Clean Fuels Foundation Offers Sustainability Grant

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The Clean Fuels Alliance Foundation is now accepting applications for the Beth Calabotta Sustainability Education Grant established in 2018 to support student scientists dedicated to sustainable research with a $3,000 award to a deserving recipient each year.

Applicants can highlight their work in areas like biodiesel and renewable diesel research, development of feedstock and fuel production, sustainability engineering, product lifecycle assessment, industrial ecology and general energy studies.

Over the years, the grant has grown into an important workforce development tool by helping prepare students to step into new roles in a highly competitive workforce while strengthening innovation in the biodiesel and agriculture industries.

Student applicants must be a U.S. citizen and provide two references when completing the application on the Foundation website. If selected, the recipient must commit to participating in Clean Fuels Alliance America’s Sustainability Workshop scheduled for April 26-28, 2027, in Kansas City, Missouri. Grant funds should be utilized for travel and attending the workshop, with the remaining funds applied to academic expenses.

The deadline for applications is Friday, Jan. 25, 2027, and the winner will be announced in Feb. 2027.

Biodiesel, Clean Fuels Alliance

Sandhills to Install Whitefox ICE® Membrane Solution

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Sandhills Renewable Energy will be installing the Whitefox ICE® membrane solution at Sandhills Renewable Energy’s 55-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Atkinson, Nebraska.

The ICE® system at Sandhills Renewable Energy is designed to increase capacity in distillation and dehydration, while reducing natural gas usage, cooling water demand, and the plant’s carbon intensity score to ensure it qualifies for Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credits.

Sandhills Renewable Energy is partly owned by Husker Ag in Plainview, Nebraska, and its majority-owned affiliate Lincolnway Energy in Nevada, Iowa. Husker Ag itself is in the design phase of an ICE® installation and Lincolnway Energy started up its ICE® system in October 2025.

“The Whitefox ICE® system at Lincolnway Energy supported our goal of reaching 100 million gallons by enhancing capacity and energy efficiency,” said Seth Harder, CEO and President of Husker Ag. “With that success in mind, we are committed to investing in the technology for Husker Ag and Sandhills Renewable Energy as well, with strong emphasis on increased capacity and reduced carbon intensity. The Whitefox engineers tailor each installation to the specific plant and it’s been fascinating to see how they design individual integrations.”

The three ICE® installations are expected to boost ethanol yield by a combined total of 53 million gallons per year.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Production

Field Origin Formed to Simplify Field-to-Fuel Compliance

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DTN and Veriflux recently joined forces to create Field Origin, a joint field-to-fuel compliance and traceability solution for crop-based renewable fuels.

The solution combines DTN’s global data and technology expertise with the compliance and traceability platform for renewable feedstocks and fuels of Veriflux to help biofuel producers meet renewable-fuel compliance requirements, including California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and 45Z, while minimizing the data-collection burden on growers, elevators, and other upstream suppliers.

Biofuel producers must document where their feedstocks originate, but records from growers and grain suppliers often lack the agricultural detail needed for compliance. Field Origin addresses this gap through DTN’s AgCore platform, which links grain origination and supplier records with existing field boundaries, operator linkages, regenerative practices, and deforestation data. Veriflux then carries that data through digital inventory, chain-of-custody, and mass-balance accounting, producing audit-ready records for reporting and verification.

Read more about the new venture.

aviation biofuels, biofuels, Carbon, Ethanol, Ethanol News

RFA Staffer Shares Veterans Day Story

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RFA’s Justin Schultz

Renewable Fuels Association Director, Environment, Health & Safety Justin Schultz shares his story of service and struggle for this Veterans Day.

A few days before I was back home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, I was still in combat in Afghanistan.

Think about that for a moment. One day you’re in a war zone, where every decision matters and the consequences can be life or death. A few days later, you’re back home, where life has been moving along pretty much as usual.

There’s no switch you can flip to turn that off. At least, I couldn’t find one.

My military journey began in 2000, when I enlisted at 17 years old, still in high school. This was before September 11, before Afghanistan and Iraq, and certainly before I had any idea what the next 25-plus years would bring.

