Author Archive: Jim Lane

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Market-Based Tools to Unleash American Biofuels

June 19, 2025 | Jim Lane

Ecostrat introduces BDO Zone Ratings to certify regional readiness for biomanufacturing. A novel initiative is the “B-RREADI for Wildfire Challenge,” which leverages ‘W-BDO Zones’ to attract biomanufacturing plants. This creates market demand for removing combustible forest biomass, offering an economic incentive to reduce wildfire risk. Ecostrat also offers Feedstock Supply Insurance (FSI)® to de-risk biomass […]

The Bedford Falls Test: BDO Zones and the path to Rural Development

June 19, 2025 | Jim Lane

I’ve seen Main Streets where the hardware store is closed and now there’s a payday lender, where the once-bustling main intersection is home to perhaps a Wal-Mart, maybe a Dollar Store, maybe just boarded up buildings, the bank’s gone, the gas station’s battered, the feed store’s probably in the next county. You’d think that was […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Power to Liquids: Money from Thin Air

June 18, 2025 | Jim Lane

NexantECA identifies Power-to-Liquids (PTL) and CO2 utilization as increasingly vital due to projected shortfalls in meeting 2050 emission targets with current technologies. PTL, utilizing CO2 as a feedstock, typically requires dedicated low-carbon intensity power. The presentation explores various CO2 capture options, including “Blue” CCS, BECCS, and Direct Air Capture (DAC), detailing their respective costs and […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to RNG to SAF

June 17, 2025 | Jim Lane

Topsoe, a leader in energy transition, highlights their G2L™ Biofuels technology, a novel and commercially ready pathway converting Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Leveraging industrially proven Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, this solution achieves high carbon efficiency (~95%) and impressive SAF product yields (>80%). Topsoe emphasizes its role in leading hard-to-abate sectors toward […]

Pulp Non-Fiction: Mercer International finds allure, redemption in the advanced bioeconomy

June 17, 2025 | Jim Lane

They say pulp was a dirty business. Maybe it was. Maybe it still is. I’ve seen boilers run red, steam choke a skyline, and accountants draw their margins like guns. For a long time, the whole thing was headed for a final scene — old mills, old margins, and the same old ending. But then […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to BioVeritas

June 16, 2025 | Jim Lane

BioVeritas champions an “Unconstrained” approach to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), addressing the current limitations of HEFA feedstocks. Their novel strategy involves Directed Mixed-Culture Fermentation and Low-Energy Acid Recovery to produce Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs), which are then converted into SAF blendstock or intermediates. This dual market strategy aims to overcome supply constraints, positioning BioVeritas as […]

Boom! EPA proposes shocking, welcome increases to US renewable fuel volumes

June 15, 2025 | Jim Lane

In Washington, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed rule to establish required Renewable Fuel Standard volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027, as well as to partially waive the 2025 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production. The proposed volume requirements […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Hyfe

June 12, 2025 | Jim Lane

Michelle Ruiz, Founder & CEO of Hyfe, discussed transforming waste carbon. Hyfe targets high-value food processing waste, including grape pomace. Their tech uses green solvents to fractionate biomass into valuable components (phytochemicals, fibers, lignin, dextrose). This enables profitable facilities at any scale, boosting waste value over 100x. Hyfe has strong IP and a pilot startup […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to Sugar Valley Energy

June 11, 2025 | Jim Lane

David Rubenstein, CEO of Sugar Valley Energy (CE+P), detailed their project producing 76 million gallons/year of 11 CI Score fuel ethanol from sugarcane. This converts to 60+ million gallons of SAF and 3+ million gallons of Renewable Diesel. CE+P controls its guaranteed, low-CI feedstock. Located in Imperial County, CA, the project leverages its position and […]

The Digest’s 2025 Multi-Slide Guide to a Resilient US Bioeconomy

June 10, 2025 | Jim Lane

Valerie Reed, Director of the USDOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), discussed building A Resilient US Bioeconomy. She outlined benefits including job creation, strengthening national security via domestic supply chains, supporting ethanol producers, investing in communities, improving health, and achieving carbon reductions. BETO’s RD&D priorities focus on affordability, efficiency, and security for domestic biofuels and biobased […]

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