NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

2013 Survey of Non-Starch 

Ethanol and Renewable 

Hydrocarbon Biofuels 

Producers

Amy Schwab, Jesse Geiger, and John Lewis

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Technical Report

NREL/TP- 6A10-63389

January 2015
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

15013 Denver West Parkway

Golden, CO 80401

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov

2013 Survey of Non-Starch 

Ethanol and Renewable 

Hydrocarbon Biofuels 

Producers

Amy Schwab, Jesse Geiger, and John Lewis

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Prepared under Task No. BZ14.3008

Technical Report

NREL/TP- 6A10-63389

January 2015
NOTICE

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. 

Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, 

express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of 

any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately 

owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, 

trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, 

or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors 

expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/scitech

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Cover Photos: (left to right) photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16416, photo from SunEdison, NREL 17423, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 

16560, photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 17613, photo by Dean Armstrong, NREL 17436, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17721.
iii

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Acronyms

BC biochemical

BC/TC hybrid biochemical/thermochemical

DOE U.S. Department of Energy

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

MMGY million gallons per year

MSW municipal solid waste

NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory

RIN renewable identification number

TC thermochemical

TPD tons per day
iv

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Abstract

In order to understand the status of the industry for non-starch ethanol and renewable 

hydrocarbon biofuels as of the end of calendar year 2013, the National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted the first of what is anticipated to be an annual 

survey of U.S. non-starch ethanol and renewable hydrocarbon biofuels producers. This 

report presents the results of this initial survey and describes the survey methodology. 

Subsequent surveys will report on the progress over time of the development of these 

facilities and companies.

Seventy-four companies were selected because of their reported commercial-scale

biofuels production capacity (or intentions of developing commercial-scale production

capacity) as of December 31, 2013. Representatives from these companies were asked a 

standard set of questions during the second half of 2014. The questionnaire topics 

included facility stage of development, facility scale, feedstock, and biofuel products. 

The responses were validated by industry experts from NREL and the U.S. Department 

of Energy (DOE) and compared with publicly available data. Missing survey data 

elements were supplemented (when possible) with publicly available data obtained 

directly from company websites, press releases, and public filings. Sufficient data from 

25 non-starch ethanol facilities (24 cellulosic ethanol facilities plus one algal-derived 

ethanol facility) and 17 renewable hydrocarbon facilities (for production of cellulosic 

renewable gasoline and/or cellulosic diesel) were obtained and validated to justify 

inclusion of these facilities in this survey report. Data for these 42 facilities were included 

in this report.
v

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Table of Contents

List of Figures.............................................................................................................................................vi

List of Tables...............................................................................................................................................vi

1 Why Is This Survey Needed?...............................................................................................................1

2 Methodology..........................................................................................................................................1

3 Survey Questionnaire...........................................................................................................................2

4 Stages of Biorefinery Development ....................................................................................................2

5 Status of Non-Starch Ethanol Biorefineries in the United States ....................................................2

6 Status of Renewable Hydrocarbon Biorefineries in the United States ...........................................5

7 Future Directions ..................................................................................................................................6

References ...................................................................................................................................................8

Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire ...........................................................................................................9

Appendix B: Email Text Accompanying Survey Questionnaire...........................................................10

Appendix C: Facilities and Data Sources Included in Report...............................................................11

Appendix D: Survey Response Options and Definitions for Stage of Facility Development............12

Appendix E: Survey Response Options and Definitions for Scale of Facility ....................................13

Appendix F: Survey Response Options and Definitions for Type of Technology Pathway..............14

Appendix G: Survey Response Options and Definitions for Feedstock Category.............................15
vi

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List of Figures

Figure 1. Characteristics of the non-starch ethanol facilities included in this survey report.........................4

Figure 2. Characteristics of renewable hydrocarbon biofuel facilities included in this survey 

report.........................................................................................................................................6

List of Tables

Table 1. Status of Commercial-Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Capacity in the United States at the End 

of 2013......................................................................................................................................3

Table 2. Status of U.S. Commercial-Scale Renewable Hydrocarbon Capacity at the End of 2013..............5
1

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1 Why Is This Survey Needed?

The published literature includes a number of biofuels industry data compilations,

covering a range of products, technologies, countries, and timeframes (Hart Energy 2011; 

Bacovsky et al. 2013; Soleki, Scodel, and Epstein 2013; Biofuels Digest 2014; British 

Petroleum 2014; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 2014). This survey report is distinguished 

from these other data compilations in that it provides a publically available, open-source 

documentation of the status of the non-starch ethanol and renewable hydrocarbon 

biofuels industry in the United States, as it existed at the end of 2013. 

2 Methodology

An initial list of 86 company names was compiled from the Biofuels Digest SuperData 

Access Service (Biofuels Digest 2014), which lists companies active in the biofuels 

sector. This initial list of potential survey recipients was downselected to 74 companies 

by excluding companies that were only feedstock or technology providers, with no active 

plans to commercially produce biofuels. The survey questionnaire (Appendix A) was

distributed during the spring of 2014 to the 74 identified companies via email (Appendix 

B), with subsequent follow-up phone calls to each survey recipient to encourage timely 

and accurate responses. Participation in this survey was completely voluntary, and 

represents a bottom-up data-collection to estimate the status of non-starch ethanol and 

renewable hydrocarbon producers in the United States at the end of 2013.

At the conclusion of this survey effort, 37 survey responses were received; representing 

37 facilities operated by 31 companies (five of the companies operated multiple 

facilities). This represents a survey response rate of 42% from the companies contacted. 

Future surveys will focus on increasing the survey response rate to capture a more 

complete inventory of U.S. facilities. Survey responses were vetted to ensure that the 

facility fell within the defined scope of this study as a non-starch ethanol or renewable 

hydrocarbon biofuels producer with commercial intentions in the United States. Based on 

this vetting process, four of the survey responses were determined not relevant to the 

stated scope of the survey (specifically, the respondent had no plans to commercially 

produce or the production facility was not located in the United States). This resulted in 

33 survey responses with sufficient relevance and completeness to justify inclusion in this 

report. Data for an additional nine non-responding facilities were added to the final data 

compilation, based on knowledge of their existence by experts at the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and relevance to 

this report, as well as sufficient availability of facility data in the public domain. In all, 

data for 42 facilities were included in the final data compilation used to produce this 

report.

Some survey data elements were provided by companies under the provision that these

data elements would not be presented publicly. Thus, these sensitive survey data elements 

were omitted from the results presented in this report. Appendix C provides the final list 

of facilities included in this report and indicates the data source for each facility.
2

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3 Survey Questionnaire

The survey questions (Appendix A) target development of a basic understanding of 

companies and their planned or completed facilities. Requested project details included

company information, partnership information, stage of development, facility scale, 

feedstock, and technology pathway. To facilitate consistency in survey responses, some

survey questions required response selection from a pre-defined list. Survey questions 

requiring response selection from a pre-defined list are summarized in Appendices D–G,

along with definitions of the response options.

4 Stages of Biorefinery Development

This report follows a staged development process and groups facilities into pilot-, 

demonstration-, and commercial-scale facilities as defined previously (DOE 2014). 

Typically, a company will select an economically promising feedstock and technology 

pathway combination and move incrementally up the development scale chain, from the 

pilot scale verifying the integrated technical performance of the selected suite of 

technologies, to the demonstration scale providing data and equipment specifications for 

the next development step and eventually to the commercial scale proving economical 

production at commercial volumes on a continuous basis. Ultimately, each company 

will make its own individual choices regarding optimal feedstock throughput rates 

and scaling strategies for a particular facility, and some of these particular choices 

may not be fully represented by this report. However, this staged development process 

allows the project specifics to be vetted at increasing levels of process integration and 

size, while mitigating project risk and thus improving a company’s confidence in their 

technology design for a commercially viable solution by the time the large, commercialscale facility is constructed. As a natural part of the development process, the smaller 

scale facilities may eventually become idle (or be repurposed) as the project matures, a

facility has served its purpose, and larger scale facilities are built. 

5 Status of Non-Starch Ethanol Biorefineries in 

the United States

No U.S. facilities produced cellulosic ethanol during 2013 that resulted in the assignment 

of a renewable identification number (RIN) (EPA 2013). Table 1 summarizes the U.S. 

commercial cellulosic ethanol capacity identified during this survey. Four of the 

commercial facilities identified in this survey were scheduled to become operational 

sometime after the end of 2013. As shown in Table 1, the INEOS facility entered service 

in 2012; however, it did not produce any cellulosic ethanol that resulted in RINs during 

2013. For the purposes of this report, this INEOS facility was classified as still under 

construction during 2013 as the facility underwent modifications and upgrades (INEOS 

2013).
3

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Table 1. Status of Commercial-Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Capacity in the United States at the 

End of 2013

Company Project 

Location

Technology 

Pathway

Feedstock 

Category

Capacity 

[MMGY]

Operational 

Year 

(Anticipated)

Abengoa Hugoton, KS Biochemical Crop 

Residues

24 (2014)

Beta 

Renewables, 

Inc.

