Author Archive: Jim Lane

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Feedstock Prequalification

July 16, 2026 | Jim Lane

Fragmented global certification regimes demand multiple redundant audits for a single feedstock, multiplying administrative burdens without delivering incremental environmental benefits. Because verification costs are fixed per audit rather than volume-based, this fragmentation disproportionately burdens small and mid-size producers, creating regressive barriers to market entry. To solve this, the industry must prioritize mutual recognition agreements between […]

Mahalo! Hawaii’s Clean Fuel Standard Becomes Law

July 16, 2026 | Jim Lane

I was topping off the rental car at an Aloha gas station near Honolulu Airport when the pump thanked me. Mahalo. It’s such a small thing that most visitors probably don’t even notice anymore. You replace the nozzle, glance at the receipt, and there it is on the screen: Mahalo. Thank you. It may be […]

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Marine Fuel Quality

July 15, 2026 | Jim Lane

The petroleum-centric ISO 8217 standard dangerously lags behind the realities of modern low-carbon marine fuels. While bio-blends introduce unaddressed risks like microbial contamination and cold-flow limitations, emerging fuels like methanol and ammonia demand entirely distinct, specialized handling categories rather than being treated as simple hydrocarbon variants. Even chemically fungible FT diesel presents hidden lubricity challenges. […]

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to SAF Book-and-Claim Integrity

July 14, 2026 | Jim Lane

Book-and-claim systems critically decouple sustainable aviation fuel attributes from physical delivery, allowing corporate demand to scale globally. However, the current landscape of fragmented, independent registries lacks shared certificate identifiers, common metadata schemas, and cross-system retirement visibility. This structural blindness creates a “seam” where the identical environmental attribute can be double-counted by both regulators and corporate […]

Freedom to Choose? Not When it Comes to Fuels

July 14, 2026 | Jim Lane

By Doug Durante, Executive Director Clean Fuels Development Coalition As we celebrate this month the Fourth of July and America’s 250th birthday, it is a time to reflect that one of the great rewards of America’s independence is that we have free choice – free to choose your religion, where you live, who you love, […]

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to E9’s Green Hydrogen

July 13, 2026 | Jim Lane

E9 Hydrogen solves the dual challenges of renewable energy curtailment and expensive green hydrogen production. Utilizing proprietary Co-Axial Membraneless technology, E9’s system is purpose-built for intermittent, behind-the-meter operation. By prioritizing robust durability for frequent start-stop cycles over peak efficiency, it eliminates precious metals to achieve a radically low capital cost of $600 to $800 per […]

Major USDA Section 9003 Upgrades: De-risked Projects & New Lender Opportunities

July 13, 2026 | Jim Lane

By CJ Evans, Co-Founder, The Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition (AFCC) Special to The Digest For over two decades, the United States bioeconomy has possessed the technological ingenuity to replace fossil-derived fuels, chemicals, and products, revitalize rural economies, establish domestic energy independence, and challenge global competitors for energy dominance. Yet, a persistent and formidable barrier […]

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Mezzanine Debt for Retrofits

July 9, 2026 | Jim Lane

Biorefinery retrofits, such as converting ethanol plants to sustainable aviation fuel, face a critical financing gap: senior lenders limit brownfield exposure while equity demands prohibitively high returns. Mezzanine debt effectively bridges this divide, providing essential subordinated capital tailored to conversion risks. Because strong brownfield assets mitigate technology risks, they can secure mezzanine pricing 200 to […]

Brian Westlake and the Great Quibbler: Why Avantium, Itaconix, Michelin and Axens are on the march

July 9, 2026 | Jim Lane

“G’day, Brian.” “Hmmm.” “I’ve brought tea.” “Put it down quietly.” “What were you reading?” “The future.” Only then did I notice where I was. It was one of those crisp Australian winter mornings that persuade you walls are an optional extra. Dr. Brian Westlake’s cabin stood somewhere on the Lachlan River. Or perhaps the Little […]

The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to the DOE LPO Pipeline

July 8, 2026 | Jim Lane

Following the Inflation Reduction Act, the DOE Loan Programs Office (LPO) transformed into the bioeconomy’s primary sovereign anchor lender. An LPO conditional commitment powerfully crowds in private capital by validating project viability. However, surging application volumes have stretched due-diligence cycles by 30 to 50 percent. Because institutional throughput—not capital availability—is the true bottleneck, sponsors must […]

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