With an overall theme of “Accelerate,” the 2025 Clean Fuels Conference left no stones unturned, covering all aspects of the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel sectors, from policy and tax incentives to market dynamics and technical developments. Donnell Rehagan, CEO of Clean Fuels Alliance America, delivered opening remarks at the event, which was held Jan 20-23 in San Diego, California. He began by highlighting important milestones the bio-based diesel industry has reached as of late, one being that U.S. production reached nearly 5 billion gallons in 2024. “That’s up almost 10% from 4.6 billion the previous year,” he said. “This steep growth—particularly in renewable diesel—underscores our growing relevance.”&nbsp;These fuels now make up about 10% of the diesel fuel supply in the U.S., according to Rehagen. “Our host state, California, is one of the single most important markets for our industry,” he said. “Biodiesel and renewable diesel have displaced 75% of all diesel sold in the state.” &nbsp;It is more difficult to find diesel fuel in California than bio-based diesel fuel, he said, adding that, so far, this industry is responsible for 45% of California’s progress under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.&nbsp;Rehagen acknowledged the challenges the industry is facing along with its successes, but assured attendees that he believes it will pull through and become stronger. “We’ve been waiting for critical guidance on the new federal tax incentive system, known as 45Z, and the delays have already begun causing real hardships for our industry. Finally, the Treasury released guidance. It left us with a few answers, but a lot of questions. Now, more than ever, we need to stand united to ensure the new administration prioritizes addressing those gaps and finalizing the rule. Our feedstock producers and fuel producers deserve clarity on how the tax credit will impact them. Patience will still be necessary, but persistence will be key.”Rehagen referenced challenges the industry faced in 2018-‘19 as an example, when the production tax credit was lapsed for two years. “That was a tough time for all of us,” he said. “But together, we fought hard and secured a five-year tax credit—the longest and most stable period we’ve ever had, and a period of record growth for the industry.”Looking ahead, 2025 brings another major priority: Renewable Fuel Standard renewable volume obligations, Rehagen said. “Work has already begun to demonstrate our industry’s potential to the EPA. What we call 'Set 2.0' will shape the next several years of fuel production. The volumes were due last November, but the deadline was missed. This makes it all the more critical that we advocate for significant growth in those volumes and push this administration to finalize them soon, so we don’t find ourselves this time next year without RVO levels for 2026.”Feedstock Dynamics&nbsp; Moving onto feedstock, Rehagen discussed the crunch the industry is facing with increased production and subsequent feedstock demand. “Today, we have an interesting challenge—one those involved in the early days of the clean fuels industry may have never envisioned: a need for more feedstock,” he said. “We find ourselves trying to balance the push and pull of domestic and imported feedstock: products like soybean oil, canola oil, animal fats and used cooking oil. “The industry’s rapid growth has outpaced domestic feedstock availability, he added, saying that current calculations of domestic feedstock could support approximately 3.3 billion gallons of fuel production, though the industry produced 5 billion gallons last year. &nbsp;Imported feedstock has been filling demand gaps, but it hasn’t been without controversy—opinions on the proper role of imported feedstock differ and are strong on both sides, Rehagen admitted. “It has generated angst with domestic feedstock growers and processors,” he said. “This is not ideal. The clean fuels industry was built in the early 1990s around the need to provide a large-scale consumer for excess domestic soybean oil, and therein was born biodiesel. Back then, they would not have seen imported feedstock as playing any role. While it may be hard to square this current dynamic with our original vision, imported feedstock has become necessary to meet the demand.”Rehagen emphasized the importance of feedstock balance to the industry—the growing need for more vegetable oils with those of the food and feed industry, and the important role of waste feedstocks like used cooking oil, distillers corn oil and animal fats. “Growing volumes of domestic vegetable oils are just around the corner,” he said. “The soybean crush industry has invested over $6 billion dollars in the largest expansion of soybean crush in over 50 years. They’ve seen our industry grow, and like we do, they believe that growing demand for clean liquid renewable fuels is now the new norm ... the expansion of soybean crush is very important for the clean fuels industry as it brings significantly more feedstock to the table to support the growth in production capacity of our fuels.”&nbsp;Historically, Rehagen said, U.S. farmers have exported roughly half of their whole bean production, sending a substantial volume of domestic soybean oil away as well. “With this additional crush capacity—a 30% expansion—we can export fewer beans and keep more oil. A NOPA [National Oilseed Processors Association] analysis that looked at 2024 to 2030 shows that this extra crush could provide us with 900 million gallons of additional soybean oil annually, and soybean yields continue to climb.”Rehagen correlated the importance of crush expansion to advocating for higher RVOs. “Stagnation in feedstock availability—domestic or imported—makes arguing for higher RVOs much more difficult,” he said. “You know the adage about the rising tide lifting all boats. Well, that sure is applicable to the clean fuels industry at this time.”Ready to Battle&nbsp; Following Rehagen, Steven Cliff, executive officer of California Air Resources Board, provided an overview and update on the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program, first addressing the uncertainty the new administration has brought, assuring attendees that CARB is taking steps to defend California’s clean air climate and environmental protections. “We’re here to defend the programs that benefit Californians, and other states that take advantage of our programs to benefit the residents of their states,” he said. “You may have heard that the California Legislature is working to set up additional funds to shore up state and local defenses against this new administration. We're hoping that that's not necessary, but we are moving to make sure that our programs remain stable.”Cliff reminded attendees that CARB prevailed in lawsuits during the first Trump administration, “because they were founded on science and on good legal premises, so we believe that we'll continue to prevail. That's important, because that provides certainty to those of you who are investing in the programs that they will stay in place, and that's the type of work that we continue to do to make sure that the foundational parts of our efforts are very sound, but also married to a list of priorities for this year.” Author: Anna Simet&nbsp; Director of Content &amp; Senior Editor,&nbsp;&nbsp; SAF Magazine&nbsp; aimet@bbiinternational.com&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

2025-03-10 - Foot on the Gas (SAF Magazine)

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Despite the challenges it currently faces, the bio-based diesel industry is building on its successes and is ready to battle.

Foot on the Gas

Foot on the Gas

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Foot on the Gas