Clinton, NC Biochemical Dedicated 

Energy 

Crops

20 (2016)

DuPont Nevada, IA Biochemical Crop 

Residues

30 (2014)

INEOS New 

Planet 

Bioenergy 

LLC

Vero Beach, 

FL

Thermochemical 

Gasification

Vegetative 

and Yard 

Wastes

8 2012

POET Design 

&

Construction

Emmetsburg, 

IA

Biochemical Crop 

Residues

22.5 (2014)

Figure 1 presents a summary of all the non-starch ethanol facilities included in this 

report. Nine of the 25 non-starch ethanol facilities included in this report were under 

construction at the end of 2013, with the remainder of the facilities spread across the 

other stages of development. It was observed that five of the facilities (three pilot-scale 

facilities and two demonstration-scale facilities) were reported as idle at the end of 2013. 

Insufficient information was gathered during this survey to determine why these 

particular facilities were idle at the end of 2013. Documenting the reasons behind 

companies idling particular facilities will be probed more thoroughly during the next 

survey.
4

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Figure 1. Characteristics of the non-starch ethanol facilities included in this survey report

Most of the cellulosic ethanol facilities—20 of 25—use or will use a biochemical 

technology pathway, with three using a thermochemical gasification route, one using a 

hybrid biochemical/thermochemical technology, and one using an algal technology 

pathway for the direct production of ethanol. 

The 20 facilities using a biochemical technology pathway used a range of feedstock 

materials. Of the 20 biochemical pathway facilities, eight facilities were using woody 

biomass, five were using crop residues, three were using dedicated energy crops, two

were using vegetative and yard waste, one was using an herbaceous mix, and one facility 

did not report a specific feedstock. The three thermochemical gasification facilities used

either woody biomass (two facilities) or vegetative and yard waste (one facility) as 

feedstock. The one facility using a hybrid biochemical/thermochemical pathway utilized

crop residues as feedstock.
5

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6 Status of Renewable Hydrocarbon Biorefineries

in the United States

As of the end of 2013, there was only one plant (the KiOR facility in Mississippi) 

producing renewable hydrocarbon biofuels at commercial scale; however, this plant was 

subsequently idled in 2014. The total installed U.S. commercial capacity for renewable 

hydrocarbons at year-end 2013 was approximately 224 million gallons per year; however,

only 13 million gallons per year of capacity was operational at the end of 2013 and only 

514,627 gallons were produced in 2013 (EPA 2013). The status of U.S. renewable 

hydrocarbon capacity as of the end of 2013 is summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Status of U.S. Commercial-Scale Renewable Hydrocarbon Capacity at the End of 

2013

Company Project 

Location

Technology 

Pathway

Feedstock 

Category

Capacity 

[MMGY]

Operational 

Year 

(Anticipated)

Diamond 

Green Diesel

Norco, LA Hydrotreating/ 

Isomerization

Vegetable 

Oils, Fats,

and 

Greases

136 (2014)

Dynamic 

Fuels, LLC

Geismar, LA Hydrotreating/ 

Isomerization

Vegetable 

Oils, Fats,

and 

Greases

75 2010 

[Idle in 2013]

KiOR Columbus, 

MS

Thermochemical 

Pyrolysis

Woody 

Biomass

13 2013

[Idled in 2014]

Figure 2 summarizes the characteristics of the 17 renewable hydrocarbon facilities

included in this survey report. Figure 2 shows the various combinations of technology 

pathways and feedstock being pursued at these renewable hydrocarbon facilities. The six

feedstock types used across the four technology pathways indicate the diversity of the 

developing hydrocarbons production capability in the United States. 
6

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Figure 2. Characteristics of renewable hydrocarbon biofuel facilities included in this 

survey report

No pilot-scale facilities were identified as operating or under construction—though three

pilot facilities were in the planning stage of development. At the demonstration scale, 

three facilities were operating (each with a different technology pathway and feedstock

combination), but none were currently under construction. The survey documented three

pilot, two demonstration, and one commercial facility that were idle at the end of 2013. 

Four of these six idle facilities used the thermochemical gasification technology pathway, 

but development of this technology pathway still continues at other facilities. All of the 

thermochemical gasification facilities used woody biomass as feedstock, with the 

exception of the Frontline BioEnergy facility, which plans to use municipal solid waste 

(MSW). The two hydrotreating/isomerization commercial facilities were using vegetable 

oils, fats, and greases as feedstock.

