Regulatory, legal, policy, and business developments in renewable chemicals, biofuels, and other biobased products

April 29, 2025

EPA Issues Emergency Fuel Waiver to Allow Sale of E15 This Summer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2025, that it has issued an emergency fuel waiver allowing the sale of gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol (E15) nationwide in summer 2025. EPA notes that this is consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) Declaring a National Energy Emergency, directing EPA to consider issuing emergency waivers to allow for year-round E15 sales. According to EPA, currently, in about half of the country, E15...
April 25, 2025

National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s Final Report Includes Recommendations to Boost Economy and Protect National Security

The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) announced on April 8, 2025, the availability of its final report and action plan, “urging Congressional action to bring the full weight of American innovation to improve and maintain U.S. global leadership in biotechnology.” After an extensive study that included “more than 1,800 stakeholder consultations, a holistic review of unclassified and classified material, site visits across the United States, and meetings with...
April 2, 2025

USDA Will Fund 543 Projects in 29 States Through Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program 

On March 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will release obligated funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. According to the press release, USDA is “aggressively exploring additional ways to unleash American energy and incentivize the production and use of homegrown U.S. biofuels, including working alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop Renewable...
April 1, 2025

EC Begins Public Consultation on Upcoming EU Bioeconomy Strategy

The European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on March 31, 2025, on the upcoming European Union (EU) Bioeconomy Strategy. The EC states in its March 31, 2025, press release that the Strategy “marks a significant step forward in harnessing the opportunities of the bioeconomy to support European businesses and drive progress towards the EU’s environmental, climate and competitiveness objectives.” According to the call for evidence, the Strategy’s main aims include: The EC...
March 31, 2025

APHIS Evaluates Petitions Reviewed under 2012 Process, Will Use Process Consistent with USDA Biotechnology Regulations Going Forward

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on March 27, 2025, that it will no longer use the process it outlined in 2012 for reviewing petitions seeking a determination that a modified plant should not be subject to the regulations for the introduction of organisms altered or produced through genetic engineering (modified organisms) that are plant pests or that there is reason to believe are plant pests. On...
March 27, 2025

EPA Extends 2024 RFS Compliance Reporting Deadline

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on March 14, 2025, extending the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. 90 Fed. Reg. 12109. As reported in our January 8, 2025, blog item, EPA published a proposed rule on December 12, 2024, that would partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the RFS program due to a shortfall in...
March 20, 2025

President Trump Revokes 2022 EO on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14236, rescinding 19 executive actions, including former President Biden’s September 2022 EO 14081, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy.” 90 Fed. Reg. 13037. According to the White House’s March 14, 2025, fact sheet, EO 14081 “funneled Federal resources into radical biotech and biomanufacturing initiatives under the guise of environmental...
March 17, 2025

Council of the EU Agrees on Negotiating Mandate on Plants Obtained by New Genomic Techniques

The Council of the European Union (EU) announced on March 14, 2025, that the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) endorsed the Council’s negotiating mandate on the regulation on plants obtained by new genomic techniques (NGT) and their food and feed. The regulation proposed by the European Commission (EC) would create two ways for NGT plants to be placed on the market: The proposed regulation...
March 5, 2025

Farm to Fly Act Reintroduced in Congress, Would Expand Use of Biofuels for Aviation

On January 16, 2025, Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) reintroduced the Farm to Fly Act (S. 144), which would help accelerate the production and development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs to allow further growth for alternative fuels to be used in the aviation sector and create new markets for American farmers. According...
March 4, 2025

BETO Postpones 2025 Project Peer Review

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on February 7, 2025, that its 2025 Project Peer Review, initially planned for April 22-25, 2025, is postponed until a future, yet to be determined, date. According to BETO, approximately 200 projects in its research, development, and demonstration portfolio “will be presented to the public and systematically reviewed by experts from industry, academia, and federal agencies.” BETO notes that the 2025...