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Valerie Sarisky-Reed, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office.

The transportation sector is now the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States, contributing to poor air quality and the climate crisis, and disproportionately impacting underserved and disadvantaged communities. To address this, our goal is to eliminate nearly all GHG emissions from the sector by 2050 while working to achieve a fair and just transportation system that will support economic growth and benefit all citizens.

In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) joined forces with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development by signing and MOU to coordinate on transportation decarbonization. The first deliverable from that partnership was the January 2023 release of The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, a roadmap for how we can address these issues to provide better transportation and fuel options as well as zero-emission vehicles.

Light-duty vehicles (passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, and motorcycles) are responsible for about half of all U.S. transportation GHG emissions. Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (larger delivery trucks, work vans, and buses) are the second-largest contributor to transportation GHG emissions with 21 percent of all emissions. Aviation is the third largest contributor at 11 percent, including fuel used for all domestic flights and international flights departing the United States

Biofuel – derived from biomass or organic wastes – plays an important role in decarbonizing transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration projects continued growth for the aviation sector and as more EVs enter the market, aviation will become a larger portion of the transportation sector’s GHG emissions. 

Biofuels Support Decarbonization

To reduce aviation GHG emissions, the aviation sector is scaling up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use. SAF is a “drop-in” liquid hydrocarbon jet fuel produced from renewable or waste resources that is compatible with existing aircraft engines – a critical near-term solution to reduce GHGs. This led to the creation of the SAF Grand Challenge.

Commercial aircraft being refueled with low carbon biofuel.

Together, DOE, DOT, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed a roadmap to accelerate SAF research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) to meet the ambitious government-wide commitment to accelerate production of SAF to 3 billion gallons per year by 2030 – ultimately meeting 100 percent of U.S. aviation fuel needs with SAF by 2050.

Scaleup Collapses the Timeline

DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) supports RDD&D of technologies that convert domestic renewable carbon resources into biofuels and bioproducts. This effort is already decreasing the price of drop-in biofuels for airplanes, big rigs, and passenger vehicles. To meet the ambitious SAF Grand Challenge goals, BETO has accelerated efforts to scale up these technologies. Scale-up is essential for reducing risks associated with deploying novel technologies at large scale, as is expected in a biorefinery. In doing this, technologies move from the laboratory into relevant and realistic environments.

Developing low carbon biofuel to aid decarbonization.

Public–private partnerships are critical for ensuring that scaleup matches industry needs. For example, BETO is already funding projects with industry partners to turn industrial waste gases into jet fuel, convert biomass into refinery-ready biocrude, reduce GHG emissions from first-generation ethanol plants, and more. These large-scale pilot and demonstration projects enable researchers to test prototype components or subsystems in relevant operating environments. That way, researchers can identify further R&D needs for BETO’s subprograms. Large-scale projects also create larger volumes of target products, supporting quality control testing to verify existing infrastructure compatibility and potential end user specifications. They also provide data that analysts use to evaluate economic and sustainability performance.

Funding Spurs Innovation

BETO saw its first opportunity to fund SAF-focused research in 2021, awarding $64 million to 11 scaleup and demonstration projects. In early 2023, BETO awarded an additional $118 million to 17 projects with industry partners. In recognizing the need for strong designs prior to breaking ground on expensive construction, BETO requires projects to meet necessary criteria to advance from phase 1 into phase 2, which funds construction and operations.

By allocating funding across multiple years and different scales, BETO expects to collapse the time it takes to see success at the demonstration scale. Projects that meet criteria and are ready to go don’t have to wait years for additional opportunities.

As the demand for plane, train, and automobile transportation continues to increase, it is critical that we come together to find innovative solutions to the climate crisis. Biofuels can be a win-win solution, allowing our economy and way of life to thrive while lowering our carbon footprint on a national – and global – level.

Valerie Sarisky-Reed is Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office

ron-cogan-capitol-hillThere are many outspoken and polarizing proponents of the various fuels and technologies at play today. This has been the case for several decades now and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. Many electric car enthusiasts do not see a future for internal combustion or even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen proponents point out that fuel cell vehicles make more sense than battery electrics since hydrogen generally offers greater driving range and fuel cell vehicles can be refueled in under five minutes, while battery electrics cannot. Biodiesel enthusiasts point out the obvious benefits of this biofuel and even as this fuel gains momentum, wonder why support isn’t stronger. Natural gas advocates see huge and stable supplies of this clean-burning fuel now and in our future, without the truly significant commitment to natural gas vehicles this should bring. And those behind internal combustion vehicles achieving ever-higher efficiency simply wonder what the fuss is all about when conventional answers are here today.

So in the midst of all this, where are we headed? Simple. In the right direction, of course.

