The Global Ethanol Summit (GES) continues Tuesday emphasizing the theme “ethanol is compatible” with three panels and three flash talk sessions on biofuel uses including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), sustainable maritime fuel and other emerging markets.
Ernest Moniz, founder and CEO of the EFI Foundation and former U.S. Secretary of Energy opened the day by presenting on marine ethanol and other emerging markets.
“There is no way that we will reach a low carbon future without low carbon fuel, and that is where ethanol comes in,” Moniz said. “Ethanol is the pathway now toward a low carbon future and the key to energy transition. If you look at low-carbon, scalable, affordable fuels, ethanol is the only game in town.”
The morning continued with flash talks on innovation in emerging markets with ethanol. Dr. Steffen Mueller, principal economist at the Energy Resources Center at the University of Illinois-Chicago moderated the conversations and was joined by speakers Dr. Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, professor at The Hormel Institute; Sophie Odupoy, director of public affairs at KOKO Networks; Mohammed Uhuru Kadhi, general manager – green value chain at Farmerco Industries Limited; Mark Heckman, vice president of sales at Edeniq; and James Glueck, executive director at the Plant Based Products Council.
Two panels closed out the morning general sessions with the first panel featuring moderator Reid Wagner, technical director of market development for Growth Energy and speakers Tom Leone, principal engineer at Southwest Research Institute; Dr. Robert McCormick, senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Juha Honkasalo, head of industry relations at eFlexFuel; Nancy Tsou, chief strategy officer at Sanyang Motor Co, Ltd; and Randy Gard, COO at Bosselman Enterprises. The panel discussed advanced vehicle compatibility and infrastructure requirements.
The second panel covered ethanol applications in marine fuel – policy, technology and feasibility – and was hosted by Clarence Woo, managing director for the Global Centre for Green Fuels. Panel expert speakers included Zoltan Szabo, secretary general for the Climate Ethanol Alliance; Lucas Correa, general manager of decarbonization services – Americas at Wärtsilä; Donald Brown, senior vice president of maritime policy at Cruise Lines International Association; and Volkmar Galke, executive sales director at WinGD Ltd.
“There are more than 100 million tons of ethanol produced every year, and maritime will double or triple that need in the future,” Szabo said. “Maritime needs fuels that are low carbon, available, scalable and low cost – ethanol ticks all of those boxes.”
The afternoon began with flash talks from experts about scaling proven SAF solutions through ethanol-to-jet pathways. Moderator Louise Burke, strategic business development North American renewables and global head of aviation for Argus Media led the group that featured presentations from Dr. Jennifer Aurandt-Pilgrim, vice president of Marquis R&D Energy; Angela Foster-Rice, vice president of government and regulatory affairs at LanzaJet; Stephen McLellan, general manager of new business development and corporate planning at Taiyo Oil Company; David Schwalje, vice president of emerging market development at Axens; Lindsay Fitzgerald, chief advocacy and communications officer at Gevo.
The conference continued with a panel discussion featuring airline experts speaking to the industry collaboration around SAF. Mark Ingebretson, ethanol consultant for USGBC hosted the panel of airline representatives that featured Jason Heron, head of clean fuels, U.S. SAF ambassador for Airbus Americas, Inc.; Sean Newsum, managing director for environmental affairs at Airlines for America; Joanna Chavez, SAF program manager at Delta Air Lines; and Tom Michels, director of government affairs at United Airlines.
“SAF is a market opportunity for the agriculture sector,” Michels said. “The U.S. uses about 22 billion gallons of jet fuel a year, and right now, less than 1% of that is SAF. Every bit of that 22 billion gallons is something that the ethanol industry could eventually serve.”
Tuesday concluded with flash talks about scalable feedstocks for a global bioeconomy moderated by Fred Ghatala, president of Advanced Biofuels Canada. The panel speakers included Keith Kline, distinguished scientist in the environmental sciences division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; John Duff, strategy consultant for the National Sorghum Producers; Stefan Schreiber, board member of Verbio; and Rennatto Tible, head legal counsel and biofuel affairs officer at Grupo Pantaleon.
GES ends Wednesday with two general sessions highlighting the theme “ethanol is affordable.” More information about the conference is available on social media using the hashtag #GES25 or through the website here.