I first deployed to Afghanistan in 2004–2005 while attending college. I eventually earned my commission as an Army officer, graduated from the University of Iowa, and found my way back to Council Bluffs, taking a job at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) in 2009.

Then Uncle Sam came calling again.

In 2010, I was back on active-duty orders, preparing for another deployment to Afghanistan. This time, I was an infantry officer serving as the executive officer of a heavy weapons company.

It was a highly kinetic deployment. We experienced real, sustained combat. We lost a soldier in our battalion, others were wounded, and there were plenty of days I won’t soon forget. Some of those experiences are stories for another day.

What matters here is that just days after leaving that environment, I was home.

And I struggled. Badly.

Click here to read more.

Ethanol, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

ACE Urges Senate to Advance Year-round E15

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The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) sent a letter to Senate leadership this week urging them to prioritize bipartisan legislation allowing nationwide, year-round sales of E15 before the end of the 119th Congress.

“Gas prices have soared throughout 2026, and the pain at the pump continues,” said ACE CEO Brian Jennings in the letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “In fact, Americans paid more for gasoline last week on November 3 than on any election day in U.S. history. Election results sent an unmistakably clear signal that affordability remains voters’ top concern.”

Jennings noted that year-round E15 is an “enduring and proven solution” to address that concern, saving Americans 20 to 30 cents per gallon on average this year, and in some markets considerably more.

Bipartisan momentum for year-round E15 has also continued to grow. The Trump administration has issued nationwide emergency waivers allowing E15 sales during the summer months for five consecutive years, while Republican Govs. Kim Reynolds of Iowa and Jim Pillen of Nebraska led efforts to secure year-round E15 in the Midwest. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom worked with lawmakers from both parties to advance legislation enabling E15 sales in the state.

Despite this progress, retailers and consumers continue to face uncertainty from temporary waivers and the absence of a permanent nationwide solution.

“Retailers and consumers deserve certainty, not another stopgap,” Jennings said.

ACE is also urging members and other ethanol advocates to use their Action Center to contact their senators.

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ACE, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

RFA Urges EPA to Reject State RFS Waiver Requests

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The Renewable Fuels Association is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to “swiftly and soundly” reject requests for waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard from the governors of Alabama and Louisiana, warning that such an action would result in higher gas prices and harm to farmers.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says ethanol is already keeping gas prices lower than they might be otherwise. “Any suggestion that ethanol blending compelled by the RFS is somehow raising gas prices is abjectly absurd and demonstrably false,” said Cooper. “Wholesale ethanol prices are $1 per gallon lower than wholesale gasoline prices today, and DOE recently reported that E15 prices are 40 cents per gallon lower, on average, than standard E10 gasoline prices.”

“Refiners have repeatedly shown that if they are not required to blend lower-cost renewable fuels into the gasoline supply, they won’t,” Cooper added. “Far from delivering ‘relief’ at the pump, a waiver of the 2027 RFS requirements would remove a dependable source of lower-cost, lower-carbon fuel from the marketplace and cause higher gas prices. It would also harm struggling corn and soybean farmers in Alabama, Louisiana, and across the country by undermining demand for their crops. EPA should swiftly and soundly reject these waiver requests.”

RFA notes that EPA has received nearly two dozen RFS waiver requests since 2008 from state governors and another 14 requests from oil refining interests each one has been denied after finding that the RFS does not cause “severe harm” to the economy of the requesting states or the refiners themselves.

“The real harm drivers are experiencing at the pump today has nothing to do with the RFS; it has everything to do with high crude oil prices, record high refining margins, a lack of competition in the fuels market, and a failure to truly diversify our energy supply with lower-cost, domestically produced alternative options,” said Cooper.

