U.S. seeks partnership for drop-in biofuels

U.S. seeks partnership for drop-in biofuels    The U.S. Agriculture, Energy and Navy departments on Tuesday issued a request for information laying out the Obama administration’s goals, assumptions and tools, and requesting from industry specific ideas to leverage private capital markets to create a commercially viable drop-in biofuels industry.
   The information gathered through this process will help accelerate the development and use of these biofuels, reduce the nation’s demand for foreign oil, and strengthen rural America.
   On Aug. 16, the three departments announced an investment in the private sector of up to $510 million during the next three years to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. The initiative responds to a directive from President Obama issued in March as part of his Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future, the administration’s effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
   Drop-in biofuels serve as direct replacements or supplements to existing gasoline, diesel and jet fuels, without any changes to existing fuel distribution networks or engines.
   The main objective of the government-industry partnership is to build or retrofit several domestic commercial or pre-commercial scale advanced drop-in biofuel refineries. These facilities will produce drop-in advanced biofuels meeting military specifications, will be located in geographically diverse locations for ready market access, and will have no significant impact on the supply of agricultural commodities for the production of food, the departments said.
   The RFI was released on behalf of the three departments by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Acquisition Technology and Logistics in coordination with the Defense Production Act Title III executive agent Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.