Category: Thought Leadership

USA BioEnergy, Forest Persistence and the Bon Wier Bet

USA BioEnergy, Forest Persistence and the Bon Wier Bet

June 10, 2025 |

We are reporting this week in the Digest that USA BioEnergy has signed a letter of intent with Louisiana-Pacific for a long-term supply agreement for sustainably sourced wood fiber to support operations at USAB’s planned Texas Renewable Fuels biorefinery in Bon Wier, Texas. Once finalized, the agreement would provide for up to 2.2 million tons […]

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The Swinging Compass: Why Energy Policies Fail, and How to Make Them Persist

The Swinging Compass: Why Energy Policies Fail, and How to Make Them Persist

June 5, 2025 |

“A compass, I learned when I was surveying,.. it’ll point you true north from where you’re standing, but it’s got no advice about the swamps, deserts and chasms that you’ll encounter along the way. If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a […]

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Timber Towns and Forest Futures: In the Piney Woods, SunGas finds the key in green methanol

Timber Towns and Forest Futures: In the Piney Woods, SunGas finds the key in green methanol

May 30, 2025 |

Back before there was an advanced bioeconomy, or even a United States, there was the Big Piney Woods and six flags have flown over it. Through it ran a path cut not by men, but by bison.  From the southern plains to the banks of the Red River, the buffalo moved with the seasons—seeking salt, […]

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Sequestering & Monetizing Carbon Dioxide: Critical To The Economic Health Of Chemical And Energy Projects, And The Well Being Of Our Planet

Sequestering & Monetizing Carbon Dioxide: Critical To The Economic Health Of Chemical And Energy Projects, And The Well Being Of Our Planet

May 29, 2025 |

By Sam A. Rushing, President, Advanced Cryogenics, Ltd. Special to The Digest With respect to all options being essential, we can start with sequestering CO2 via the best farming methods, and enhancing closed greenhouse operations with CO2 to put photosynthesis in overdrive. With respect to carbon management for farmers, climate smart practices do enhance CO2 […]

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When the Spotlight Moves On, Does Carbon Still Matter? Looking at big news from Pyran, Carbon Clean, HutanBio

When the Spotlight Moves On, Does Carbon Still Matter? Looking at big news from Pyran, Carbon Clean, HutanBio

May 22, 2025 |

We’ve rarely had a week in the bioeconomy where so much worthy advancement on carbon-smart technology won so less applause.  Pyran announced that an independent cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment for its 1,5-pentanediol, confirms that Pyran’s bio-based PDO reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 99% compared to petroleum-derived 1,6-hexanediol. Pyran’s been lauded for using intermediates […]

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The Enerkem Question: When a company evolves, how do its low-carbon platforms remain in motion?

The Enerkem Question: When a company evolves, how do its low-carbon platforms remain in motion?

May 22, 2025 |

Enerkem has it all: patented technology, public sector backing, global partners, and a flagship project in Quebec. It also has C$350 million in debt and as we reported last week, the company has filed for creditor protection as it reorganizes. We can only speculate about Enerkem post-reorganization, but informed voices suggest it may be controlled […]

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Here’s to the Crazy Ones: looking at Jobs, Buffett and the Bioeconomy through a new lens

Here’s to the Crazy Ones: looking at Jobs, Buffett and the Bioeconomy through a new lens

May 22, 2025 |

I walk a lonely road The only one that I have ever known Don’t know where it goes But it’s home to me, and I walk alone. —Green Day, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” So begins Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” but it could just as easily describe the emotional terrain of today’s clean energy […]

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Is This Built to Last? A Systems-Based Toolkit for Evaluating iMicrobes’ Biomanufacturing Strategy

Is This Built to Last? A Systems-Based Toolkit for Evaluating iMicrobes’ Biomanufacturing Strategy

May 20, 2025 |

Industrial Microbes CEO Noah Helman’s column yesterday on biomanufacturing was packed with real-world insight. It’s highly recommended reading, and paired well with Liberation Labs CEO Mark Warner’s column on Monday. First, let’s recap the iMicrobes column. Thankfully, it doesn’t promise the moon. Instead, it delivers something more valuable: clarity. Noah Helman’s take on iMicrobes highlights […]

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How to design a biomanufacturing process for success

How to design a biomanufacturing process for success

May 19, 2025 |

By Noah Helman, CEO, Industrial Microbes Imagine two parents with a baby stroller standing in the supermarket aisle, faced with a decision: two identical boxes of diapers – same brand, same performance, same price – except one is in green packaging. Looking closer, they realize one kind is made from petroleum while those in the […]

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If the Microbe isn’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy

If the Microbe isn’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy

May 18, 2025 |

By Mark Warner, CEO, Liberation Labs Special to The Digest Why successful biomanufacturing starts with the organism As companies rush to build the next wave of biomanufacturing capacity, they seek input from many stakeholders: elected officials who champion federal funding for their districts, agricultural conglomerates offering cost-advantaged feedstocks, and CEOs hoping the site is within […]

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