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By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 11, 2018, the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) announced €115 million in funding for the 2018 Call for proposals focusing on feedstock, process, products, and market uptake. BBI JU is a partnership between the European Union (EU) and the Bio-based Industries Consortium that was launched to develop strong European bio-based industries.  This call includes 21 topics with 11 Research and Innovation Action (RIA) topics, 3 Coordination and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 13, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced an upcoming webinar entitled “Bioproducts, Grown and Made in America”  that will focus on American-produced bioproducts made from renewable sources including plants, algae, and wastes.  Speakers from BETO, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories will discuss how the biobased...

Neste, “Neste Ranked The 2nd Most Sustainable Company In The World” Chemical & Engineering News, “Genomatica, Aquafil Partner For Biobased Nylon” University of Nebraska, “Husker Researchers Explore Economic Potential For Sweet Sorghum Ethanol In Western Nebraska” Stanford, “Newly Discovered Cellulose Could Have Applications From Energy To Medicine”...

Bloomberg Politics, “Trump Tells EPA to Boost Biofuels after Iowa Uproar” International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), “ICAO Conference on Sustainable Alternative Fuels Agrees on New 2050 Vision to Guide Future Development and Deployment” Portland Press Herald, “LePage Invites Bio-Based Businesses to Call Maine Home” Digital Journal, “Florida Aims to Become Regional Alternative Jet Fuels Hub” Triple Pundit, “Over Half a Trillion Soybeans...

University of California San Diego, “A Flip Flop Revolution” Gevo Inc., “Department of Energy’s National Labs to Collaborate with Gevo to Optimize Ethanol-to-Olefins (ETO) Catalyst Performance:  Project to Explore Using Other Potential Feedstocks Including Low-Value Process Side Streams from Industrial Plants” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “Fueling the Future”...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. USDA awarded Spero Energy Inc. a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $100,000 to conduct research and development to increase the availability and competitiveness of biobased products within the agricultural market.  Spero Energy is an Indiana-based company focused on the development of cost competitive processes for the conversion of biomass to renewable chemicals and fuels.  The SBIR grant aims to support the development of a series of...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On August 28, 2017, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued in the Federal Register a notice of request for public comment on an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Biobased Procurements.  Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Clause 52.223-2, Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On July 26, 2017, the Farewell to Unnecessary Energy Lifelines Reform Act of 2017 or FUEL Reform Act (H.R. 3419) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ).  The bill would eliminate the following energy subsidies in Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002: Biobased Markets Program; Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program; Repowering Assistance Program;...

Senator John Hoeven, “Hoeven Announces Nearly $150,000 to NDSU for Research on Biobased Fire Retardants”  ChemCatBio, “ChemCatBio Directed Funding Assistance” Northwestern University, “Tiny Particles Increase in Air with Ethanol-To-Gasoline Switch”  Plastics News, “Start-Up Turns Food Waste into PHA Plastics”...

On June 9, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of the 2017 Green Chemistry Challenge Award (GCCA).  We applaud this year’s winners.   This is EPA’s 22nd year of using the GCCA to honor green chemistry technologies that spur economic growth, reduce costs, and decrease waste.  We are saddened that this very successful voluntary program is slated to be defunded in the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget, which, of...