All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 8, 2018, petitioners in the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) case Coffeyville Resources Refining, et al. v. EPA filed their final briefs in the case challenging EPA’s final rule that established:  (1) the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that apply to all motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in the year 2017; and (2) the applicable...

PR Newswire, “Ground-breaking bio-based dry cleaning solvent to be produced by Green Biologics and Kreussler Chemicals” Attis Industries, “Attis Industries Converts Corn Ethanol Coproducts into Biobased Grocery Bags" Sealed Air, “Sealed Air to Offer Plantic™ Bio-Based Food Packaging in the United States, Canada and Mexico” Phys.org, “Renewable solvents derived from lignin lowers waste in biofuel production”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 25, 2018, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) dropped its nearly decade long pursuit to convert a $1-per-gallon tax credit for biofuel blenders to an equivalent credit for producers. NBB originally sought to change the credit to support the domestic biofuel industry, as some blenders who benefited from the credit were also importing foreign biodiesel. Recent import duties imposed by the U.S. Commerce Department have done a great deal to curb...

Sandia National Laboratories, “Riding Bacterium to the Bank” Biomass Magazine, “NREL Discovers Enzyme Domains that Improve Performance” Neste, “City of San Leandro in California Switches Its Municipal Vehicles to Run on Neste MY Renewable Diesel”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 16, 2018, Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. announced the start of site construction for Phase 2 of the Sierra BioFuels Plant in Reno, Nevada.  This commercial-scale plant will be the nation’s first to convert municipal solid waste feedstock into low-carbon, renewable jet fuel. “Launching the final construction phase of Sierra is another milestone for Fulcrum, our partners, Northern Nevada and the low-carbon fuels industry,” Jim Macias,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced that it will fund 87 new projects across 34 states, totaling nearly $13 million in funding.  This funding is part of the 219 grants totaling $34 million awarded to 183 small businesses in 41 states through the DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Nine EERE technology...

European Biotechnology, “GBS 2018: Bioeconomy leaders foster shift to sustainable industry production” S&P Global, “Braskem expands renewable plastics research with Boston operation” Unearthed, “Malaysia ready to hit back at UK if EU palm oil biofuels ban goes ahead”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 24, 2018, UPM Biofuels announced that its crude tall oil (CTO) feedstock for BioVerno renewable fuels had received the first ever RSB (Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials) low ILUC (indirect land use change) risk certification. This certificate confirms that the amount of CTO used to make BioVerno is sustainable and not diverted from other uses, resulting in little to no ILUC risk. Rolf Hogan, Executive Director of RSB, said of the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 1, 2018, a new biodiesel requirement went into effect in Minnesota, requiring all diesel fuel sold in the state to contain five percent biodiesel from October to March and 20 percent biodiesel from April to September. This is the last stage of the Biodiesel Content Mandate that has been steadily increasing the minimum content requirement of biodiesel in diesel sold in Minnesota since September 29, 2005, when a two percent...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 1, 2018, DOE Secretary Rick Perry announced that up to $68.5 million in funding will be available for early-stage research of advanced vehicle technologies through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).  The announcement states that the available funding “will enable more affordable mobility, strengthen domestic energy security, and enhance U.S. economic growth.”  Projects selected through this Vehicle...