7 Future Directions

The purpose of this survey report is to document the status of the non-starch ethanol and 

renewable hydrocarbon biofuels industry in the United States, as it existed at the end of 

2013. This initial report is intended to provide an industry baseline upon which future 

bottom-up data-collection efforts can build upon to examine industry trends over time. 
7

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In this initial effort, we have identified a number of areas for improving the questionnaire

by better clarifying the questions and defining terms, expanding the outreach to 

additional recipients, and improving validation techniques for vetting responses. In future 

surveys, we intend to update and refine the questionnaire, reach out to more biofuels 

companies, and welcome feedback from those companies currently represented as well as 

companies that were not included in this initial survey report.
8

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References

Bacovsky, D.; Ludwiczek, N.; Ognissanto, M.; Worgetter, M. (2013). Status of Advanced 

Biofuels Demonstration Facilities in 2012. T39-P1b. Paris, France: International Energy 

Agency.

“Biofuels Digest SuperData Free Access Service.” (2014). Biofuels Digest. Accessed 

February 2, 2014: www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/biofuels-digest-superdata. 

British Petroleum. (2014). BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2014. London, 

England: British Petroleum.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). (2014) Bioenergy Technologies Office Multi-Year 

Program Plan: November 2014 Update. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy. 

Accessed January 9, 2015: 

www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/11/f19/mypp_beto_november_2014.pdf. 

“2013 Renwable Fuel Standard 2 (RFS2) Data.” (2013). U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). Accessed May 19, 2014: www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/rfsdata/2013emts.htm.

Hart Energy. (2011). Global Biofuels Outlook 2011-2020. Houston, TX: Hart Energy

Research Group.

“INEOS Bio Provides Operational Update.” (2013). INEOS Bio. Accessed December 15, 

2014: www.ineos.com/businesses/ineos-bio/news/ineos-bio-provides-operational-update-

/?business=INEOS+Bio.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. (2014). 2nd Biofuels Market Insights Survey. New York, 

NY: PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.

Soleki, M.; Scodel, A.; Epstein, B. (2013). Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2013. San 

Francisco, CA: E2 Environmental Entrepreneurs. Accessed December 17, 2014: 

www.e2.org/ext/doc/E2AdvancedBiofuelMarketReport2013.pdf.
9

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Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire

Date: Time:

Company Information:

Company name?

Company location?

Project owner?

Partnership Information

What is your interest in partnering with 

other companies in the biofuels 

industry? (50 words or less)

Please describe your facility 

capabilities offered for partnership: (50 

words or less)

Partnership Business Contact

Contact Name

Contact Phone #

Contact Email

Project Information (as of 12/31/2013)

Was the company a part of a biofuels 

refinery project that was ongoing on 

12/31/13? Yes/No?

Project name?

Project location?

Completion of Commissioning and 

Shakedown Date (planned or actual)?

Stage of Development? (Select One)

Refinery Products:

Primary Product

By-Products

Refinery Capacity 

Scale of Facility? (Select One)

If larger than pilot: 

Have you piloted the technology? 

Location 

Capacity [tons feed/day]

Timeframe

Owner or Project Name?

If pioneer or commercial: 

Have you operated a demonstration or 

pilot scale facility? 

Location 

Capacity [tons feed/day]

Timeframe

Owner or Project Name?

Type of Technology Pathway?

Description:

Binning (Select one)

Feedstock Category?

Description:

Type: (Select One)
10

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Appendix B: Email Text Accompanying Survey 

Questionnaire

Dear [Recipient],

We are compiling public information on cellulosic biorefineries for the Department of 

Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s Market Assessment report. This report will 

provide a status of the biofuels market as of December 31, 2013. Your DOE Project 

Officers are aware of this effort and seeking your participation. We appreciate your help 

in creating a complete and accurate assessment of the state of the development of the 

biofuels industry. 

We are also building a Biomass Industry Partnership website for companies to openly 

offer and seek matching partners. This will help companies match up with other 

interested companies and will improve DOE funding opportunities.

Attached is a short survey questionnaire regarding your biorefinery project and your 

interest in partnerships. Would you please complete this information and return to me by 

May 2, 2014 at [email link].

Please let me know if you prefer me to contact someone else at your organization for this 

information.

