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Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper offered the opening keynote address Monday morning at the Global Ethanol Summit in Washington, taking a look at ethanol’s future by way of its past.

“It’s a real privilege for me to start today’s program by sharing the U.S. ethanol industry’s history, our story, and our experience,” he said. “How did we get here? How did the U.S. become the world leader in ethanol production and consumption? How did ethanol evolve into a crucial driver of energy security and rural prosperity in the United States?”

With regard to policy, Cooper stressed the industry’s broad, bipartisan support. “Throughout our industry’s history, we have been fortunate to have legislators—at both the state and federal level—along with presidents and governors, who have clearly understood the many benefits of renewable fuels. We’ve also been lucky to have so many highly effective advocates from our industry and strong partnerships with the nation’s leading farm organizations. … And in every case, the policies that have driven growth in ethanol production and use are policies that were explicitly designed to solve the problems and challenges facing American families across the country.”

RFA General Counsel and VP, Government Affairs Ed Hubbard emceed the Monday afternoon panels, including a discussion on Leveraging Regenerative Agriculture for Ethanol Opportunities, and will kick off Tuesday morning’s discussions featuring innovation and emerging markets, vehicle compatibility, and marine fuel.

The summit this week is bringing together top policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and trade
stakeholders to advocate for the value of U.S. ethanol in various sectors—including on-road, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), industrial applications, clean cooking, and sustainable marine fuels (SMF).

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is meeting this week in London to discuss a new set of international regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships.

“The IMO Net-Zero Framework is not perfect. However, it provides a balanced basis for our further work on a number of elements ahead of its entry into force in 2027,” said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez in opening remarks. “No specific fuel or technology has been excluded from the Net-Zero Framework as compliance option. I am confident that the various proposals that have already been submitted regarding the reward, fuel certification, well-to-wake emissions, or the fund will address remaining concerns and provide additional certainty.”

In a blog post this week, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said he hopes the interests of U.S. fuel producers, farmers, and shippers will be considered at the meeting.

The U.S. ethanol industry sees the IMO Net-Zero Framework as an enormous potential market opportunity for American-made renewable fuels produced from American-grown crops like corn, sorghum, and soybeans. How enormous? Well, the ships that would be subject to the IMO regulations typically consume roughly 70–80 billion gallons of fuel per year worldwide. To put that in perspective, total U.S. ethanol production last year was 16.1 billion gallons. Even if U.S. ethanol captured just 5 percent of the global maritime fuel market, it would equate to a game-changing demand boost of 4–5 billion gallons, while simultaneously increasing corn demand by 1.5 billion bushels or more. Just imagine the economic impact that this sort of new demand would have on the rural communities where ethanol is produced and corn is grown.

Cooper writes that according to Department of Energy (DOE) analyses, U.S. corn ethanol used for maritime fuel could reduce GHG emissions by 61 percent compared to the traditional fossil-based marine fuels being used today. The problem is the Trump administration has stated opposition to the IMO framework based on the belief that it would “preclude the use of proven technologies such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biofuels.”

Cooper says they don’t see it that way.

Again, according to DOE’s own analysis, U.S. ethanol—the lowest-cost alternative fuel available at scale worldwide—would be an incredibly competitive marine fuel option under the program. Major players in the marine engine and shipping industries are already acknowledging ethanol’s potential. Indeed, one marine engine manufacturer recently called adoption of the Net-Zero Framework “a beautiful case for those who have ethanol capabilities installed already” due to ethanol’s “handling benefits, growing availability and competitive pricing.”

The IMO meeting will conclude on Friday.

Read Cooper’s blog post.