All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On May 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a request for information (RFI) to gather information to identify and assess critical applications for DOD and the defense industrial base (DIB) that necessitate the use of existing chemicals undergoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 risk evaluation process. The RFI states that it will help the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy,...

On June 5, 2025, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress convened a hearing titled “Barriers to Supply Chain Modernization and Factor Productivity Enhancements.” Throughout the hearing, members and witnesses alike underscored the role of “regulatory friction” -- especially in the form of fragmented and unpredictable requirements -- as a key factor slowing investment in domestic manufacturing and threatening supply chain resilience. While the U.S. Environmental Protection...

Download now. This week, I discuss with Patricia Underwood, Ph.D., DABT, MBA, Chief Toxicologist, Principal Director – Chemical and Material Risk Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, and my colleague, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) recent Request for Information (RFI) on chemicals undergoing U.S. Environmental Protection...

On May 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a request for information (RFI) to gather information to identify and assess critical applications for DOD and the defense industrial base (DIB) that necessitate the use of existing chemicals undergoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 risk evaluation process. The RFI states that it will help the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and...

The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology announced on December 18, 2024, that the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act includes “a suite of recommendations designed to galvanize action on biotechnology” for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). According to the Commission, the bill includes new authorities and requirements -- derived from its May 2024 proposals -- that will position DOD and the intelligence community (IC) to maximize the benefits of...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a fact sheet on June 25, 2024, on the Biden-⁠Harris Administration’s actions to advance American biotechnology and biomanufacturing. According to the fact sheet, on June 25, 2024, the White House, members of the National Bioeconomy Board, and the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE), Defense (DOD), and Agriculture (USDA) convened major biotechnology and biomanufacturing companies, nonprofits, and other stakeholders to...

On April 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to restructure and update the regulations to focus on current environmental and sustainability matters and to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable. 89 Fed. Reg. 30212. The final rule adds several...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on April 15, 2024, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: Navy Efforts to Address PFAS at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.” GAO states that it was asked to examine the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The report describes DOD’s response to a November 2022 aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) release at the installation; DOD...

On August 3, 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) proposed to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to restructure and update the regulations to focus on current environmental and sustainability matters and to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable. 88 Fed. Reg. 51672. Comments are...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on April 26, 2023, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: Actions Needed to Improve DOD’s Ability to Prevent the Procurement of Items Containing PFAS.” GAO notes that starting April 2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) was prohibited from procuring items in four categories if they contain certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 includes a provision for GAO to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   As part of the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced in September 2022 an investment of $1.2 billion in bioindustrial domestic manufacturing infrastructure to catalyze the establishment of a domestic bioindustrial manufacturing base accessible to U.S. innovators. As reported in our March 30, 2023, blog item, on March 22, 2023, DOD released its Biomanufacturing Strategy to guide these...

On February 3, 2023, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) announced that it published a supplement to President Biden’s 2023 budget request. NNI notes that the supplement serves as its annual report, called for under the provisions of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, and also addresses the requirement for Department of Defense (DOD) reporting on its nanotechnology investments. The NNI budget represents the sum of the nanotechnology-related...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On September 10, 2020, DOE, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB). FCAB was formed to accelerate the development of a secure, robust, domestic industrial base for advanced batteries. It provides a framework for cooperation and coordination among federal agencies that have a stake in developing such battery technology and...

On August 30, 2019, the National Nanotechnology Initiative published its supplement to the President’s 2020 budget request.  The supplement serves as NNI’s annual report required under the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act and addresses the requirement for U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) reporting on its nanotechnology investments.  According to NNI, the President’s 2020 budget requests more than $1.4 billion for NNI, “a continued...

On August 1-2, 2019, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) held “The Future of the NNI:  A Stakeholder Workshop.”  The NNI has played a pivotal role in fostering and advancing a dynamic nanotechnology ecosystem in support of the initiative’s four goals:  advance world-class research; foster commercialization; develop and sustain research infrastructure; and support the responsible development of nanotechnology.  Building on this foundation, experts from the...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has published The National Nanotechnology Initiative Supplement to the President’s 2019 Budget.  The August 2018 document not only supplements the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2019, but also serves as NNI’s annual report and addresses the requirement for Department of Defense (DOD) reporting on its nanotechnology investments.  President Trump requests nearly $1.4 billion for NNI, “a continued investment in...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On December 4, 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 regarding an extension of a previously approved ICR regarding biobased procurements.  Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.223-2, prime contractors are required to report annually the product types and dollar...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 21, 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) released their interim report titled A Proposed Framework for Identifying Potential Biodefense Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology.  The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) asked NAS to develop the framework to: Guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology; Assess the level of concern warranted for various advances and identify...

