Persistence, Dedication and Financing in the Energy and Molecule Transition

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March 23, 2025

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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) What is one of the best things about ABLC? The answer is heard repeatedly in hallway conversation with first-timers and veterans. It’s that this is a welcoming community of real, caring, dedicated people really doing (or trying to do) real things to solve real problems, working on real innovations to solve many of our world’s real energy and ‘molecule’ problems.

Gevo CEO and William C. Holmberg Award for
Lifetime Achievement winner, Pat Gruber,
covers history and plans for the future
in his SAF presentation and the next day
in his dynamic keynote.

Every year has a different zeitgeist that can sometimes be captured in the words heard over and over again by multiple speakers in formal presentations and in hallway conversations (the ‘networking like crazy’ that is a key purpose of this gathering).

A couple of years ago if everyone didn’t say SAF (sustainable (not synthetic) aviation fuel) at least 10 times, they couldn’t exit the conference. Last year the focus was on Bold Goals and Bold Actions (and SAF).

The words this year are ‘transition’ and ‘molecule’, particularly ‘methanol’ more than ever before; and more than for a long time, the financial deep pockets were back, even though another word being bandied about was 'uncetainty.'

Key phrase: Transition

One word heard often at ABLC has been ‘transition’. Energy transition. Transition to the new Administration. Transition to a changing economy. During the current transition. Perry Tom’s ‘The Transition Is Happening. The Transition Is Now.’ Reference to an article in Foreign Affairs by Daniel Yergin, “The Troubled Energy Transition.” China’s desire to be a leader in transitional energy. Transitioning to more conversion efficiency. Transition to new language for this industry.

Haffner Energy's diagram shows biomass
as the source of multiple solutions via
multiple pathways.

Also, Hyfé’s slogan, a variation on the theme of transition, ‘Transforming the carbon we waste into the carbon we need.’

The renewable molecules community certainly knows about transformation, also called conversion, as in conversion technologies; and sometimes experience as business' pivoting.

The histories about the companies presenting and the attendees’ paths to becoming part of this community abound in pivots and zig-zags.

Transition is not new to this crowd; but this appreciation of transition seems broader, more encompassing of the entire energy and molecules communities.

Transition to Revised Language

As many speakers noted, the bioeconomy world, the world of renewable fuels and renewable, sustainable molecules that can replace those we get from petroleum and natural gas, has many purposes beyond climate change mitigation and carbon emissions management that has been the focus for the past few years.

During the George W. Bush era, biofuels were seen as crucial to energy security and energy independence, a sentiment acknowledged and shared in policies in countries around the world, with Brazil (site of COP30) and India currently providing enthusiastic examples, particularly with their creation of the Global Biofuels Alliance, and with many other innovations.

The job creation and economic development value of biofuels, especially in rural areas, has always been key, and still is. To emphasize that, one of the international conference host Jim Lane’s mantras during the week was “The Three E’s: Energy, Economy and Environment.”

Clearly, the work of the people attending the conference has been important to the success and stability of the United States (and to the rest of the world) regardless of the language used to describe it, regardless of whether emphsis was on energy production, security and independence; on creating jobs and wealth, on mitigating the expenses related to paying for oil in dollars; or on avoiding pollution and mitigaing the effects of climate change.

Abdel Agadazi of KOKO Networks based in
Kenya described the explosion in interest in
clean cooking fuels in Africa and other parts
of the Global South.

You could say that the people attending this conference are working on creating a future that benefits the Earth in all those ways and more.

Some are like cardiologists, some ENT specialists, some working on the skin, others on digestion, some focused on mental health or on general well-being; some focus on one part of the body while others take a more wholistic approach.

We could also call it Healthcare for the Planet, trying to follow the Hypocratic Oath of 'First Do No Harm.'

This community includes every possible job description and career path, including many in both the private and public sectors.

For example, keynote speaker, Valerie Sarisky-Reed, director of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) in the U.S. Department of Energy, asked the government employees in the audience to stand. They were spontaneously given a heartfelt rousing round of applause.

So, with carbon intensity scoring and various carbon and greenhouse gas emissions accounting systems key to assessing attributes of feedstocks, processes and products; emphasis in policy advocacy and investor pitches will focus on their value in increasing soil health, making conversion and implementation processes more efficient, assuring that high quality products are as economical as possible; all of this resulting also in superior energy production. You can also call it energy dominance.

Sungas Renewables' graph shows the
value of methanol

Since Advanced Biofuels USA was created in 2007-8, its mission has emphasized energy security, economic development, military strategic flexibility and pollution control as well as climate change mitigation.

This renewable fuels and bioeconomy sector has something valued by just about any audience—and it always has.

