental Data,” of this Report, for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
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