Geno CEO Testifies on Biomanufacturing Before Senate Committee

Geno CEO Christophe Schilling will appear before the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry today to outline measures the US government can take to advance US leadership in biomanufacturing and support American farmers.

The hearing is titled “Farm Bill 2023: Rural Development and Energy Programs.” Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and John Boozman (R-Ark.) is ranking member.

Schilling will discuss how the federal government can strengthen its BioPreferred program by enforcing federal purchasing requirements for biobased materials and will advocate for the section 9003 loan guarantee program, which is vital to fund capital-intensive projects that are essential to scale domestic biomanufacturing. All programs Schilling will advocate for have a direct impact on advancing US leadership in biomanufacturing, which in turn will build new and valuable markets for American agricultural products while supporting strategic and urgent climate action, according to Geno.

You can watch the hearing here. It was set to begin at 10am this morning in Washington, DC.

“The United States has a golden opportunity to seize the role of global leader in biomanufacturing for generations to come,” said Schilling. “By scaling the market for biobased products, we can build a powerful new economic engine that creates jobs in rural communities and helps American farmers while supplying sustainable products that American consumers increasingly demand. To achieve these goals, it's essential that the government maintain funding levels for loan guarantees and enforce federal purchasing requirements around biobased products. These measures will also enhance American supply chain transparency and resilience, while reducing reliance on products made overseas. We grow it here and we can make it here too.”

Schilling will be part of panel that also includes Jessica AcMoody, (Rural Partners of Michiganm Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, Lansing, MI);  Michael Casper (Jo-Carroll Energy, Inc., Elizabeth, IL); Denny Law, (Golden West Telecommunications, Wall, SD); and Kenneth F. Herring, Adams County Water Association, Inc., Washington, MS).

Geno manufactures ingredients like Brontide butylene glycol, which is BioPreferred certified. The company also plans to build its first solely owned facility in an agriculture-rich region like the Midwest with support from the USDA 9003 loan guarantee program. This program guarantees up to $250 million to “develop, build or retrofit facilities to support new and emerging technologies, and produce advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products.”

Geno has closed multiple high-impact deals over the last year to accelerate the commercialization of sustainable materials, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million tons in upcoming years. Recent milestones include scaling plant-based nylon, a collaboration with lululemon to bring plant-based materials into lululemon's products, a venture with Unilever and Kao to scale plant-based alternatives to palm oil with a 50% lower carbon footprint, and a launch of its energy nutrition ingredient, Avela (R)1,3-butanediol.