What happened

Shares of biofuels producer Gevo (GEVO +0.65%) were up almost 14% as of 12:05 p.m. ET Monday, starting the new year off with a bang thanks to similarly strong bullish interest in companies closely associated with Gevo's flagship product.

So what

After Gevo ended 2021 on a mostly bearish foot, and at a new 52-week low, investors are changing their minds about the stock. The rally apparently stems from the fact that the company makes and markets liquid hydrocarbons using an approach that's completely carbon neutral. Its fuels can be used in a variety of ways, though its potential as a jet fuel is easily the most promising game changer.

To this end, Gevo shareholders can thank the renewed bullishness behind airline stocks for Monday's big gains. Shares of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines are up 3.5%, 4.6%, and 4.8%, respectively, today despite a spate of COVID-prompted flight cancellations during the busy holiday season. Investors are looking past these temporary disruptions and still seeing a bigger-picture rebound for the air travel industry. That post-pandemic rebound, however, is converging with an even bigger shift toward cleaner energy solutions.

That being said, it's also arguable that at least some of Monday's surge for Gevo can be chalked up to how primed the stock was for a bounce after losing more than 70% of its value between February's peak and 2021's closing price.

Now what

Neither bullish prompt, however, has the sort of staying power investors can count on.

That's not to suggest Gevo has no future. Indeed, low carbon biofuels are the future. While the underlying science requires more refining and the fiscal aspects of the business still don't work (Gevo remains deep in the red on minimal revenue), traditional oil drilling and refining are falling out of favor. This paradigm shift won't occur in a single day, though, particularly on the first trading day of a new year.

At the very least, would-be Gevo investors will want to observe the stock for the next several days, if only to see if Monday's bullishness is the beginning of a more prolonged trend.