Bold Actions to Accelerate the Bioeconomy: Findings from the Bold Goals Action Group

In San Francisco on the sidelines of the ABLC NEXT 2023 meeting, a coalition of the willing called the Bold Goals Action Group outlined a series of 31 Bold Actions that must be taken by industry and government in order to achieve the global timelines for Net Zero economies that address climate change and the need for resilient national economies.

The group was formed shortly after the March 22nd announcement of President Biden’s “Bold Goals for the Bioeconomy” at ABLC 2023 in Washington DC. The founders recognized that the advanced bioeconomy has transitioned from development to deployment stage, but could not be expected to realize the ambitious timelines and scales of the Bold Goals — including but not limited to 3 billion gallons of US SAF capacity by 2030 — without significant acceleration, and without Bold Actions to ensure that acceleration occurs.

As background, the Complete Biden Administration Bold Goals can be reviewed here.

Worth noting that the Bold Actions are aimed to support achievements of the Bold Goals, they are not in themselves aimed at solving all the challenges of climate change, income inequity and the challenges of a world in some disarray.

The Bold Goals Action Group had its initial meet-up in Sydney in September and formulated a draft of 25 Bold Actions, which have now been revised and expanded during a similar meet-up in San Francisco. Future meet-ups in Ottawa in November, Delhi in December, Sao Paulo in February, and Maastricht in May will further revise and extend the Bold Actions.

Roughly one-third of the Bold Actions related to actions required of government and policymakers, the remaining Actions are for industry, financiers and supply-chain partners.

The Bold Goals Action Group meets under the Chatham House Rule so that none of the statements or participation of individuals or companies is revealed — however, it is worth noting that more than 80 individuals representing more than 70 organizations — from start-ups to Fortune 20 corporations representing all phases of the bioeconomy supply-chain and end-use customers and located on six continents — have been a part of the coalition of the willing.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR THE BIOECONOMY

BOLD ACTIONS FOR BIOMASS PRODUCERS

Adding sustainable, affordable, and reliable, biomass production capacity is essential for price stability, and social license.

1. We will work to expand the availability of biomass by increasing yields with sustainable and restorative agricultural practices, while expanding arable land and water, and improving soil health to bring degraded land back to production.
2. We will expand capacity by the development and deployment of sustainable cash cover crops that improve soil productivity and work to remove non-price barriers that constrain cover and crops that offer sustainable rotation alternatives to fallow seasons.
3. We will drive down the cost, and work to remove non-price barriers, in the aggregation of biomass residues.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR SUPPLY-CHAIN DEVELOPERS & OWNERS

Long distance transport of biomass feedstocks is inefficient. We will work to improve biomass supply chain management by increasing the pre-processing of feedstock near to where they are grown and harvested.

1. Feedstock pre-processing facilities will be deployed widely to simplify delivery of bio-crudes and condensed biomass to bio-refineries.
2. We will develop more reliable feedstock pre-processing and work towards a Uniform Transportable Feedstock Standard.
3. We will develop more effective and affordable use of infrastructure to transport solid, liquid and gaseous feedstocks and by-products.
4. We will work to extend the electrical grid to support a more diversified bio-refinery system and to support the development of power purchase agreements that support independently-owned power-generation facilities to distribute power to refineries on a direct basis.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR PROJECT & PROCESS DEVELOPERS

We will work to re-structure molecular industries by improving the processes by which biomass is converted into the fuels, chemicals, and materials needed by society.

1. Bio-based products will be valued not only for their utility but also for their carbon intensity and societal benefits
2. We will focus in the near-term on those markets and products that offer the greatest opportunities to reduce carbon intensity, with a long-term goal of replacing all products for all markets that are made from fossil resources today.
3. We will utilize all existing programs that support development in disadvantaged communities to diversify and spread the growth of bio-based production and jobs.
4. We will support permitting reform that permits what will protect, instead of the current approach which protects that is already permitted, and we will engage those communities, counties, provinces, states and countries that harmonize, speed, and create a reliable, predictable, one-stop permitting process.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR FINANCE

Accelerating deployments requires more and better financial tools deployed by motivated public and private finance. For example, it is necessary to harmonize, accelerate and reduce the cost of due diligence. To enable better and faster project preparation we will

1. Develop a project risk rating system to facilitate due diligence by those offering debt and equity.
2. Grow of a Development Capital Industry to address the financing of technologies between pilot scale and commercial deployment.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR GOVERNMENT

Strong collaboration between government and industry is needed to enable de-fossilization of fuels, chemicals, and materials. In the spirit of collaboration, we recommend that national and sub-national governments:

