Processing Journal sat down with Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, a prominent advocate for biofuels and a respected voice in the processing industry. Known for her leadership and expertise, Skor shares her insights on the future of ethanol, industry innovation, and strategies to maintain competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global market.
PROCESSING JOURNAL: What policy or regulatory shift — if not addressed — poses the biggest risk to bioethanol producers in the next decade?
Globally, the die has been cast on low-carbon fuels — many countries have made commitments and are looking for the fastest, most economical ways to achieve their goals. Still, some of the policies they’ve enacted shift away from the use of liquid fuels, and those do pose a risk to the industry.
Low-carbon fuel programs shouldn’t mandate the use of one vehicle technology over another and, therefore, must recognize the full suite of innovations available for producers and farmers to reduce carbon. If policies around the globe don’t account for all technologies, and if they don’t acknowledge the reductions that can be realized through agriculture, those programs could undermine the ethanol industry while simultaneously leaving carbon reductions on the table and falling short of achieving goals.
PJ: Ethanol export markets remain a significant growth area, yet geopolitical factors and trade policy shifts can create uncertainty. What strategies should U.S. producers adopt to strengthen global market access and maintain a competitive edge in international biofuels trade?
Ethanol exports set a record in 2024, and the industry is as focused as ever on driving growth through the expansion of international sales. The same economic and environmental benefits that make ethanol competitive domestically are just as appealing on the global stage.
Biofuels like ethanol can create jobs, develop a country’s rural economy, help nations achieve climate goals, improve air quality, and lower prices at the pump. Other nations might be newer to the discussion than we are, and that gives U.S. producers a chance to educate them about what ethanol can do for them, whether that’s through reaching out directly or by working with trade groups like ours to make those connections.
PJ: Ethanol-to-jet fuel (ETJ) technology is gaining momentum. From a processing perspective, what are the biggest hurdles in scaling ethanol for synthetic aviation fuel (SAF), and what breakthroughs are on the horizon?
As with any new technology, there are number of different projects active at once and a number of different efforts to overcome potential hurdles. With that said, ethanol’s biggest advantage as a feedstock for SAF is volume —there’s no other option available in the quantities the world will require to decarbonize air travel. The chemistry is there, the will is there, and we’ve shown domestically that the scalability is there, but if we can get the right policy support from Washington, the economics can begin to take shape and unleash investment in this next generation opportunity for liquid fuel producers.
PJ: The processing industry is under increasing pressure to reduce carbon intensity (CI). What are the most effective strategies biofuel plants can implement today to lower emissions while maintaining operational efficiency?
We partnered with the Energy Futures Initiative Foundation (EFIF) to publish research about this last year. The findings showed that the most effective ways to reduce CI at the plant level are to capture carbon for utilization or storage, and to implement low-carbon energy technologies at the biorefinery, specifically by using combined heat and power generation and carbon-free electricity through wind or solar.
The research also showed, however, that producers should partner with their growers and farmers to lower CI through regenerative agriculture. Precision fertilizing practices, no-till farming, and increasing yield all drive down the CI of corn, which then drives down CI for the ethanol produced from that corn. Again, the research also reiterated that growers and producers need the right policy support to make these changes a reality — they need freedom and flexibility to implement the practices that work best for their individual circumstances.
PJ: How should ethanol producers be thinking about diversification beyond fuel to remain competitive in the evolving bioproducts sector?
Ethanol producers and the farmers who supply them are among the most innovative thinkers in the energy and agriculture sectors; as proof, just look at what they’ve done with co-products like biogenic carbon dioxide, high-protein animal feed, and corn oil. There’s still certainly more to be done in the fuel market with higher blends like E15 and E30, as well as in new fuel markets like SAF, marine fuel, and even heavy-duty vehicles. But the industry is always looking for new opportunities and there are conversations happening today about green chemicals and bioplastics that will eventually bear fruit in the form of new crop-based bioproducts.
If there’s additional value that can be wrung out of a kernel of corn, they’re going to find it, and find a way to make the most of it.
To learn more about Growth Energy, visit growthenergy.org