In September 2022, the United States government announced a policy to vigorously invest in and advance the American bioeconomy. Central to this policy is support of the biomass supply chain to strengthen biomanufacturing and biobased production.
Efforts to supercharge the nation’s bioeconomy have immense implications for a state like Nebraska in the U.S. Midwest, which has long been a powerhouse of biomass crop production. Here, World Bio Market Insights Head of Community, Paul MacDonald, catches up with K.C. Belitz, Director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. They discuss Nebraska’s strengths in agriculture, emergence as a hub for biomanufacturing, and commitment to leading the growth of the U.S. bioeconomy.
Paul MacDonald (PM): Welcome to 5 Minutes With…Tell us about Nebraska. What makes your state well-suited to lead the U.S. bioeconomy?
Known as the Cornhusker State, Nebraska’s name is synonymous with agriculture. Per capita, we’re the top agricultural producing state in America. We boast more groundwater than any other state, and we regularly rank among the best states in the U.S. for power affordability and reliability.
Along with prolific corn production, Nebraska has prodigious biorefining capacity. Cargill operates the largest biorefinery in the United States on a 650-acre campus located less than 30 miles north of Omaha. Green Plains—headquartered in Omaha—has three biorefinery locations in Nebraska. The company has invested in technologies to transform one of its dry-milling facilities into a clean sugar biorefinery capable of producing industrial quantities of carbohydrate feedstock for bio-based manufacturing. ADM also has the potential to support bio-based manufacturing at its corn wet mill in Nebraska. All together, we have 24 ethanol plants across the state; we believe each of them has potential to take part in the bioeconomy boom that’s coming.
With our abundance of agricultural feedstocks and access to biorefineries, we’ve had major success recruiting investment from biomanufacturers. For example, NatureWorks built the first and largest commercial-scale PLA manufacturing plant in Nebraska. Viridis is pioneering the production of renewable ethyl acetate used in paint, adhesives, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In recent years, Corbion, Evonik, and Novonesis have all significantly increased production at Cargill’s biocampus.
What steps is Nebraska taking to grow its bioeconomy sector?
While agriculture is the engine of our state’s bioeconomy, tech is the fuel that makes it go. Nebraskans are continuously coming up with new and improved ways of increasing crop yields while reducing inputs. The ongoing creation of technologies in agriculture has helped Nebraska develop the most sustainable agricultural supply chain on the planet.
As a state, we’re committed to keeping Nebraska’s universities on the leading edge of ag tech innovation. We broke ground in May 2024 on a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) research facility in our capital city of Lincoln. The $160 million project will be known as the National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture. The University of Nebraska will then build an adjacent facility, the Nebraska Ag-Tech Innovation Accelerator, to commercialize research conducted at the USDA research lab.
Among our state’s commitments to innovation, Nebraska is rapidly developing its fermentation industry. We’re investing in promising ventures like Bluestem Biosciences, which is developing technologies to facilitate the sustainable production of biochemicals through anaerobic fermentation. We’ve worked alongside our state’s biomanufacturers and university leaders to create educational pathways to careers in the fermentation sciences. We’ve also established the Fermentation Collaborative as an official state Innovation Hub. It’s a partnership between the bioscience industry and Nebraska’s colleges and universities to grow a precision fermentation workforce and support fermentation innovation.
On September 24-25, 2024, Nebraska will host Bio Innovations Midwest, World Bio Market’s first U.S. event. What is the significance of this event for Nebraska?
We’re tremendously excited to host Bio Innovations Midwest! World Bio Markets has a trusted reputation. By choosing to come to Nebraska, WBM is signaling to major international brands that they should take notice of the impressive bioproduction and innovation happening here.
Earlier this year, the Plant-Based Product Council held its second-ever annual conference in Nebraska. Convening industry leaders was a great way to showcase our state. Global companies know the Midwest is the heart of U.S. ag production. Yet, they’re not necessarily familiar with our world-class infrastructure, deep-rooted commitment to sustainability, or technological sophistication. We relish the opportunity to highlight these qualities in-person.
The United States is on the cusp of tremendous growth in our nation’s bioeconomy, and Nebraska is perfectly positioned to be the epicenter.
