Welcome to the Gevo, Incorporated First Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Adrian, and I'll be your operator for today’s call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Please note this conference is being recorded. I’ll now turn the call over to Geoffrey Williams, General Counsel and Secretary. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining Gevo's first quarter 2018 earnings conference call. I would like to start today by introducing the participants from the Company. With us today is Pat Gruber, Gevo's Chief Executive Officer; Timothy Cesarek, Gevo’s Chief Commercial officer; and Bradford Towne, Gevo's Chief Accounting Officer. Earlier today, we issued a press release which outlines the topics that we plan to discuss. A copy of this press release is available on our website at www.gevo.com. I would like to remind our listeners that this conference call is open to the media and we are providing a simultaneous webcast of this call to the public. A replay of today's call will be available on Gevo's website. On the call today, you will hear discussions of certain non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are contained in the press release distributed today and which is posted on our website. We will also make certain forward-looking statements about events and circumstances that have not yet occurred, including, but not limited to, projections about Gevo's operating activities for the remainder of 2018 and beyond. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions, and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those disclosed in Gevo's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and in subsequent reports and other filings made with the SEC by Gevo, including our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of today's date and Gevo disclaims any obligations to update information contained in these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. On today's call, Pat will begin with an overview of Gevo's business and strategy. Tim will discuss commercial development activities. Bradford will then review Gevo's financial results for the first quarter of 2018. And following the presentation, we will open up the call for questions. I'll now turn the call over to Pat.

Thank you, Geoff. And thank you all for joining us today. While we continue to make progress on our objectives: Number one, we reduced our costs significantly by $2.2 million in the first quarter compared to last year. We also increased sales of our products by 47% compared to a year ago in the same period. We expect to continue to improve Gevo's cash flow profile as a company as we go forward. It is becoming crystal clear that the world marketplaces are being incented to achieve low greenhouse gases or carbon index, that's referred to as CI. The marketplace is starting to sharpen the focus around that carbon value, that CI, particularly in the EU and in California. We see a path to make Gevo profitable within a couple of years, but continuing to focus on low CI fuels, leveraging ethanol in this hydrocarbon markets, chemical intermediates and protein. We have a very good plant site in Luverne. It's got good corn economics, good transportation, good rail, good logistics. We see an opportunity to drive our carbon footprint down without deploying huge amounts of capital. The improvements we are contemplating making at Luverne, would be designed to benefit anything we do in ethanol, isobutanol, isooctane, jet fuel, or any other product made from our technology made at Luverne. Our plans for Luverne are designed to allow us great optionality and flexibility as we develop the markets for our advanced biofuel technologies. And they should get us to probability without being dependent on large build-outs of IBA, jet and the like. The implication of this is that our burn is expected to decrease, while our margins increase. We're in the midst of finalizing plans to get this done. It's the path for Gevo at this time as it preserves the…

