All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On September 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the release of the American Biofuels Trade Outlook, “a plan that builds upon 2025’s record U.S. ethanol export performance, removes restrictions to American biofuels, and secures new market opportunities for U.S. farmers.” According to USDA, during the past two years, U.S. ethanol exports reached new volume and value records, fueled by growing global ethanol import demand and reduced competition from Brazil, the...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance on September 8, 2026, on the Section 45Z Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit “to empower America’s crop and livestock farmers, ranchers, and fuel producers across the country and help them access the growing domestic biofuels market in a way that makes the Clean Fuels Production Credit work for them.” Notice 2026-53 provides the 2026 emissions rate table used to calculate the clean fuel production credit and provides additional guidance,...

On July 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO) announced its intent to fund the advancement of novel, high-impact chemical technologies. According to AFFO, the proposed funding opportunity, Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT), will advance technologies for producing chemicals from alternative and waste feedstocks. AFFO notes that more than 96 percent of manufactured goods rely on products from...

In July, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published the Trump Administration’s 2026 Unified Agenda. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Unified Agenda includes the following rulemakings regarding biobased products and biotechnology: Technical Guidelines for the Production of Regenerative Agricultural Biofuel Feedstocks: The Biden USDA issued an interim final rule (IFR) to establish new regulations that will set requirements for the quantification, reporting, and verification...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service published a final rule on July 9, 2026, that incorporates revisions intended to clarify, improve, and enhance the delivery of the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Program’s loan guarantees. 91 Fed. Reg. 42335. The program provides loan guarantees up to $250 million to eligible applicants to develop advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased-products manufacturing...

On April 1, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule establishing the applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. 91 Fed. Reg. 16388. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) “Set 2” final rule also partially waives the 2025 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revises the associated percentage standard due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel...

The Council of the European Union (EU) announced on March 17, 2026, that it approved conclusions on the EU’s new bioeconomy strategy. As reported in our December 4, 2025, blog item, the European Commission (EC) announced on November 26, 2025, that it adopted a new Strategic Framework for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy, “charting a way forward to build a clean, competitive and resilient European economy.” In its conclusions, the Council welcomes the strategy proposed by the EC...

BB-REG-NET, a United Kingdom (UK) regulatory science network for biobased and biodegradable materials, published a report on January 29, 2026, entitled “Seven steps to fairness -- An LCA Framework for Impact Category Selection and Development in the Comparison of Fossil-Based, Bio-Based and Biodegradable Materials.” BB-REG-NET notes that existing lifecycle assessment (LCA) standards “were often developed with mature, fossil-based systems in mind, resulting in frameworks that may...

On January 14, 2026, Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Renewable Chemicals Act (S. 3632). According to Ricketts’s January 14, 2026, press release, the bipartisan legislation “would provide a targeted, short-term tax credit for qualifying renewable chemicals or an investment tax credit for renewable chemical production facilities.” The press release notes that renewable chemicals are produced from biomass such as corn and soybeans and states that this...

The European Commission (EC) announced on November 26, 2025, that it adopted a new Strategic Framework for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy, “charting a way forward to build a clean, competitive and resilient European economy.” According to the EC, by using renewable biological resources and providing alternatives to critical raw materials, the European Union (EU) “will move forward towards a more circular and decarbonised economy and can decrease dependence on fossil...