The governors claim the RFS “imposes a cost on every gallon of gasoline and diesel sold” and that implementation specifically of the 2027 RFS would cause “severe economic harm” to their states, which “depend heavily on agriculture, poultry and livestock.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, RFS

Governors Move to Petition EPA for RFS Waiver

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The governors of Louisiana and Alabama are petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday, Governors Jeff Landry and Kay Ivey requested a partial waiver for 2027, calling it “targeted, prospective and temporary” and saying it “would not prevent ethanol from continuing to be blended wherever the economics support it.”

In a post on X, Gov. Landry called on fellow governors of Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas to join them in petitioning for a waiver of the RFS claiming “Americans are paying more for gas and diesel because of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).”

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) reacted to the petition saying that “blaming the RFS for high fuel prices is misguided and ignores the important role renewable fuels play in expanding U.S. fuel supplies, strengthening energy security and providing consumers with more affordable choices at the pump.”

“With all due respect to the governors, during this time of high fuel prices, the last thing you want to do is reduce supply,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “The real solution is to unleash additional U.S. supply, which Congress can do by removing barriers to year-round E15 sales. Ethanol lowers fuels prices because it is less expensive than gasoline and adds gallons to the market. Expanding the use of low-cost ethanol, made right here in America, would lower prices at the pump. Consumers need real solutions, not ineffective political potshots.”

The American Soybean Association warns that granting the petition would “strike a major blow to domestic U.S. soybean markets and rural economies more broadly,” arguing that national average costs of biofuel blends are lower than conventional petroleum fuels.

Biodiesel, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFS

Joint Venture to Develop New Low Carbon Feedstocks

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Agribusiness company Bunge and plant genetics business GDM have created a joint venture called Enerseed to develop high-quality, novel oilseeds as feedstocks for the growing low-carbon renewable fuels market.

Enerseed will combine GDM’s expertise in plant genetics, breeding, R&D, trait development and gene editing with Bunge’s global scale, processing capabilities, and broad market access. The collaboration is designed to support an integrated, end-to-end global value chain, from innovative seed development to the efficient delivery of sustainable feedstocks to biofuel customers worldwide. The first seed development projects are expected to begin in select markets and may expand globally to other relevant markets as crops and commercial opportunities mature.

Enerseed will focus on developing a portfolio of crops that offer environmental benefits such as improved soil health, reduced erosion, nitrogen fixation, and lower water requirements as well as creating additional cropping options, supporting diversification and helping growers generate revenue from fallow periods. It will be built around an open licensing model designed to expand access to advanced genetics, cultivation techniques and end-use applications.

biofuels, Carbon, feedstocks

Ethanol Report on Midterm Election Results

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As the dust is beginning to settle on the midterm election blow-out putting Democrats back in charge of Congress, what will this mean for the ethanol industry going forward?

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses the results of the midterm elections and what might happen in the lame duck session to address high gas prices and a suffering farm economy.

Ethanol Report 11-6-26 20:02

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

Choose an option to subscribe

Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

2027 Editorial Themes for Ethanol Today Announced

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has announced the 2027 lineup of editorial themes for its Ethanol Today magazine, along with print and digital advertising opportunities for the year ahead.

The bimonthly trade publication will examine the diverse trends and challenges shaping the future of the ethanol industry, from innovations in low-carbon production to policy and regulatory priorities under the new Congress. Other themes will spotlight emerging markets for ethanol beyond the pump, such as sustainable aviation fuel, maritime shipping, chemicals, and other bio-based products, and advancing higher blends. The 2027 issues will also feature coverage on building a stronger, more resilient business and growing export demand in global fuel markets.

For more than two decades, Ethanol Today has provided timely, in-depth reporting on the people, policies, and progress driving America’s ethanol industry.

“Since updating Ethanol Today’s design and digital platform, we’ve continued to strengthen the magazine’s reach and relevance by listening to industry feedback and tapping experts for insightful columns and perspectives,” said Katie Muckenhirn, ACE Vice President of Public Affairs. “We’re committed to telling the stories of our members, showcasing new technologies and innovations, and delivering timely, relevant content that keeps readers informed while helping advertisers connect with an engaged, influential audience across the biofuels industry.”

Ethanol Today reaches every ACE member, including ethanol plants nationwide and the offices of every Member of Congress.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News