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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Past Meetings

This page archives past meetings where Bioenergy Technologies Office staff have participated and includes copies of the presentations shared at each event.

The 78th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference

The 78th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference was held in Arlington, Virginia, on March 25-30, 2013. The event featured discussion of conservation, enhancement, and management of North American wildlife and natural resources. The summit was attended by government agencies, private sector representatives, and industry stakeholders. The presentation given by the Bioenergy Technologies Office is posted below:

The Third Annual Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels & Bio-Products Summit

The Third Annual Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels & Bio-Products Summit was held in Orlando, Florida, on February 20-21, 2013. The event featured discussion of technology commercialization, project economics, development, and operations, as well as financial investment strategies. The summit was attended by government agencies, private sector representatives, and industry stakeholders. The presentation given by the Bioenergy Technologies Office is posted below:

Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative's Sustainable Alternative Fuels Cost Workshop

On November 27, 2012, the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Energy, hosted a stakeholder workshop to benchmark the cost of producing sustainable bio-based jet-fuel processes. The event was held in advance of the 2012 CAAFI Research & Development Team Workshop on November 28–29. A white paper will be published on the CAAFI Sustainable Alternative Fuels Cost Workshop, featuring the technologies and approaches for producing biofuels that are of interest to the aviation sector.

The agenda, a roster of the participants, and presentations from the Workshop are posted below:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Biofuels Standards Conference

The National Institute of Standards and Technology hosted the Biofuels Standards Conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland, from November 13–15, 2012. The conference was organized in conjunction with the Brazilian National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology and the European Commission"s Directorate General – Energy to provide a forum for discussion on the following: documentary and measurement standards and technologies for biofuels; state-of-the-art biofuels production and trade; applications in surface transportation and aviation; and future trends that may require new biofuels standards. Experts from industry, academia, and government, as well as the U.S. national laboratories, attended the event. The presentation given by the Bioenergy Technologies Office is posted below:

Global Bioenergy Partnership Capacity-Building Workshop on Biomass Resource Assessment

The Global Bioenergy Partnership Economic Commission of West African State Capacity Building Workshop on Biomass Resource Assessment was held November 13–14, 2012, in Rome, Italy. The event's goal was to educate and train members from Western Africa countries to complete a biomass assessment. The Bioenergy Technologies Office participated by sharing the methodology used in the biomass assessment of the U.S. Billion-Ton Update and participating in the discussion of strategies for biomass assessments in Western Africa. The presentation given on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office is posted below:

Aviation Biofuels Development Conference

The Aviation Biofuels Development Conference was held in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 2012. The conference focused on industry challenges faced in the alternative aviation fuel market. The Bioenergy Technologies Office participated by providing a presentation on the economics of alternative aviation fuels. More than 200 leaders and pioneers from the industry, as well as executives from aviation, aerospace, biofuels, and regulatory arenas, attended the event. The presentation given by the Bioenergy Technologies Office is posted below:

Algae Biomass Summit

From September 24–27, 2012, the Algae Biomass Organization hosted its sixth annual Algae Biomass Summit, the largest conference of algal biomass stakeholders in the world. The summit was attended by more than 800 industry leaders, government representatives, and university and laboratory researchers—representing 25 different countries. Plenary and breakout sessions concentrated on four key topic areas: biology; commercialization; finance and policy; and engineering and analysis. The goal of the sessions was to identify and resolve barriers to competitive algae biomass production. The presentation given by the Bioenergy Technologies Office is posted below:

Advanced Biofuels Industry Roundtable

On May 18, 2012, the United States Department of Navy, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, hosted an Industry Roundtable with the full complement of participants in the biofuels supply chain. The purpose of the roundtable meeting was for the federal government to present further details on the partnership among the U.S. Department of Navy, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Agriculture to construct or retrofit multiple commercial-scale advanced biorefineries.

The agenda for the roundtable, a roster of the participants, and presentations are posted below:

Technical Information Exchange on Pyrolysis Oil Workshop

On May 9–10, 2012, the Bioenergy Technologies Office conducted a Technical Information Exchange Workshop to solicit inputs on the opportunities and challenges associated with the development and deployment of biomass derived home heating oil products for U.S. markets. The workshop featured presentations by technical experts from industry, academia, national laboratories, and government, and it facilitated discussions of technical and economic challenges, as well as research, development, and demonstration priorities. The workshop generated a wealth of information and ideas, and the Program will use the workshop results to inform its strategic planning and prioritizing of future research and development on pyrolysis oil.

Approximately 8 million households in the United States heat with oil; 6.2 million (about 78%) are located in the Northeast. Given this high reliance on fuel oil for residential heating, an affordable alternative would be particularly beneficial to this region. Pyrolysis oil derived from domestic biomass has been identified as one of the most promising alternatives for this market. However, we must overcome significant challenges to reliably produce an ample supply of pyrolysis oil that has the characteristics required for it to be a viable substitute for traditional heating oil.

Below are the agenda and presentations from this 2-day meeting:

In Feburary 2013, the Bioenergy Technologies Office published a full report on the results of this workshop: