All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On February 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announced in the Federal Register that it has withdrawn support for the Farm-to-Fleet Biofuel Production Incentive (BPI) program.   CCC determined that, due to limited available funds, the BPI program is no longer a priority.  USDA and the U.S. Department of Navy (Navy) launched the Farm-to-Fleet program in 2013 to provide incentive funds to...

Neste, “Neste Ranked The 2nd Most Sustainable Company In The World” Chemical & Engineering News, “Genomatica, Aquafil Partner For Biobased Nylon” University of Nebraska, “Husker Researchers Explore Economic Potential For Sweet Sorghum Ethanol In Western Nebraska” Stanford, “Newly Discovered Cellulose Could Have Applications From Energy To Medicine”...

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, “EERE Success Story –Archer Daniels Midland Partners with PNNL to Become a Leading Producer of Biobased Propylene Glycol” Reuters, “Chemical Industry in Bid to Harness Germany's Green Power Overload” Nasdaq, “U.S. Refiner PES Says Bankruptcy Plan Hinges on Biofuel Costs” University of Wisconsin, “Bio-Renewable Process Could Help ‘Green’ Plastic” Stanford, “Stanford-Led Team...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. According to Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi, Brazil is considering lifting the 20 percent tariff on ethanol imports from the U.S..  Demand for ethanol in Brazil has increased due to record-high gasoline prices.  As indicated in the BRAG blog post Grain, Ethanol Industry Send Letter To U.S. Trade Representative On Brazil Ethanol Tariff, U.S. ethanol producers would welcome the removal of the tariff and renewed access to Brazil, which is...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On January 10, 2018, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the next phase of its international collaboration to study the impact of biofuels on jet engine performance, emissions, and contrail formation.  In February, NASA’s DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory will sample and analyze gases and particles present in the wake of the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA) A320 aircraft as...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On January 2, 2018, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) issued a Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) report on Japan’s fuel ethanol policy.  According to the report, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) is seeking public comments on changes to its fuel ethanol policy.  The changes would establish a U.S. corn-based ethanol greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions value of 43.15; allow U.S. corn-based ethanol to be...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 28, 2017, New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides announced that the New York City Council unanimously passed a bill on the use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel technologies in the city ferry fleet (INT. 54).  The legislation would require a two-year study on the feasibility of using alternative fuel, including biodiesel, and fuel technologies, including hybrid electric or fuel-cell electric, in city ferries.  The study...

Environment and Climate Change Canada, “Minister McKenna Releases Framework To Make Canada’s Fuels Cleaner” Goodshipping Program, “DHL And The Goodshipping Program Reduce Ocean Freight’s Carbon Footprint” Co. Design, “The Creators Of This Algae Plastic Want To Start A Maker Revolution” Advanced Science News, “UV Responsive Bio-based Polymer from Broccoli Seed Oil” Popular Science, “Greek Yogurt Creates A Ton Of Wheyst—But...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 21, 2017, Neste, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced the launch of its online hub focused on sustainable aviation solutions.  Decarbonizingaviation.com is an online platform designed to raise awareness and facilitate dialog in reducing the aviation industry's carbon footprint.  The results of a recent survey by Neste demonstrate that 50 percent of travelers consider it important that...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On December 14, 2017, General Automation Lab Technologies (GALT) announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) a three year $3.5 million grant to improve the growth and efficiency of biofuel-producing algae.  LLNL and GALT will collaborate on the project, which also aims to reduce wasted byproducts of photosynthesis by targeting microbiomes that can more efficiently recycle it back to carbon dioxide...