1. Create and sustain investment tax credits that are harmonized across all regions, to create a level playing field with fossil carbon, that lasts as long as it takes to pay off the cost of a given facility, begin at the commencement of production, and are payable directly to project developer.
2. Work with international agencies to develop and deploy transparent, aggressive, science-based, harmonized low-carbon fuels and materials standards.
3. Encourage fossil alternatives that support and meet domestic demand for food and energy, and in cases where there is sustainable capacity beyond domestic needs, to develop export markets to support de-fossilization goals for those areas who lack domestic capacity.
4. Adopt a harmonized all-of-government approach when supporting the development of fossil alternatives — including but not limited to departments of energy, agriculture, defense, science, environment, with a focus on developing transparent, speedy, technology-neutral and efficient programs, and reliable, speedy, and consistent regulatory support.
5. Create and expand programs that support the capital costs of converting fossil refineries, or mothballed biobased refineries, to 100% sustainable bio-based feedstocks.
6. Reform permitting to reduce the time and cost of project development and fossil-alternative deployment.
7. Develop less prescriptive crop insurance to speed the development of bio-capacity.
8. Harmonize regulations that protect land access and resources and ensure that they be feedstock-neutral, science-based, harmonized, predictable, and reliable.
9. Support the growth of a Development Capital Industry to address the financing of technologies between pilot scale and commercial deployment.
10. Expand, simplify and speed the availability of Loan Guarantees to support deployment of commercial-scale projects that offer the highest carbon reduction values and account for carbon intensity in the design of loan program support.
11. Recognize across all branches, ministries, and departments that carbon credits are an asset class that can be utilized to collateralize project and company debt.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

Recognizing the catalytic role that international bodies and processes can play accelerating the Energy Transition, we recommend that

1. International agencies enable standards, regulations and development programs that are transparent, consistent, harmonized, reliable, and science-based.
2. International agencies encourage countries to prepare and enforce of transparent, harmonized, and science-based carbon intensity, water use efficiency, and land-use standards.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY GROUPS

1. We recommend that trade & industry group develop data standards and databases that support the development and deployment of biomass resources, including but not limited to biomass-ready regions and aggregators, risk ratings, technology providers, project developers, financial resources, government programs and relevant regulations.
2. We recommend that trade & industry groups prioritize speed of development and deployment, the communication of success stories, in addition to their work on new market development and regulatory relief.
3. We recommend that trade, industry and economic development groups collect and advise on economic development programs that support conversion of existing refining assets those that can use use increasing amounts of sustainable biobased feedstocks.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR RESEARCHERS

We recommend a focus on developing new feedstocks and cover crops, uniform feedstock conditioning, improvement in yields from water electrolysis, and supporting partnerships for the improvement of processing technologies and for new product development.

BOLD ACTIONS FOR THE BOLD GOALS ACTION GROUP

We will create and support, for the long-term, a working group to oversee the implementation of these Bold Actions and to continue to serve for all organizations that seek independent, science-based, technology-neutral feedback and guidance from our “coalition of the willing” of project developers, scientists, financiers, end-users, and economic development officials.

The Sydney Communique

The participants in the Sydney meeting issued the following Communique:

The initial meeting of the Bold Goals Action Group was held in Sydney on 22 September 2023. It involved leaders of companies and industry organisations committed to guiding the development of workable decarbonisation strategies for those sectors of the Australian industry that have recently been identified by the Federal Government. The meeting was the first in a series of international engagement forums being conducted under the Bold Goals, Bold Actions initiative of the US Government, aimed at emphasising urgency and generating acceleration for introduction of low emission technologies.

Global liquid fuels and energy systems have begun transitioning to renewable feedstock as the pathway to emission reductions. But the current pace of transition is falling short of the necessary trajectory to achieve national commitments to reach NetZero by 2050, a target that may well be brought forward in coming decades. Immediate bold actions to accelerate this transition are needed.

Australia stands as a potential major renewable carbon feedstock producer, products manufacturer and consumer of low carbon liquid fuels providing domestic energy security, regional development, and access to global markets for sustainable fuels.

As leaders in development of Australian low-carbon fuel industries, the Bold Goals Action Group participants affirmed their commitment to working with government and all sectors of the economy, and communities to seize these emerging opportunities to secure sustainable economic growth for regional production systems and low-carbon industries.

The global initiatives arising from the US Inflation Reduction Act and G20 Biofuels Alliance are immediate opportunities in which Australia should actively participate to secure technology, finance, and customer partnerships. The BGAG participants call for increased and proactive government engagement with multilateral international partners, a national commitment to building sovereign liquid fuel security through accelerated domestic production of renewable fuels, and through industry actively pursuing markets that are seeking low-carbon liquid fuel and material solutions. The BGAG supports calls for the establishment of a $100 billion green industries support package to complement and catalyse access to opportunities arising from the US Inflation Reduction Act. Furthermore, BGAG calls for the Australian government to become an active participant and signatory to the G20 Biofuels Alliance.