EPA approves Algenol fuels for RFS

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved fuels made from Algenol’s process as an advanced biofuel, meeting the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

Fuels produced from the industrial biotechnology company are now eligible for a Renewable Identification Number (RIN) under the D-5 classification. The EPA’s approval of Algenol’s patented Direct to Ethanol pathway covers its bio-crude co-product under an already existing pathway.

‘The EPA validates that our suite of fuels meet the GHG reduction requirements set by the EPA for advanced biofuels and allows blenders and refiners to use our fuels to meet their Clean Air Act obligations under the RFS,’ says Paul Woods, Founder and CEO of Algenol.

RINs can be purchased by blenders to document compliance with the RFS. As part of this approval, the EPA found that ethanol produced from the Algenol process resulted in approximately a 69% reduction in GHG compared to petrol.

‘The RINs ascribe both GHG reduction value and real economic value to Algenol’s fuels,’ Woods says, ‘but the true game changing part originates from paying for CO2 emissions by converting them into valuable, low cost transportation fuels.’