Two great organizations, one amazing event: The US Department of Energy and The Digest join forces to co-sponsor ABLC 2020

November 11, 2019 |

And a special meeting and program with the US Biomass Research & Development Board at ABLC 2020

In Florida, The Digest announced that the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC 2020) will be held March 25-27, 2020 at the Mayflower Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC, and that the US Department of Energy has joined as the Digest’s co-sponsor of the event, where the DOE will highlight the role of advanced R&D in accelerating the development and deployment of an advanced bioeconomy.

The US Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, the US National Labs that support the nation’s R&D agenda, and leadership from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy leadership will play a major role on stage and in the development of the ABLC agenda.

The US Biomass Research & Development Board at ABLC

The Digest also announced that ABLC will be home to a special public meeting of the United States’ Biomass Research & Development Board on March 25th.

The Biomass Research and Development Board, co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy, coordinates research and development activities concerning biobased fuels, products, and power across federal agencies, and aims to maximize the benefits of federal programs and bring coherence to federal strategic planning. The BR&D Board  is currently comprised of members from the U.S. Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The BR&D Board oversees the interagency Bioeconomy Initiative, a coordinated federal effort to expand the sustainable use of the nation’s abundant biomass resources for biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. The vision of the Bioeconomy Initiative is a vibrant U.S. bioeconomy that enhances economic growth, energy security, and environmental quality by maximizing sustainable use of the nation’s domestic biomass resources for affordable biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower.

The BR&D Board, as well as the annual BR&D Initiative solicitation and Technical Advisory Committee, were established by the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000, which was later amended by Section 9001 of the Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) and was most recently reauthorized in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.  The Technical Advisory Committee is an independent body that provides input to agencies regarding the technical focus and direction of the Initiative.

US Biomass Research & Development Board Membership

Daniel Simmons
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
Department of Energy

Scott Hutchins
Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics,
Department of Agriculture

Deerin Babb-Brott
Acting Lead, Energy and Environment Division
Office of Science and Technology Policy

Sharlene Weatherwax
Associate Director of Science for Biological and Environmental Research
Department of Energy

Al McGartland
Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of Policy
Environmental Protection Agency

Dawn Tilbury
Assistant Director, Directorate for Engineering
National Science Foundation

Kathleen Benedetto
Senior Advisor to the Bureau of Land Management
Department of the Interior

Bette Brand
Administrator for Rural Business Service, Rural Development
Department of Agriculture

William Bray
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research Development Test and Evaluation
Department of the Navy

US Biomass Research & Development Board Operations Committee Members

▪ Jonathan Male, Director, Bioenergy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
▪ Kristen Johnson, Board Operations Committee Liaison, Technology Manager, Bioenergy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
▪ Gail McLean, Photochemistry and Biochemistry Team Lead, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy
▪ William Hohenstein, Director, Climate Change Program Office, Acting Director, Offices of Energy Policy and New Uses and Environmental Markets, Office of the Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
▪ Mark Brodziski, acting Deputy Administrator, Business Programs, Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
▪ Wade Salverson, Stewardship Coordinator and Biomass Forester, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
▪ Jim Caley, Director of Operational Energy, U.S. Department of the Navy
▪ Shawn Johnson, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Transportation
▪ Nathan Brown, Alternative Jet Fuels Project Manager, Federal Aviation Administration
▪ Brian Heninger, Economist, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
▪ Carole Read, Program Director in the Engineering Directorate, National Science Foundation

US Biomass Research & Development Board Techanical Advisory Committee (as of 11/2019)

Charles Abbas, IBiocat
Rob Anex, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Brent Bean, United Sorghum Checkoff Program
Jacques Beaudry-Losique, Algenol Biotech LLC
Esteban Chornet, Enerkem
Michael Beardsley, Liberty University
Katrina Cornish, Ohio State University
Doug Faulkner (Co-Chair), Leatherstocking, LLC
William Frey, Georgia-Pacific
Jerry Gargulak, Borregaard-Lingotech
Beth Hood, Arkansas State University
Raymond Huhnke, Oklahoma State University
Randy Jennings, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Madhu Kanna, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Alan Keller, POET
Michael Ladisch, Purdue University
Pete Madden, Edgemere Consulting
Michael McAdams, Advanced Biofuels Association
Shelie Miller, University of Michigan
Manuel Garcìa Pèrez, Washington State University
Tim Rials, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Matthew Rudolf, SCS Global Services
Susan Rupp, Enviroscapes Ecological Consulting, LLC
Basudeb Saha, University of Delaware
Patricia Scanlan, Scanlan Environmental LLC
Steve Searcy, Texas A&M University
David Shonnard, Michigan Technological University
Larry Sullivan, The Citadel
Kelly Tiller (Co-Chair), Genera Energy Inc.
Valerie Thomas, Georgia Tech
Michael Wolcott, Washington State University

More about ABLC

ABLC continues in its mission to bring together the real leaders, in one place, at one time, for real dialogue on the real opportunities in the advanced bioeconomy.

