January 8, 2024

BETO Releases Summary Report Following Transition to Sustainable, Circular Economy for Plastics Workshop

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on December 20, 2023, that it released a summary report following its June 8-9, 2023, Workshop: Transitioning to a Sustainable, Circular Economy for Plastics. The workshop, hosted by BETO in partnership with DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and the Climate Pledge coalition, brought together stakeholders from industry, academia, national laboratories, and non-profit organizations...
January 5, 2024

Treasury Department and IRS Issue Guidance on SAF Credit

On December 14, 2023, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-06 for the new Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) credit created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). According to the IRS’s December 15, 2023, press release, the SAF credit applies to a qualified fuel mixture containing SAF for certain sales or uses in calendar years 2023 and 2024. The SAF credit is $1.25 for each gallon of SAF in...
January 3, 2024

APHIS Reopens Comment Period on Proposed Additional Exemptions for Plants Modified or Produced Through Genetic Engineering

As reported in our November 16, 2023, blog item, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposed on November 15, 2023, five new types of genetic modifications a plant can contain and be exempt from the regulations for the movement of organisms modified or produced through genetic engineering because such modifications could otherwise be achieved through conventional breeding methods. 88 Fed. Reg. 78285. Comments were due December 15,...
December 29, 2023

OSTP Publishes Report on Vision, Needs, and Proposed Actions for Data for the Bioeconomy Initiative

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published on December 20, 2023, a report on Vision, Needs, and Proposed Actions for Data for the Bioeconomy Initiative. As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, on September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative that establishes a Data for the Bioeconomy Initiative (Data Initiative) to ensure that biotechnology developers have streamlined...
December 7, 2023

Bipartisan House Legislation Would Support Biofuels and Biomanufacturing Innovation

On November 14, 2023, Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase biofuel production and reduce energy costs. The Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity (Ag BIO) Act (H.R. 6413) would increase funding for grants to support innovation in the biofuels and bioproducts industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance program offers...
December 4, 2023

APHIS Announces Determination of Nonregulated Status for Insect-Resistant and Herbicide-Tolerant Maize

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) “advis[ed] the public” on December 1, 2023, of its determination that DP23211 maize (corn) that has been developed using genetic engineering for insect resistance to western corn rootworm and contains the gene that codes for the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase protein responsible for tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium herbicides, as well as the gene that encodes for the phosphomannose isomerase...
December 1, 2023

NREL AI Tool Predicts How to Achieve Polymer Properties with Biomass

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on November 27, 2023, that a machine learning tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with support from BETO, makes it easier for material scientists to “mak[e] polymers more sustainable and higher performing — especially with the reliance on petrochemicals for making plastics.” According to BETO, using artificial intelligence (AI), PolyID: Polymer Inverse Design™ “can...
November 30, 2023

USDA Updates List of Bioengineered Foods

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a final rule on November 29, 2023, updating the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard’s (the Standard) List of Bioengineered (BE) Foods (the List) by adding “sugarcane (Bt insect-resistant varieties)” and amending “squash (summer)” to “squash (summer, coat protein-mediated virus-resistant varieties).” 88 Fed. Reg. 83305. AMS states that in updating the List, “this final rule...
November 16, 2023

APHIS Proposes Five Additional Exemptions for Plants Modified or Produced Through Genetic Engineering

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposed on November 15, 2023, five new types of genetic modifications a plant can contain and be exempt from the regulations for the movement of organisms modified or produced through genetic engineering because such modifications could otherwise be achieved through conventional breeding methods. 88 Fed. Reg. 78285. According to APHIS’s November 14, 2023, press release, the proposed exemptions...
November 14, 2023

USDA, EPA, and FDA Post Report on Stakeholder Comments on Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology and Plain-Language Regulatory Information

On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted the following documents on the Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation: As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, on September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative to accelerate biotechnology innovation and grow America’s...