At the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) in Washington D.C., the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) held a session on Corn-to-Chemicals, outlining the uses of corn as an industrial feedstock.
The panel was moderated by McKay, and participants included John Hannon, COO, Vertimass; Nathan Danielson, Principal, BioCognito; Erick Lutt, Senior Director, Biotechnology Innovation Organization and Jessica Bowman, Executive Director, Plant Based Products Council. The panel highlighted the evolution of the biotechnology industry and how each organization is working to overcome barriers to commercialization. Further, the panel had a robust Q&A session with the audience on programs and policies, including national incentives for biobased materials.
“U.S. corn farmers continue to produce an affordable, high quality and reliable crop each year,” said NCGA Market Development Director Sarah McKay. “That crop can be turned into more than just food, feed and fuel. The corn kernel can be utilized in so many ways, which is why we focus on new uses and corn as an industrial feedstock.”
Vertimass was a winner of NCGA’s first Consider Corn Challenge. If all 15 winners of the Consider Corn Challenge I, II and III were fully commercialized, it would approximate 3.4 billion bushels of added corn demand.
NCGA continues work in the new uses and industrial feedstock space through the Consider Corn Challenge, a partnership with DigestData, continued conversations with government agencies like the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), and expanded focus on a potential national incentive program. Learn more about NCGA’s additional new uses programs and efforts at ncga.com/newuses.
You can watch a video on the opportunities for corn as an industrial feedstock here.