Molecules and Methanol

“Sustainable, renewable fuels and chemicals” or “bioeconomy and circular economy” certainly describe the financial, industrial, research, policy, etc., sector that brings these attendees together, but what a mouthful!

So, we are trying out ‘molecules’. Because what this community is working on are the molecules involved in enabling life on this planet for everything from cooking and heating fuel and mobility to steel- and cement-making and everything in between. We are working on making them in ways that, as they say in the medical world, ‘First Do No Harm.’

Call it sustainable, call it renewable, call it circular, call it whatever you want. What this crowd, and the iceberg of people supporting them, are doing is providing healthcare to the planet.

Hexas, a grass development and deployment company
headed by Wendy Owens, won the Producer of the Year
award.

More Trios

In addition to Jim Lane's mantra, this work is not going to get done without these trios: “ESG: Environment, Social and Governance goals and practices” and the three-legged stool of ‘sustainability,’ “Environmental, Social and Economic.”

The health of the planet will falter unless these trios figure prominently in creating the future.

Everyone along the value chains and supply chains has to at least make a living—some will demand more than that -- to enable a healthy planet.

Being that humans, animals and many plants in this world function in cultures with particular social values and processes, respecting and incorporating those in all their diversity during the energy and molecule transition highlighted during this conference could serve to limit the pain of this transition to the future.

Going back to the 2024 ABLC and the Bold Goals/Bold Actions focus.

A number of presentations and hallway conversations mentioned the need for the public and their representatives to better understand what ‘the people in this room’ are working on.

More kinds of education are needed to help
the public understand what 'the people in
this room' are doing to ease our transition into
the future.

That doesn’t mean that the scientists, engineers, project managers or financial and business wizards who made these statements know how to address this problem. They just see the need.

This problem has been mentioned before, so much so that it was part of the Bold Goals/Bold Actions emphasis developed over a series of conferences and meetings during 2023-4.

Recently, a small group has been gathering, dedicated to trying to figure out ways to address this need. At this ABLC conference, a number of informal, serendipitous, seat of the pants brainstorming conversations led to identification of more existing educational materials and other resources that might help.

In the short term, Advanced Biofuels USA will include as many of these resources as possible in its online library categorized in the Education section and identified by relevant tags.

They will also be added to the agenda of the next Bold Goals/Bold Actions education stakeholder meeting. If you are interested in participating in these discussions or want to be identified as a potential resource for the group or know of educational resources that should be posted on the Advanced Biofuels USA website, please send an email to info@AdvancedBiofuelsUSA.org.

Financier of the Year c-winners, Mark Riedy (Kilpatrick Townsend Stockton)
and John Kirkwood (Faegre Drinker) lead the Finance and Investment Summit

Uncertainty

Another word heard over and over at ABLC was ‘uncertainty’ and the variation, ‘all anyone wants is certainty,’ knowing that for a while uncertainty is the only certain thing that anyone is willing to bet on. ‘Hedging’ was heard sotto voce.

That said, the encouraging return of a larger presence by the finance community to this gathering suggests an understanding of the value of the energy and molecule transition that will be enabled by the work of the ‘people in this room’, and an understanding of how essential this work is to accomplishing the goals and priorities of the new Administration as stated in various executive orders, X and Truth Social.

This gives hope that we might find ways to pay for the medicines and therapies needed to achieve this Administration's economic and energy goals.

Development and use of renewable, sustainable
molecules provides healthcare to the planet, not only
for energy, but also as a solution to many other problems
such as land remediation, erosion control and improving
soil health.

Dedication and Persistence

Amidst the uncertainty, one more thing was certain. These real, caring, dedicated people really doing (or trying to do) real things to solve real problems, working on real innovations to solve many of our world’s real energy and molecule problems will persist with faith and determination that they will eventually contribute to providing needed healthcare to the planet.

Video and audio recordings of the conference will be available online soon. And the specifics of this journey will be available in bits and pieces throughout the coming months via posts from the Advanced Biofuels USA website and on The Digest’s online services as part of efforts to enable education about these important energy transition topics.

*Joanne Ivancic serves as executive director of Advanced Biofuels USA. All photos by JIvancic

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So, which is it? Inevitable or a “scam?”

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While the idea of an energy transition anchors the raison d’être for green and climate-advocacy groups, it also gets bandied about constantly in popular media, as well as in virtually all the statements from major energy companies, electric utilities, energy analysts, and investment banks. Among myriad examples, the week after Trump’s congressional address, The Economist hosted an Energy Transition Summit, and Reuters holds its Energy Transition North America conference this fall in Houston.

Underlying the narrative is the implicit—and often explicit—conviction that the long and now “accelerating” march of technology means that ancient energy sources, like fossil fuels, are inevitably being replaced by newer ones. READ MORE

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