NCERC Seeks to Expand Corn as Industrial Feedstock

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn to Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) recently submitted two grant proposals to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) FY21 Bioenergy Technologies (BETO) Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement that would expand the use of corn as an industrial feedstock, according to the National Corn Growers Association.

The first proposal included NCERC as a Co-PI and was led by Marquis Energy. The purpose of this collaboration is to scale up a conversion method that utilizes corn as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel. The work being done at the intermediate scale will be performed at NCERC and brings together additional research centers, including the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and US Navy NAWCWD China Lake, to see through a solution that brings significant opportunity for expanding and repurposing the 16 billion-gallon-per-year corn-to-ethanol infrastructure.

The National Corn Growers Association has a vested interest in discovering new uses for corn and has provided a letter of support for this initiative. From renewable plastics to novel chemicals and other energy and liquid fuel applications, corn is competitively positioned as the commercial feedstock of choice thanks to corn’s sustainability, abundance, and affordability. In fact, according to USDA ERS Feed Outlook data, ending stocks for 2020/2021 are around 1,552 million bushels.

The second proposal led by NCERC, “Scaling up a Low-Cost Low Energy Cellulosic Sugar Production,” contributed to the validation of a low-cost, energy-efficient conversion method for cellulosic materials- and waste-to-biofuel. The funding of this proposal would bring significant value to companies who are pursuing the conversion of a variety of bio-based feedstocks to a sugar stream which can then be converted to countless biotechnologies, such as biofuels, biochemicals, biomaterials, and bioproducts.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks

Lawmakers Call for Biofuels Support

Cindy Zimmerman

A group of Republican Senators is requesting a meeting with President Biden to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard and promote biofuels as a key solution for America’s energy and climate agenda. The letter was led by Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall of Kansas.

“We seek an audience to discuss the tremendous opportunity that biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel present to bolster affordable American energy, underpin a strong agricultural economy, and immediately lower transportation emissions using the existing consumer vehicle fleet and fueling infrastructure,” wrote the senators. “Unfortunately, the promise of homegrown biofuels and our agriculture sector appear to be woefully underrepresented in your administration’s energy, environmental, and transportation agenda.”

On the House side, Democrat Cindy Axne of Iowa is sounding the alarm about the lack of biofuels investments in the bipartisan infrastructure bill agreed to by the White House and members of the Senate.

“While I commend the White House and Senators for continuing to work toward creating bipartisan infrastructure legislation that can tackle issues ranging from aging bridges and roads to expanding access to high-speed internet, it’s unacceptable to see that this agreement still does not include investments in a bipartisan, homegrown clean energy source: biofuels,” said Axne in a statement.

Rep. Axne is a Co-Chair of the House Biofuels Caucus, and a lead sponsor of legislation to expand investments in biofuel infrastructure, upgrade the EPA’s authority on E15 sales, update the modeling for biofuel and biodiesel emissions, and extend the biodiesel tax credit.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Report RFA 40th Anniversary Feature – Bob Reynolds

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association was born in 1981 and RFA is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year by spotlighting some of the pioneers in the ethanol industry who were there at the beginning, like Bob Reynolds.

Bob Reynolds founded Downstream Alternatives shortly after joining New Energy Co. of Indiana as it was opening a new plant outside South Bend. As a consultant for RFA in the early years, Reynolds literally wrote the book on fuel with Changes in Gasoline, a manual to help mechanics and others understand the evolution of liquid fuel for the internal combustion engine, now in its fourth edition.

Listen to Reynolds’ thoughts on the growth of the ethanol industry in this edition of The Ethanol Report.

Ethanol Report 7-29-21 (14:49)

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

Low Carbon Ethanol Could Power Sustainability

Cindy Zimmerman

Former USDA Under Secretary and previous Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey was part of the inaugural Tech Hub LIVE conference in Des Moines last week. Much of the focus at the event was incentivizing sustainability for farmers, and an increasing demand for ethanol as a low carbon fuel could provide some incentive.

“I believe we will gravitate towards more of a supply chain kind of market,” Northey said. “I think those early adopters are well positioned for if an ethanol plant says ‘I want to buy low carbon corn because I’m going to produce low carbon ethanol’…then they’re set up to do that.”

In this interview, Northey talks about ag technology and the future, as well as the condition of the corn crop in Iowa.

Tech Hub Live interview with Bill Northey (6:12)

AgWired Precision, Audio, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Producers Pledge to Hit Net Zero by 2050

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association members from across the country sent a letter to President Joe Biden this week pledging to achieve a net-zero carbon footprint, on average, by 2050 or sooner.

Ethanol is already cutting greenhouse gas emissions by half compared to gasoline, the letter says, but “we can—and must—do more” to decarbonize transportation fuels and combat climate change in the decades ahead. The letter comes after RFA’s board of directors met last week in St. Louis and adopted a resolution outlining their carbon performance goals for 2030 and 2050.

