Mick Henderson is general manager of Commonwealth Agri-Energy, an ethanol plant in western Kentucky. He is also the chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and says this year’s National Ethanol Conference (NEC) theme “Growing Markets, Building Partnerships” is a theme for the industry this year.

“The bigger the coalition, the more you can get done,” said Henderson. “We have an opportunity to be bold. If we don’t grab opportunities when they’re in front of us, what are we waiting on?”

Opportunities come in the form of working with industries like the refiners and the auto makers. It also comes from new research, like that being done by two Purdue University Ph.D. students, David Orreg and Daehwan Kim, who received the NEC scholarships this year from RFA and the Renewable Fuels Foundation, on which Henderson served for over four years. “Every year I got to meet with the students and talk with them about about what comes next,” he said. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are a big part of this industry.”

Listen to this interview with Mick from NEC: Interview with RFA Chairman Mick Henderson, Commonwealth Agri-Energy

National Ethanol Conference photo album