Advocating for Public Policies to Promote the Development & Production of Alternative Fuels, Renewable Chemicals, Biobased Products, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition
Symposiums
Special Events Announcement
We are pleased to announce our symposium special events which will be held on Sunday, November 12 at the 2023 AFCC Global Biobased Economy Conference & Exhibit.
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The symposiums will be followed by Federal Agencies Leadership Briefing. More information on round table speakers will be presented later this fall.
​Symposium: Climate Smart Commodities & The Bioeconomy - Baltimore 1
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM (ET)
Joining the Panel: The Honorable Jim Pillen, Governor of Nebraska
The Rapid Transition to Climate Smart Commodities
Dr. Jay Golden, Director, Dynamic Sustainability Lab at Syracuse University
The Importance of Climate Smart Commodities to our States and Nation-
The Nebraska Example
The Honorable Jim Pillen, Governor of Nebraska
USDA and the Biobased Products Industry
Karama Neal, Administrator, Rural Business - Cooperative Service, USDA
Measuring, Reporting and Validation: The Need for High Quality Data
Venki Kumar, KPMG
Financing and Insuring the Climate Smart Commodities Transition
Charles Sidoti, Innsure
A Preview of the National Climate Smart Commodities Database and Web Portal
Dr. Janire Pascual, Dynamic Sustainability Lab at Syracuse University
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The Honorable
Jim Pillen
Governor of Nebraska
Moderator:
Professor Jay Golden, Director, Dynamic Sustainability Lab at Syracuse University
Speakers:
KPMG
Charles Sidoti
Innsure
Dr. Janire Pascual
Sr. Project Mgr. Dynamic Sustainability Lab
We are at the most important juncture in time for the Bioeconomy. Growers, manufacturers and brands must be prepared for the rapid development of climate smart commodities including low-carbon and carbon-negative biobased products. The USDA has recently invested over $3.1 Billion on projects to develop the United States as the leader in climate smart commodities. This extended special session will be one of the first of its kind to discuss the current state of biobased products and the regulatory and business driven roadmaps for climate smart commodities.
​Symposium: Development of Standards for Industrial Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology – Recent Progress and Future Opportunities - Baltimore 2
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM (ET)
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Moderator: Dr. Joseph McAuliffe, Senior Principal Scientist, IFF
Speakers:
Emily Aurand. Ph.D.
Director of Roadmapping and Education
EBRC
Director of Government Strategy and Technology Partnerships
LanzaTech
Dr. John W.K. Oliver
VP of Research and Development
ZBiotics
Division Chief of the Systems Integration Division (SID), Engineering Laboratory (EL)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
We will hold a symposium focused on the current status and emerging needs for standards development in Industrial Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology. The session will include several short presentations plus a panel discussion that will address the strategic need for standardization across biobased industries, in addition to the status of specific standards, both in development and proposed. Areas of focus will include standards for carbon-intensity labeling, guidelines for responsible strain engineering and deployment, biosecurity, feedstock supply chain risk assessment, plus other relevant topics. The role of the global standards community (ASTM, NIST, ISO) and other key stakeholders in the Bioeconomy will be highlighted. The overall theme of the workshop is how standards can best enable the responsible development of the bioeconomy.
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Sponsors: AFCC and ASTM Committee E62 for Industrial Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology
Symposium: Unlocking the Value of Algae - Baltimore 3
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM (ET)​
Moderator: Joanne Ivancic, Executive Director, Advanced Biofuels USA
Speakers:
Valerie Harmon
President and CEO, Harmon Consulting Inc.
Dr. Lieve Laurens
Principal Scientist, Program Lead, Algae Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy
Dr. John A. McGowen
Director of Operations and Program Management, The Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation at Arizona State
Microbial and Biome Sciences Group, Bioscience Division
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Eugene Wang
Co-Founder & CEO, Sophie’s Bionutrients Pte Ltd.
Currently, every country of the world has committed to reducing CO2 emissions. Replacing fossil fuels in transportation is the fastest way to reduce emissions. However, the demand for renewable feedstocks is out-pacing supply while the processes to make renewable biomass from crop and forest residues, landfill waste and other sources are costly and suffer operational inefficiencies.
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This symposium will highlight the significant advantages of algae as a renewable feedstock for conversion into biofuels and a growing number of high-margin biobased coproducts: impossible meat and dairy, animal feed, fertilizer, chemicals, materials for surf boards, flip flops, cement, wastewater remediation, etc.
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And algae is unsurpassed for carbon capture, sequestering more CO2 from the air than any known land plant – 300x more CO2 than a tree – on the smallest land footprint and without competing with food resources for production. All algae needs for growth in bioreactors or open ponds is light, water and CO2. Its harvested and dried biomass is already a $32 billion industry.
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Join us as we "Unlocking the Value of Algae." Hear from the Department of Energy and private companies behind the latest technologies to improve production methods to increase the profitability of algae cultivation. Learn about government incentives and support for algae cultivation Meet the companies using algae for creating high-margin, biobased coproducts that check many of the boxes of the sustainable development goals.
Symposium: SAF Collaboration between AFCC and CAAFI - Baltimore 4
1:30 to 3:30 PM (ET)
This symposium will build on existing strengths and leverage the differences as benefits between AFCC and CAFFI. This relationship will assist producers, airlines, financiers, feedstock suppliers, and rapidly respond to the more then 146 tasks set in the SAF Grand Challenge. We look forward to your attendance in the conversations.
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Followed by
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Federal Agencies Briefing: Executive Order 14081 to Promote Industrial Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing - Baltimore 5
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM (ET)
The Federal Agencies will discuss the Executive Order 14081 on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy and the resulting report, Bold Goals for U.S. Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing, response to E.O. 14081, and its implementation. Each of the agency representative will provide their approaches in advancing the bioeconomy.
Introductory Remarks from The Honorable Jim Pillen, Governor of Nebraska
Moderator: Valerie Sarisky-Reed, Director, DOE, Bioenergy Technologies Office
Speakers:
Todd Anderson
Acting Associate Director for Biological & Environmental Research (BER)
DOE Office of Science
Christopher Szakal
Acting Director
NIST