We hope that establishing a current, complete and accurate status of the biofuels industry 

will assist in positive decision making by all stakeholders, from policy-makers to 

investors. Thank you in advance for your help!
11

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Appendix C: Facilities and Data Sources Included

in Report

Company 

Facility Location 

(State)

Ethanol 

Facility

Renewable 

Hydrocarbon 

Facility

Abengoa KS x*

Algenol Biofuels Inc. FL x

American Process Inc. MI x

Archer Daniels Midland IL x

Arkenol CA x†

Beta Renewables NC x

BioProcess Algae IA x

BlueFire Renewables, Inc. MS x

BP LA x*

Canergy, LLC CA x

ClearFuels/Rentech CO x

Cool Planet

CA x

LA x

Coskata PA x*

Diamond Green Diesel LA x*

DuPont

IA x

TN x

Dynamic Fuels LLC LA x

Envergent Technologies/UOP HI x

Fiberight

IA x*

VA x*

Frontline BioEnergy, LLC TX x

Haldor Topsoe, Inc. IL x

ICM, Inc. MO x

INEOS New Planet BioEnergy LLC FL x

KiOR MS x*

LanzaTech GA x*

Lignol Innovations (Undisclosed) x

Logos Technologies CA x

Mascoma

MI x

NY x

Mercurius Biorefining MI/IN x

OriginOil CA x

POET Design & Construction

IA x

SD x

RSA d/b/a Old Town Fuel & Fiber ME x

REII OH x

Sapphire Energy, Inc. NM x

Sundrop Fuels

CO x

LA x

ND x

ZeaChem OR x*

* Indicates company did not respond to the survey, but sufficient facility data was collected from public sources 

(company websites, press releases, and/or public filings) to include in this report. † Indicates survey data for this 

facility was supplemented with data from a public website.
12

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Appendix D: Survey Response Options and 

Definitions for Stage of Facility Development

Category Response Selections— Definitions

Stage of Development Planning: Ground has not been broken for construction. However, one or 

more of the following activities has occurred: a facility location has been 

selected, project financing negotiations have started, and/or permits have 

been obtained for a specific site.

Under Construction: Ground breaking at the selected site has occurred, 

and the facility is under construction. This includes facilities undergoing 

startup and commissioning.

Operational: The facility is currently producing fuel and/or conducting 

development work on a regular basis. 

Idle: The facility is no longer producing fuels, but was producing at one 

point. Possible reasons for an idle facility include unfavorable market 

conditions, completion of a development period, or project bankruptcy.
13

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Appendix E: Survey Response Options and 

Definitions for Scale of Facility

Category Response Selections— Definitions

Scale of Facility Pilot: Small-scale facility with unit operations integrated; primarily used 

for research and development work. 

Demonstration: Small-scale, fully integrated facility used for determining 

design specifications for a larger facility.

Commercial: First-of-a-kind or subsequent full-scale facility for 

commercial production of fuel products.
14

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Appendix F: Survey Response Options and 

Definitions for Type of Technology Pathway

Category Response Selections— Definitions

Type of Technology 

Pathway

Algae Tech: Broad category of technology pathways that involve using 

algae to a produce a fuel product.

Biochemical: Chemical or enzymatic conversion of biomass to cellulose,

which is then fermented or reacted to a fuel product.

Hybrid BC/TC: Using a combination of the biochemical and 

thermochemical technology pathways to produce a fuel product. 

Hydrotreating/Isomerization: Conversion of organic material using 

hydrogen at elevated temperature and pressure levels often in the presence 

of a catalyst.

Thermochemical Gasification: The thermal conversion of organic 

material to a syngas that is catalytically converted into a fuel product.

Thermochemical Pyrolysis: The thermal conversion of organic material to 

an intermediate oil that is further refined into a fuel product.
15

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Appendix G: Survey Response Options and 

Definitions for Feedstock Category

Category Response Selections— Definitions

Feedstock Category Algae: A large, aquatic group of simple plant-like photosynthetic 

organisms—from microscopic cyanobacteria to giant seaweed. 

Crop Residues: Crop residues are divided into two sub-categories: 

harvesting crop residues and processing crop residues. Harvesting crop 

residues are materials such as leaves, stalks, and straw left on the field after 

crop harvesting. Processing crop residues remain after the crop has been 

processed into a primary product and include materials such as husks and 

bagasse. 

Dedicated Energy Crops: Dedicated energy crops are specifically grown 

for bioenergy production and include herbaceous and woody resources. 

Herbaceous Mix: A mixture of herbaceous residues. 

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): The term refers to solid wastes from 

residential and business sources that are then converted to produce biofuels 

and/or electricity. 

Vegetable Oils, Fats, and Greases: Lipid-based feedstock that has

historically been used to produce biodiesel, but is emerging as a feedstock 

for renewable hydrocarbon fuels production. 

Vegetative and Yard Waste: Yard trimmings are a subcategory of MSW 

and include grass clippings, leaves, and tree/brush trimmings.

Woody Biomass: A broad category capturing forest logging residues, mill 

residues, and other woody waste sources.