The event website, agenda and conference details including registration and the 2 for 1 special offer – for all that, start here.

7 Conferences in 1 — and 18 events in all

ABLC will feature 7 distinct conference experiences:

1. The Advanced Biofuels Summit

2. The Renewable Chemicals & Biomaterials Summit

3. The ABLC Advanced Agriculture Summit

4. The Advanced Nutrition Summit

5. The Sustainable Aviation Fuels Summit

6. The Biogas & RNG Summit

7. The Hydrogen Summit

In addition to the 7 conferences, there will be 12 special events, forums and workshops :

  • The Investor & Finance Workshop on capital trends
  • The Bioeconomy Policy Forum on policy trends
  • The Industry Horizons Forum
  • The Market Analysis Workshop
  • The ABLC Wolfpack – 4 fuels & chemicals companies to be devoured and dissected in a search for underlying value by the ABLC Due Diligence Wolves
  • The Digital Biology Forum
  • The Federal Perspectives & Programs Forum on new and continuing opportunities for federal incentives, R&D support, partnerships, and consortia.
  • Live announcement of the 50 Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy (the Hot 50)
  • The annual Hot Party celebrating industry innovation and achievement
  • The Global Leadership Award presentation
  • The Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement presentation
  • The annual State of the Industry address and Networking event

The 2 for 1 offer returns. Boost your conference ROI.

Through January 15th we have a special “2 for 1” offer in place — you can save 50% off the super-low Early Bird rate – so, prices start as low as $497 per person if you take the 2 for 1. It’s double savings and is the best way to boost you conference ROI. And, access our special room rates at the Mayflower Marriott to maximize savings and for a seamless stay in Washington, DC.

Announcing the first 9 Session Themes

Algae Products: Making Green by Going Green

Highlighting the diverse products from the global algae industry and support for innovators in this market.

Innovative Sensing Technologies for Biomass and Feedstock Production and Logistics

New advancements in sensor technologies to evaluate the quality of biomass and feedstocks as well as sensors in farming applications.

Marine and Heavy Duty Biofuel Opportunities

Marine and Heavy duty applications with a focus on drivers (emissions control, sulfur reduction in marine).

Bio Optimized Technologies for Plastics Recycling

Hghlighting selective, scalable technologies for plastics deconstruction and upcycling, and recyclable-by-design plastics.

System Integration and Advancements

Biorefinery systems panel covering biorefinery operations with a focus on robustness and feedstock handling; Process and systems integration; Lessons learned and successes

AI / Machine Learning in Bioenergy

AI / Machine Learning successes across the biobased industry.

Innovations in Biomass Pretreatment

The advantages for new pretreatment strategies such as disc refining, reductive catalytic fractionation (aka lignin first). Showcasing the benefits of their pretreatment approach- whether that is avoiding the need to utilize pressure, producing a non-condensed lignin stream, reducing toxicity of sugars etc.

Performance Advantaged Biofuels and Bioproducts

Exploring opportunities for performance advantaged biofuels and bioproducts, including fuels that improve performance and reduce emissions, and bio-based products that offer performance advantages over their petroleum counterparts.

Lower Carbon Intensity Fuels

Transportation sector fuels from CO2 and other sources of waste carbon with lower life-cycle carbon intensity. (on and off-road, aviation, marine).

The Key Data points

Live Attendance: 500+ delegates, 110+ Speakers, 250+ organizations- primarily high-level, director and above. ABLC 2018 had 539 delegates.

Global audience: 10,000 viewers follow the conference live and on-demand via BioChannell.TV

6 Themes the Industry is Thinking About

The theme for ABLC 2020 is “Network Like Crazy”” and across the two and a half days of the event, we’ll be looking closely at partnerships for project deployment, supply chain developing, securing offtake, finance, people, technology, and choosing locations.

We’ll look in depth at 6 themes.

Deploying at Scale: First commercial projects and technologies ready for deployment at scale.

Gaining Speed: new strategies for increasing speed to market; development in parallel; accessing opportunities in emerging markets and making them work.

Defining the Ask: What carbon policies will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy; what are the rewards for countries, states and communities that move forward on carbon policy, and what’s the outlook for both current and new policies around the globe.

Attracting Capital: accessing strategic relationships; leveraging existing resources; new products and strategies that extend value for existing projects; what role carbon pricing plays, and how much and where and when.

Early Movement: Designing platforms and breakthrough first products that reduce cash burn and create brand visibility; monetizing through new and existing channels.

Sustainable Feedstock: Identifying real resources, timelines to scale, aggregation that works, sustainability metrics, and residues vs novel energy crops.