As I was writing about these very fuels and technologies some 25 years ago, it wasn’t lost on me that the competition for dominance in the ‘green’ automotive world of the future would be hard-fought and long, with many twists and turns. As our decades-long focus on the ‘green car’ field has shown us, the state-of-the-art of advanced vehicles in any time frame is ever-changing, which simply means that what may seem to make the most sense now is likely to shift, and at times, shift suddenly. This is a field in flux today, as it was back then.

When Nissan powered its Altra EV back in 1998 as an answer to California’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, it turned heads with the first use of a lithium-ion battery in a limited production vehicle, rather than the advanced lead-acid and nickel-metal-hydride batteries used by others. Lithium-ion is now the battery of choice, but will it remain so as breakthrough battery technologies and chemistries are being explored?

Gasoline-electric hybrids currently sell in ever-greater numbers, with plug-in hybrids increasingly joining their ranks. Conventionally-powered vehicles are also evolving with new technologies and strategies eking levels of fuel efficiency that were only thought possible with hybrid powerplants just a few years ago.

What drives efficiency – and by extension determines our future path to the high efficiency, low emission, and more sustainable vehicles desired by consumers and government alike – is textbook evolution. Cars are adapting to meet the changing needs of future mobility and the imperative of improved environmental performance. Some of these evolutionary changes are predictable like lightweighting, improved aerodynamics, friction reduction, and enhanced powertrain efficiencies. Other answers, including the fuels that will ultimately power a new generation of vehicles, will be revealed over time.

So here’s to the cheerleaders who tell us quite vocally that their fuel, technology, or strategy is the answer to our driving future. One of them may be right. But the fact is, the evolutionary winner has yet to be determined.

For most Americans, our transportation choices are limited to the fuels offered at the local gas station. For generations, regular gas stations served our needs pretty well, but America’s transportation needs are changing. Every day we learn about new choices in alternative fuel vehicles, advancements in vehicle efficiency, and new, cleaner types of fuel, so it’s bewildering that gas stations haven’t kept up with these changes. Gas stations today offer a fundamental lack of choices and are no longer in step with the way Americans seek to move about their lives.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Matt-Horton.jpgWith 160,000 fueling locations across America, gas stations outnumber McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, and Taco Bell…combined. But as consumers’ transportation needs change, there is no effort by Big Oil to change with them. Fifty percent of the cars in Big Three showrooms are now capable of being powered by something besides oil. Domestically produced renewable fuels have surpassed imports from Saudi Arabia, and gas consumption is at a 10-year low – yet gas prices remain at all time record levels. Mobility is transforming in other ways with ride sharing, public transit, cycling, and telecommuting all on the rise. Yet still no change in our fueling infrastructure.

At Propel, we have created a new vision for the way gas stations serve the mobility needs of a community, one that meets the changing habits of America’s drivers. Earlier this year, we launched our first ‘Clean Mobility Center’ in Fullerton, California, to offer consumers new, more sustainable, domestic fuel and transportation choices that are more in line with their values, and also reduce our collective impact on the environment while supporting local economies and decreasing our nation’s reliance on foreign oil.

Our Clean Mobility Centers provide a distinctly different customer fueling experience, offering a full range of high performance renewable fuels (Flex Fuel E85, biodiesel) alongside the conventional gasoline that drivers use today. More than 17 million cars on American roads can fuel with something besides oil, and for those that can’t, we provide drivers an opportunity to be part of the solution and a movement towards clean mobility.

With a focus beyond fuel, our Clean Mobility Centers also offer a series of unique, community-friendly features not found at any other gas station in the nation. To maximize fuel economy, we offer free air to fill-up vehicle tires and we have installed bike repair stations so cyclists can tune up and fix bikes along their route. Additionally we have kiosks that provide local bus and other mass transit maps and routes, along with information about rideshare opportunities. Finally, we have two new features at the fueling island: recycling on the go, and the nation’s first carbon offset program, which for only $1 per fill-up allows drivers to offset the carbon emissions from their purchase right at the pump and support local clean energy projects.

Looking forward, as new, even more sustainable fuels and transportation options come to market, we’ll use the infrastructure we’re building today to offer new choices. In fact, we’re actively exploring options such as renewable gasoline and diesel, cellulosic fuels, algae-based fuels, natural gas, EV charging, and car sharing.

Just as we’ve seen in other industries, such as manufacturing labor, fair trade practices, or organic agriculture, consumer choice can be the biggest force for change in our society. At the pump, consumers can now vote with their wallets and choose a fuel company that better aligns with their values and interests. No matter what type of car they drive, consumers can use our new stations and learn about cleaner mobility options along the way. With 160,000 outlets and regular contact with customers, the fueling industry is in a unique position to engage consumers and lead them to a brighter future.  So far, though, our industry hasn’t shown much leadership. America’s transportation needs are changing, and we believe it’s time our gas stations changed, too.

Matt Horton is CEO of Propel Fuels, www.propelfuels.com