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

April 30, 2025

National Biotechnology Initiative Act Would Implement Recommendations from NSCEB’s Final Report

As reported in our April 25, 2025, blog item, 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.” On April 9, 2025, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), an NSCEB Commissioner, and the other three Congressional Commissioners introduced the bipartisan, bicameral...
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...
February 28, 2025

APHIS Will Begin Accepting Petitions for Nonregulated Status on March 3, 2025

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on February 27, 2025, that it will begin to accept petitions for nonregulated status according to APHIS biotechnology regulations at 7 C.F.R. Part 340 (2019) on March 3, 2025. APHIS notes that its biotechnology regulations enable developers to petition for a determination that an “article” is not regulated. The petition process applies only to plants that meet the regulatory definition...
February 6, 2025

EPA Releases Third Triennial Report to Congress on Biofuels and the Environment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 21, 2025, the availability of a final document entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress” (Third Report). 90 Fed. Reg. 7135. The document was prepared by EPA’s Offices of Research and Development (ORD) and Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE). The Third Report builds on the first and second triennial reports, released in...
February 5, 2025

Biden USDA Issues Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks

On January 17, 2025, the Biden U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an interim final rule with a request for comment that establishes technical guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with agricultural production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops grown in the United States in the context of environmental service markets. 90 Fed. Reg. 5497. The rule establishes guidelines for the reporting and verification of practices and...
February 3, 2025

House Committee Will Hold Hearing on “The State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership”

The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will hold a hearing on February 5, 2025, on “The State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership.” According to the Hearing Charter, the purpose of the hearing is “to assess the current condition of the United States’s science and technology enterprise and its vital role in the global innovation race.” By examining public and private investments in the United States, the Committee will also...
January 31, 2025

EC Launches Biotech and Biomanufacturing Hub to Support Innovative Companies

The European Commission (EC) announced on January 29, 2025, that it launched a Biotech and Biomanufacturing Hub to support companies — particularly start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) — in bringing innovative products to the European Union (EU) market and increase their competitiveness. According to the EC, the Hub will also help companies identify available support at the EU level and how to access this support to help them expand and grow. The EC...
January 27, 2025

ChemCatBio Will Hold January 29 Webinar on Programmable Catalysis for Chemical Energy Innovation

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio) will hold a webinar on January 29, 2025, on programmable catalysis for chemical energy technology. ChemCatBio states that catalysis enables new frontiers in energy, such as converting biomass to high-value products and storing energy from abundant renewable energy. Challenges remain, however, when catalysts are slow, expensive, or produce too many side...
January 21, 2025

DOE and EPA Announce $6 Million to Support Advanced Biofuel Development

On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $6 million in funding for three projects that will advance biofuel development and support U.S. leadership in energy and emissions innovation. According to BETO, the projects will support research to improve performance and reduce costs of high-impact biofuel production technologies; scale up production systems with industry; and support...
January 8, 2025

EPA Proposes Partial Waiver of 2024 Cellulosic Biofuel Volume Requirement and Extension of 2024 Compliance Deadline

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (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 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production. 89 Fed. Reg. 100442. As a result of this proposed change, EPA proposes to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. According to the proposed rule,...
January 7, 2025

United States Prevails in USMCA Dispute on Genetically Engineered Corn

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on December 20, 2024, that the United States prevailed in its dispute under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) challenging certain Mexican biotechnology measures concerning genetically engineered (GE) corn. Under a February 2023 presidential decree, Mexico banned immediately the use of GE corn in dough and tortillas and instructed government agencies to eliminate gradually the use of GE corn for other food uses and in animal...