5 Industry Segments that Matter

Fuels: In the Advanced Biofuels Summit, ABLC will be focusing on demonstrated cellulosic biofuels, expansion opportunities in biomass-based diesel, progress in aviation fuels; Low Carbon Fuel Standards and their impact, progress in emerging alternatives to gasoline and diesel including DME, butanol and more, upgrade and expansion technologies for first-gen plants and thermochemical technologies that are on the rise.

Chemicals and Biomaterials: In the Renewable Chemicals & Biomaterials Summit, the event will focus on new demand for renewable chemical Intermediates, expansion in biobased plastics & packaging, the rise of fragrances & flavors, strategic interest and intent in organic acids and novel-performance chemicals.

Crops & Feedstocks: In the ABLC Crops & feedstocks Summit ABLC will focus in on yield improvement, sustainable crop protection, novel feedstocks, supply chain development, the rise of protein production for animal and human nutrition, opportunities for vegan technologies, and trends in advanced R&D including two major case studies on industry consortia aimed at developing new feedstock platforms.

Sustainable Aviation Fuels: In the Sustainable Aviation Summit, the event will highlight success stories and emerging technologies for aviation fuels for commercial and military application, including a look at consortia aimed at deployment, and the emerging policy and airline industry puchasing trends.

More about ABLC

The event website, agenda and conference details including registration and the 2 for 1 special offer – for all that, start here.

  • Getting to Scale: proven technologies that have been demonstrated in depth; the must knows and pitfalls from finance to engineering.
  • Gaining Speed: new strategies for increasing speed to market; development in parallel; accessing opportunities in emerging markets and making them work
  • Creating Advantaged Products — using the new toolkits of catalyst development, metabolic design, organism optimization, process simulation, open innovation, customer engagement and advanced fermentation to rapid create and scale new vehicles for bioconversion and new products & materials that feature higher rates, titers, yields and meet not only sustainability goals but bring new functionalities to the market.
  • Forming Capital for Scale: accessing strategic relationships; leveraging existing resources; new products and strategies that extend value for existing projects; what role carbon pricing plays, and how much and where and when.
  • Early Income: Designing platforms and breakthrough first products that reduce cash burn and create brand visibility; monetizing through new and existing channels.
  • Getting the right visibility: Developing a voice and messages that resonate with customers, consumers, policymakers, NGOs, investors, and analysts.
  • Affordable Feedstock: Identifying real resources, timelines to scale, aggregation that works, sustainability metrics, and residues vs novel energy crops.

8 Industry Segments & Subjects that Matter

Clean Fuels & Energy

In the Biogas Forum and the Advanced Biofuels Summit, ABLC will be focusing on demonstrated cellulosic biofuels, expansion opportunities in biomass-based diesel, progress in aviation fuels; Low Carbon Fuel Standards and their impact, progress in emerging alternatives to gasoline and diesel including DME, butanol and more, upgrade and expansion technologies for first-gen plants and thermochemical technologies that are on the rise. Full conference details are here.

Renewable Chemicals and Biomaterials

the Renewable Chemicals & Biomaterials Summit, the event will focus on new demand for renewable chemical Intermediates, expansion in biobased plastics & packaging, the rise of fragrances & flavors, strategic interest and intent in organic acids and novel-performance chemicals. Full conference details are here.

Feedstocks & Supply chain development

In the Advanced Agriculture Summit, and the Advanced Nutrition Summit, the event will look at the development of a sustainable, available, reliable and affordable supply chain of feedstock based on biomass (including waste resources and new energy crops) to meet the conversion and product needs of the growing bioeconomy. Full conference details are here.

The New Nutrition

In the Advanced Nutrition Summit, ABLC will focus in on the rise of protein production for animal and human nutrition, opportunities for vegan technologies, the growing interest in the microbiome and the implications for R&D, and the expanding universe of nutraceuticals. Full conference details are here.

The Digital Biology Toolkit

In the Digital Biology Summit, ABLC will address the development of the new biological and manufacturing tools that support the rise of all these market segments — as well as the companions advances in robotics, genetics, big data and mobility that are ensuring that the nexus of biology and information science continues to power innovation across a wide selection of industries. Full conference details are here.

Agriculture

In The Advanced Agriculture Summit, ABLC Global will look at yield improvement, new crops, international deployment of technology, new sources of income — and the role of robotics, genetics, big data, remote sensing, mobility — and new tools for crop protection through early detection & spot treatment against pests, parasites, competitors and disease. Full conference details are here.</a19 191

Finance

In the Financing & Investing Workshop, ABLC Global will brings together the latest case studies of successful financing, and introduce the players, the models, the geographies, and the steps to success from financing early-stage companies through to commercial-scale deployment. Full conference details are here.

Category: Top Stories

Thank you for visting the Digest.