New Uses and Markets for Ethanol to Be Explored at ACE Conference in Omaha

 The American Coalition for Ethanol 35^th annual conference coming up next week August 10-12 in Omaha will feature a timely panel that dives into new uses and markets emerging for ethanol producers, including opportunities in the sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and heavy-duty transportation sectors – areas which are supported in the recent budget reconciliation bill, The Inflation Reduction Act. The new uses and markets general session will kick off the final day of the conference on the morning of Friday, August 12.

While there is much room for ethanol growth in the light-duty vehicle market, growing interest surrounds these new markets to continue to build demand and the recent Senate bill reflects that. The new uses and markets panel aims to educate producers and industry stakeholders on these evolving markets and the opportunities they bring. Industry leaders Chris Ryan, President, COO and CTO of Gevo Inc., Larry Tree, President and CEO of Proteum Energy, LLC, and Dr. BJ Johnson, Co-Founder and CEO of ClearFlame Engine Technologies, will shed light on these markets and their companies’ contributions to create opportunities for the ethanol sector. Ron Lamberty, ACE CMO, will lead a roundtable discussion with the speakers following their presentations.

“We valued speaking to the ACE audience last year and sharing our vision for ethanol’s role in a sustainable future. Since then, fuel prices have risen, and the global community is awakening to the fact that we are not prepared to meet our promised decarbonization targets,” Johnson said. “As a result, the value proposition for ethanol has never been stronger, particularly in hard-to-electrify applications, like the pilots that ClearFlame is running with customers. We look forward to expanding our vision together with fellow panelists at this year’s ACE Conference in Omaha.”

Ryan will discuss Gevo’s efforts around ethanol-to-SAF, including its planned Net-Zero 1 facility, which the company recently closed on the purchase of the site near Lake Preston, South Dakota. “Gevo is breaking ground later this year on its first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plant designed with the goal of achieving a ‘net-zero’ carbon footprint,” Ryan said. “This production process goes through ethanol as an intermediate, which means the ethanol industry is poised to meet the needs for SAF due to the large production base already installed.”

“Recent legislation includes more favorable tax incentives for SAF, so I look forward to sharing more about these important developments with industry insiders and ethanol experts at this year’s ACE conference,” Ryan added.

Proteum Energy has been working to provide a low-cost, low-carbon renewable and clean hydrogen for power, transportation and pipeline. “The recent announcements in Congress related to potential production tax credits for hydrogen and other fuels like SAF are significant,” Tree said. “We are excited to share the potential benefits ethanol producers can derive from partnerships with Proteum Energy, producing low-carbon, renewable hydrogen from ethanol, for both heavy-duty transportation and sustainable aviation fuels.”

To learn more about the sessions, visit ethanol.org/events/conference.

ACE News Release