Biobased Products News and Policy Report

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May 3, 2018

EPA
18 Senators Request EPA To Provide Timeline On RVP/E15 Rulemaking

On April 30, 2018, 18 pro-ethanol Senators sent a bi-partisan letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt requesting a “transparent timeline … on the regulatory pathway forward to address the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) issue,” “an expected timeline of the rulemaking process to clarify how the agency will make this change to allow higher ethanol blends access to the marketplace” and “immediate clarity to allow higher ethanol blends to be sold in the interim while the outdated regulation is being changed” as related to President Trump’s commitment to allow for 15 percent ethanol blends (E15) to be sold year-round and Pruitt’s statements in an EPA budget hearing in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment regarding EPA’s issuance of a waiver that would allow year-round sales of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol.

DOE
IEA TCP Presents Webinar On Biofuels For The Marine Sector

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office has announced that the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) will present a webinar titled “Biofuels for the Marine Sector: New Opportunities and New Challengeson May 8, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (EDT) that will “give an overview of the maritime transportation sector, including its fuel and engine types, the fuel supply infrastructure, and the regulations on fuel specifications and [carbon dioxide (CO2)] emissions” and include discussion on the feasibility of current biofuels including their properties and supply.  Participation instructions are available online.

DOE
EERE To Make $68.5 Million Available In Funding For Advanced Vehicle Technologies

On May 1, 2018, DOE Secretary Rick Perry announced that up to $68.5 million in funding will be available for early-stage research of advanced vehicle technologies through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).  The announcement states that the available funding “will enable more affordable mobility, strengthen domestic energy security, and enhance U.S. economic growth.”  Projects selected through this Vehicle Technologies Office funding opportunity will address the following:

    • Priorities in advanced batteries and electrification, including cyber security related to electric vehicle charging (up to $27 million);
    • Materials for both lighter weight vehicle structures and advanced powertrains (up to $6 million);
    • Technology integration and energy-efficient mobility systems (up to $20 million); and
    • Engines and fuels, including technologies for off-road applications (up to $3.5 million), as well as the co-optimization of engines and fuels (up to $12 million).

Concept papers for this funding opportunity are due May 29, 2018, and full applications will be due July 13, 2018.Information on the application requirements is available on the EERE Exchange website and Grants.gov.

State
Minnesota Implements 20 Percent Biodiesel Blend Requirement

On May 1, 2018, a new biodiesel requirement went into effect in Minnesota, requiring all diesel fuel sold in the state to contain five percent biodiesel from October to March and 20 percent biodiesel from April to September. This is the last stage of the Biodiesel Content Mandate that has been steadily increasing the minimum content requirement of biodiesel in diesel sold in Minnesota since September 29, 2005, when a two percent blend requirement was introduced. Since then the requirement has increased to five percent on May 1, 2009, and stayed at five percent for the winter months while the summer requirement increased to ten percent on July 1, 2014, and reached the final 20 percent requirement for the summer months this May.  Minnesota originally planned to transition to a ten percent biodiesel blend on May 1, 2012, but concerns about inadequate blending infrastructure delayed implementation. Minnesota’s government is confident that the state is prepared to switch to a 20 percent biodiesel blend, with sufficient fuel and feedstock supply and adequate blending infrastructure. Tom Slunecka, CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Growers, states consumers benefit the most from the B20 mandate, “They’re getting better, cleaner air because biodiesel is in our fuel tanks.  They’re getting the benefit of an industry that was born here in Minnesota.  It’s produced here, it’s consumed here.  So all the taxes stay right here.”

Industry
UPM Biofuels Receives First RSB Low ILUC Risk Certification

On April 24, 2018, UPM Biofuels announced that its crude tall oil (CTO) feedstock for BioVerno renewable fuels had received the first ever RSB (Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials) low ILUC (indirect land use change) risk certification. This certificate confirms that the amount of CTO used to make BioVerno is sustainable and not diverted from other uses, resulting in little to no ILUC risk. Rolf Hogan, Executive Director of RSB, said of the certification:

The RSB is proud to count UPM among the visionary biofuel producers that are not only RSB certified for their wood-based biofuels in Lappeenranta, Finland and Brassica carinata cultivation in Uruguay, but have now received the world’s first RSB low ILUC risk certification. This shows that their biofuels have not only achieved the requirements of our rigorous standard for sustainability, they have also been verified under this module, meaning they have minimal or zero risk of indirect impacts – such as deforestation or increased food prices – elsewhere in the world. With reduced greenhouse gas emissions which meet the highest standards of sustainability and transparency, as well as demonstrating the lowest impacts on nature and food production, these are the biofuels of the future!

Research
AgriChemWhey To Receive €22 Million In Funding Through BBI JU

On April 26, 2018, the European Commission (EC) announced €22 million in funding though the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) for AgriChemWhey, a bio-economy research project aiming to convert dairy byproducts into reusable biobased products. AgriChemWhey was developed by Glanbia Ireland, University College Dublin, and Trinity College Dublin, with the objective of developing a bio-refinery that can convert low-value dairy byproducts, including excess whey permeate and delactosed whey permeate, to sustainable lactic acid. The lactic acid can then be used as a biobased fertilizer, for human nutrition, or for the production of biodegradable plastics.

ABOUT THE FIRM
The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) helps members develop and bring to market their innovative biobased chemical products through insightful policy and regulatory advocacy. BRAG is managed by B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C., an affiliate of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.