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The Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) search for the very best in innovation in the chemical industry. The ICIS Innovation Awards are intended to recognize and reward companies paving the way in product, process, and digital innovations that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. The awards were open to any company in the chemical industry that successfully executed innovative projects that solve problems and provide solutions for companies, their customers, and society, as...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 26, 2020, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, announced the winners of its 2020 Start-Up Stadium competition. The competition had 30 finalists that were evaluated during BIO Digital in June, by expert judges with backgrounds in investment, entrepreneurship, start-ups, economic development, capital formation, and academia. Five winners were chosen based on their commercially viable...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 4, 2019, 60 organizations unified in an effort to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider EPA’s proposed amendments to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Signed by organizations such as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, the letter to the President indicates flaws within the aforementioned proposal released on October 15, 2019. Arguing that the proposed...

By Lynn L. Bergeson Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set renewable fuel percentage standards annually. On July 10, 2018, EPA announced a request for comments on a proposed rule to address “volume requirements for cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that are below the statutory volume targets.” The proposal also included the applicable volume of diesel from biomass for 2020. In response to EPA’s...

DuPont, “DuPont Industrial Biosciences & Archer Daniels Midland Company Open Groundbreaking Biobased Pilot Facility In Illinois” GlobeNewswire, “Amyris Collaborates with Firmenich to Develop Disruptive Bio-Based Fragrance Ingredient” BusinessWire, “BIO Launches New Report Profiling 100 Renewable Chemical Technology Companies” Labiotech.eu, “Where Does Brexit Leave European Biotech?”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 13, 2018, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that nominations for the fifth annual Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology are being accepted.  Each year, the award recognizes an outstanding woman in the industrial biotechnology sector who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the biobased economy and...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On October 19, 2017, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), an Associate member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that it and its member companies sent a letter to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture requesting the reauthorization of the Farm Bill’s Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Manufacturing Assistance Program (Section 9003).  According to the letter, “[s]everal...

Scientists, executives, and investors gathered in Montreal, Canada on Tuesday evening for a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion on current issues facing bioeconomy leaders and innovators.  The reception, hosted by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C., included a brief question and answer (Q&A) session with Christine Lhulier, Corporate Counsel for DuPont Industrial Biosciences, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist with...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On June 14, 2017, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announced that biotech industry veteran Vonnie Estes would receive the 4th annual Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology. Estes, an independent business consultant, will be presented the Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology during a lunch plenary session at the BIO World Congress on July 25, 2017.  Each year, the award celebrates a...

On March 8, 2017, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that nominations for the fourth annual Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology were being accepted.  The award, which recognizes an outstanding woman in the industrial biotechnology sector who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the biobased economy and biotechnology innovation, will be...

?  Biotechnology Innovation Organization, “BIO Submits Comments on EPA Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support Rule”   ?  EPA, “Draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2015”   ?  International Energy Agency, “New Bioenergy Roadmap Guide Released Jointly by IEA and FAO”...

The BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology brings together business leaders, investors, and policy makers in biofuels, biobased products, and renewable chemicals.  The event taking place July 23-26, 2017, at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, features two new tracks on Flavors, Fragrances and Food Ingredients; and Agricultural Crop Technologies and Biomass Supply.  Registration is now open....

On November 1, 2016, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) issued a call for panel session proposals for the 2017 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology.  Leaders from biotechnology, bioenergy, chemical, consumer products manufacturing, and agricultural industries as well as academia and financial sectors industries are invited to submit proposals to present on groundbreaking research and partnerships in the industrial biobased industry.  Specific program tracks for the...

On October 18, 2016, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) sent a letter to Congressional Leadership, the Senate Finance Committee Chairs, and the House Ways and Means Committee Chairs calling for the extension of expiring renewable energy tax credits.  The Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit, the Special Depreciation Allowance for Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property, the Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit, and the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling...

On September 7, 2016, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) released the report "Advancing the Biobased Economy: Renewable Chemical Biorefinery Commercialization, Progress, and Market Opportunities, 2016 and Beyond." This report documents substantial growth in the renewable chemical industry, and covers domestic policies impacting renewable chemical commercialization. Policy drivers that are explored include the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the 2014 Farm Bill, draft...

Scientists, executives, investors, and media representatives gathered in San Diego, California on Monday evening for a fascinating and wide-ranging panel discussion on current issues facing bioeconomy leaders and innovators. The reception, hosted by the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and Industrial Biotechnology, included panelists Christophe Schilling, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Genomatica; Blake A. Simmons, Ph.D., Chief...

On November 1, 2013, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Growth Energy, and RFA filed a motion to intervene on behalf of EPA in the current lawsuit by Monroe Energy, the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) challenging EPA's final rule establishing the 2013 RVOs under the federal RFS. The filing was made in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where the case is pending....

Biofuels supporters and opponents remain heavily engaged in RFS policy issues. Last week, we reported on a news report that one advanced biofuels trade association, the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), may be working with the American Petroleum Institute (API) on potential legislative language that would provide additional RIN credit for advanced biofuels under the federal RFS program. Since then, ABFA and API have both denied the accuracy of the story. In addition, DuPont announced that...