Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels) executive director, Brian Werner, gave a presentation on Minnesota’s ethanol industry’s role in clean energy for the present and the future at the 40th Annual Harvest Of Knowledge Agri-Women’s Conference on Oct 27 in Grand Forks, ND.

During his presentation, Werner explained the role biofuels have to play in meeting domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets.

“We should not assume that an all-electric future is inevitable. What the all-electric argument ignores is that utilizing low-carbon liquid fuels in existing vehicles can achieve greenhouse gas reductions faster than new electric vehicles (EVs) can displace the existing fleet.” 

“The question is: do we want to decarbonize the cars that are on the road today and the cars that will be on the road for the next 20-30 years or not? If the answer to that question is YES we want to decarbonize those ICE (internal combustion engine) cars, then the only option is to utilize an all-of-the-above approach and level the playing field for proven technologies and fuels that have a track record of quickly lowering emissions. Biofuel ICE vehicles account for 99 percent of emissions reductions on the road today. It isn’t EVs or Biofuels. EVs and liquid biofuels can and should be working in tandem to provide consumers with low-carbon transportation options,” Werner said. 

He said the ethanol industry is working towards producing net-zero emissions ethanol by 2050. 

Among the strategies to achieve net-zero emissions ethanol, Werner said, include improving efficiencies through technoligy at ethanol production plants, climate smart agriculture pratices and carbon capture and sequestration. 

Additionally, he spoke about MN Bio-Fuels’ priorities at the federal level to strengthen the ethanol industry such as regulatory certainty for E15, low-carbon vehicle equity, accuracy in life-cycle emission accounting and additional incentives for sustainable aviation fuel. 

On a state level, Werner said MN Bio-Fuels was focused on biofuel infrastructure funding, a Clean Transportation Standard that works for biofuels, additional incentives and regulatory certainty for susitainable aviation fuel, environmental permitting efficiency and timeline certainty, preventing regulatory overreach and carbon capture and sequestration technologies. 

The 40th Annual Harvest Of Knowledge Agri-Women’s Conference was hosted by Minnesota Agri-Women and North Dakota Agri-Women. 

Werner’s full presentation can be viewed here.