Thanks, Pat. Those are kind words. I'm pleased and excited to have joined the Gevo team. I've been in the renewables industry for almost 20 years, as Pat said. I've seen many technologies come and go. I've obviously done my diligence, and I believe Gevo has a proven commercial process that produces valuable proteins that feed the world while maintaining a leading comparative advantage in the production of low-carbon renewable isobutanol, isooctane and biojet. This combination leads to the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals, using isobutanol as a foundational intermediate chemical. The low-carbon isobutanol produced at Gevo's commercial operational plant in Luverne and bio-hydrocarbons produced at South Hampton Resources leads to many product mix options. Given the breadth of these options, my objective will be to develop and execute on a set of priorities that narrow our focus to products and market segments that have demonstrated the highest degree of market pull and value-in-use that maximizes the value to the customer and the supply chain and ultimate profitability. In the coming months, we will focus on prioritizing the following markets. We will continue to develop and expand isobutanol and ethanol-free markets, where isobutanol is valued for its unique advantages, such as; one, not being ethanol; higher energy density; not miscible in water adding to a fuel quality logistical optionality. And a much lower Reid vapor pressure or RVP that – than ethanol allowing one to upgrade low-value, high-vapor pressure blending components into gasoline. We will endeavor to expand the demand for isooctane and isoctine made from our isobutanol for use in specialty and performance fuels and lubes. We have a number of customers and strategic partners who have a strong interest in this product and market. We need to leverage these relationships to get our business built out. We will look to secure biojet fuel contracts and partnerships for both business and commercial aviation. Based on what I've learned and seen, I believe, that Gevo has the potential to have a strong, long-term comparative advantage in biojet. It's scalable and appears to be economical or even advantage compared to other large scale biojet production routes. We will further leverage our capability and assets for the development of specialty products used in cosmetics, flavors and fragrances. Finally, to fund such growth, we are planning on expanding existing strategic relationships and developing new ones where partners value the need to attributes of our product and capabilities through a contractual offtake, project investment and licensing of our technology know-how. I'm out to solve the chicken and egg problem that Pat referred to earlier. Our technology is solid, we're selling product, we need to build out the business platform. It's time. Now, I will turn the call over to Bradford, who will take us through the financials. Brad?

Thank you, Tim. Gevo reported revenue in the first quarter of 2018 of $8.2 million as compared to $5.6 million in the same period in 2017. The increase in revenue during 2018 is primarily a result of the production and sale of approximately $8.2 million of ethanol, isobutanol and distillers’ grains at the Luverne plant, as compared to $5.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. This increase in revenue was mainly due to increased ethanol production and higher distiller grain prices in the first quarter of 2018 versus the same period in 2017. During the first quarter of 2018, hydrocarbon revenues were $0.1 million less than in the same period in 2017, principally as a result of differences in the timing of shipments of isooctane during the quarter. Cost of goods sold was $10.6 million in the first quarter of 2017 versus $9.4 million in the same period in 2017. Cost of goods sold included approximately $9.0 million associated with the production of ethanol, isobutanol and related products and approximately $1.6 million in depreciation expense. Gross loss was $2.3 million for the first quarter of 2018 versus $3.8 million for the first quarter of 2017. R&D expense for the first quarter of 2018 decreased to $0.8 million compared to $1.2 million for the comparable quarter in 2017, due primarily to a decrease in employee related expenses. SG&A expense for the first quarter of 2018 decreased to $1.9 million, compared to $2.2 million for the comparable quarter in 2017, also due primarily to a decrease in employee related expenses. Within total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2018, we reported approximately $0.1 million for non-cash stock-based compensation. For the first quarter of 2018, we reported a loss from operations of $5.0 million, down $2.2 million from a loss from…

Thanks. Thanks Brad. Thanks Geoff, and thanks Tim. I just wanted to reiterate a couple of things. One of them is that this – having a very clear focus for the low CI fuels is a big deal, we can see their value and that means we can start to quantify things and get down to the brass tacks of these contracts. Tim didn't talk about it here today, but he is – got some things in the work, I hate to predict when they're going to happen, because we're always wrong, but it's making progress, and I expect to have these contracts. And we will call him out and tell you about them as we get him done. I like where we're going, I like the way our team is focused on driving the cost out of the system, I like the plans as they're coming forth. I like this idea of getting to profitability sooner rather than later without having to be completely dependent upon the large build out of that isobutanol, jet, and octane plant. We have enough demand for the incremental products, the hydrocarbons, where it looks could be pretty attractive and that coupled with our plant and its location and its ability to get to low CI ethanol, and its protein products and such, that's pretty exciting. And we'll be talking about that more in the future. And so with that, I would like to thank all of our stockholders for their continued support of Gevo. We'll now open it up for questions. Operator?

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer period. [Operator Instructions] : :

All right. Thanks a lot everybody for joining us on the call today. I appreciate it, and have a good afternoon.