All Knowledge & Insights By Date

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...

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...

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...

The third annual Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition (AFCC) Global Biobased Economy Conference will be held November 12-14, 2023, in Washington, D.C. AFCC states that attendees will learn about the necessary factors to successful commercialization and decarbonization in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), alternative fuels, renewable chemicals (includes bioplastics), biomaterials, food ingredients and additives, flavors and fragrances, alternative proteins, and regenerative agriculture....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 23, 2023, the winners of the 2023 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards for new and innovative green chemistry technologies. According to EPA, through the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation and use of hazardous substances, the winners “have developed solutions to significant environmental challenges such as climate change and spur innovation and economic development.” An independent...

The European Commission (EC) announced on October 3, 2023, that it adopted a Recommendation on critical technology areas for the European Union’s (EU) economic security, for further risk assessment with EU member states. According to the EC, the Recommendation relates to the assessment of technology risk and technology leakage. The EC states that the risk assessment “will be objective in character, and neither its results nor any follow-up measures can be anticipated at this stage.” In the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 29, 2023, that it is adding ten chemicals to the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). EPA describes the SCIL as “a living list of chemicals that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria.” With this update, the SCIL includes a total of 1,071 chemicals that are “among the safest for their functional use.” According to EPA, the SCIL provides increased transparency in safer...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on September 14, 2023, that a new process from the University of Wisconsin (UW) - Madison allows chemical engineers to transform plastic waste into “high-value” chemicals, “increasing the economic incentives for plastic recycling and creating novel pathways to recycle new types of plastics.” According to BETO, investigators led by Dr. George W. Huber, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 7, 2023, that the upcoming 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards Ceremony will be held October 2, 2023, and the Partner and Stakeholder Summit will be held October 3-4, 2023. EPA states that during the Partner of the Year Awards Ceremony, it will recognize the 2023 Safer Choice Partners of the Year “for their outstanding achievement in the design, manufacture, selection and use of products that meet the Safer Choice...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On July 24, 2023, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act to strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program. According to Klobuchar’s July 24, 2023, press release, the bill would: Strengthen markets for farmers while also supporting well-paying manufacturing jobs; Allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set...