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...

?  Stars and Stripes, “A Few Good Plants:  Military Looking for Way to Make Biodegradable Germinating Munitions”   ?  Bloomberg Quint, “Buffett, Icahn Interests Square Off in Biofuels Law Fight”   ? University of Minnesota, “Researchers Invent Process to Produce Renewable Car Tires from Trees, Grass”

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory issued a $55 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to establish additional Integrated Biofuel Production Enterprise (IBPE) capabilities to increase the domestic production capacity of advanced biofuels.  The U.S. Air Force anticipates granting one award of up to $55 million in funding with the recipients required to share at least 50 percent of the total project cost.  The project will include the design, construction...

? The Hill, "Energy Groups Push For Renewal Of Tax Credits" ? Neste, "Neste and Ikea of Sweden Announce Partnership to Deliver Renewable, Bio-Based Plastics" ? Packaging Europe, "Croda Offers CrodaTherm™ 21 for Temperature Controlled Packaging Applications" ? The University of New Orleans, "UNO Computer Science Faculty Awarded More Than $500k for Vital Research" ? Airforce Technology, "US Air Force to Produce Biofuels for US DoD...

? Plastics Industry, "100 Percent Compostable Single Serve Coffee Pod Wins International Innovation Award" ? Market Wired, "Seventh Generation Develops EPA Safer Choice Certified Laundry Detergent Packs Mission-Led Household and Personal Care Products Company Introduces New Line Of Solid Laundry Detergent Packs Formulated With Plant-Based Ingredients" ? Synthetic Genomics, "Synthetic Genomics Team Engineers Vmax™, an Advantaged Next-Generation Host Organism for a...

? Growing Produce, "Better Biocontrol Options Becoming Available to Organic Growers" ? Joint Genome Institute, "Expanding the Stable of Workhorse Yeasts" ? Scientific American: ClimateWire, "Engineered Bacterium Turns Carbon Dioxide into Methane Fuel" ? DVIDS, "Fueling The Future: Air Force Title III Program Working To 'Home-Grow' Biofuels for DOD, Industry" ? NEC, "NEC Develops Non-Edible-Plant-Based Bioplastic Featuring the Elegance of...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on July 29, 2016, that federal agencies released a white paper describing the collective federal vision for the emerging and innovative solutions needed to realize the Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge for Future Computing announced in October 2015.  The white paper, a collaboration by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DOD), National...

On March 22, 2016, a team visited Malmstrom Air Force Base to test a new biobased synthetic oil in the base's vehicles. The testing is sponsored by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, with four bases chosen to use the plant based synthetic oil in vehicles. The Department of Homeland Security's Law Enforcement Training Center has also begun testing the oil and will be monitoring the impacts on vehicle performance and engine quality over the next...

On February 18, 2016, at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference 2016 (ABLC2016), Dr. Catherine Woteki, Chief Scientist and Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced the release of the Federal Activities Report on the Bioeconomy. The report was created to share current federal agency activities that help to develop and support the bioeconomy. The report first introduces the importance of fostering the bioeconomy and...

On October 27, 2014, President Obama announced new plans to strengthen the manufacturing sector. One of the listed plans involved the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) coming together to invest in advanced materials, advanced sensors, and digital manufacturing. These three areas were determined to be critical to U.S. competitiveness and include biobased materials in the advanced materials category. Over $300 million is...

On June 20, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bill to fund the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), H.R. 4870, including language repealing Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Section 526). Section 526 prohibits federal agencies from procuring synfuel unless its lifecycle GHG emissions are less than those for conventional petroleum sources. BRAG reported that last month the U.S. House of...

On December 11, 2013, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Navy announced that as part of their joint "Farm-to-Fleet" initiative, the acquisition of biofuel blends will be included into regular Department of Defense domestic solicitations for jet engine and marine diesel fuels. The Navy will seek to purchase JP-5 and F-76 advanced drop-in biofuels blended from 10 to 50 percent with conventional fuels. Funds from USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation will assist the effort....

On April 18, 2012, the United States Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) promulgated a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement changes due to the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act that require contractors to report the biobased products purchased under service and construction contracts.  According to the Federal Register notice, the reporting will enable agencies to...