“Today’s grain-based ethanol is already a low-carbon fuel that is helping to clean up our nation’s transportation fuels,” RFA members wrote, highlighting a recent analysis from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory that shows today’s typical corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 52 percent when directly compared to gasoline. “But with smart policy measures, ethanol can do even more. It can serve as an affordable zero-emissions fuel for light-duty cars and trucks, while also helping to decarbonize medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, aviation, marine, and stationary power generation.”

To support the achievement of its goals, RFA encouraged the development of a national Clean Fuel Standard, support for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, and increased adoption of flex-fuel vehicles.

The letter was signed by ethanol producers from California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Click here for the RFA “Net Zero by 2050” explainer.

carbon capture, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

REG Teams With Manchester United

Cindy Zimmerman

Manchester United Football Club and Renewable Energy Group, Inc. have teamed up for a shared mission to tackle climate change and create a cleaner world.

The Club and Renewable Energy Group will work together to raise awareness of the company’s biofuel products and encourage positive environmental change among Manchester United’s global fanbase and beyond.

Manchester United was among the first football clubs in the world to launch a carbon reduction programme in 2008 and since then has reduced annual emissions from its operations by 2,700 tonnes. The Club will be seeking to build on this record through its new partnership with Renewable Energy Group.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, Environment, REG

Governors Urge Expanded Use of High Octane Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Governors’ Biofuels Coalition leaders Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem are asking the Biden Administration to expand the use of higher-octane ethanol to meet climate and public health goals.

The governors’ letter focuses on the timeliness of the expanded use of ethanol now: “As the Office of Management and Budget continues to review the Safe Affordable Fuel Efficient Vehicles (SAFE) rule, there is a great opportunity to meet the Administration’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality while providing continued growth of the nation’s biofuels industry.”

The governors pointed out that a higher-octane requirement in the SAFE rule will allow “… automakers to increase engine efficiency and achieve the objectives of the proposed SAFE rule. The use of low carbon fuels such as ethanol will ensure … octane does not come from carcinogenic aromatics that release fine particulate emissions associated with respiratory diseases that affect all Americans, especially vulnerable populations and those living in urban areas.”

Read more.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Octane

New Campaigns Promote Ethanol in DC

Cindy Zimmerman

Two new campaigns are taking aim at lawmakers in Washington D.C. with information about the environmental benefits of corn ethanol to reduce carbon emissions.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) launched a digital campaign including non-skippable video units on streaming services, video on local websites within Washington D.C. and social media marketing on Facebook and Instagram. In addition, NCGA was the sole sponsor of the latest Agri-Pulse Podcast Deep Dive series on biofuels and sponsored content in Politico.

Meanwhile, Growth Energy has launched a new digital ad campaign urging President Biden and leaders in Congress to stop oil industry handouts and uphold their commitments to reduce carbon emissions and support low-carbon biofuels. The ads, appearing online in the Washington Post and POLITICO, will run until August and will direct readers to an action page focused on restoring year-round sales of E15 and emphasizing the importance of strong Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

The actions come in the wake of recent court decisions that could limit the market for U.S. biofuels and reports that the Biden administration will delay proposing new Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations for next year even longer as it grapples with trying to please both the oil and the ethanol industries.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Corn Growers Oppose Anti-Ethanol Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

A bill aimed at corn ethanol that was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week is being challenged by the National Corn Growers Association.

The bill, referred to as the “Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act,” was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Susan Collins (R-MN). It’s aim is to remove the implied conventional biofuel blending requirement from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which corn growers note would result in increasing harmful emissions and use of fossil fuels.

“This bill is ill conceived and would have a devastating impact on air quality, the diversity of our energy supply, fuel prices and rural economies,” said NCGA president John Linder. “Blending ethanol into the fuel supply is one of the most effective ways to lower carbon emissions to combat climate change and replace the most toxic components of gasoline.”

“If you want to understand today’s sustainable corn and ethanol production, you can always ask a farmer for the facts. If Members of Congress want to reduce use of the low carbon renewable fuels that have enabled successful environmental policies, this bill would certainly do it,” said Linder.

Linder notes that corn growers sustainably produce more corn on less land with fewer resources than when the RFS was enacted and are committed to further improvements in sustainability. These extraordinary results have been accomplished as food price inflation has decreased as ethanol production has grown.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

ACE Conference Breakout Sessions to Explore Industry Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 34th annual conference is less than a month away now and plans include a variety of breakout sessions covering the latest in technology updates, strategic planning advice, and ways to make ethanol plants more profitable.

“Our conference theme is ‘Accelerate,’ which aligns with the membership initiative we launched this year that builds upon ACE’s work to increase demand and value through new clean fuel policies, protect and support existing policy-driven markets, and develop domestic and international markets,” said Shannon Gustafson, ACE Senior Director of Operations and Programming. “This year’s breakout sessions will explore a variety of technologies, strategies, and practices that complement these efforts to help producers accelerate this industry to the next level.”

The breakout sessions will be held concurrently in three rounds on the afternoon of Thursday, August 19, following the morning general session panels.

Check out the full schedule and registration information.

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Ethanol, Ethanol News