Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative
Accelerating clean fuel production with purpose-grown energy crops
Driving Clean Fuel Innovation
The Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative (RBRH) is a new initiative from the U.S. Department of Energy designed to accelerate the sustainable mobilization of purpose-grown energy crops to create clean fuels and products.
RBRH aligns with the Clean Fuels and Products Shot™, an Energy Earthshot™ launched by DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm on May 24, 2023. The Clean Fuels and Products Shot™ is designed to eliminate more than 650 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2050. One of the five critical research areas of this Energy Earthshot™ is to mobilize biomass and waste feedstock, requiring new technologies to produce low-cost, low-emissions feedstocks at scale.
RBRH plays a critical role in meeting this goal by developing and demonstrating sustainable production systems for purpose-grown energy crops. The hubs will also work to build markets for these crops and support the development of new clean fuels and products industries.
The Feedstock Regions and their respective categories are shown on a color-coded map of the United States:
Northeast (purple): Municipal Solid Waste, Timberland, Energy Crops – includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of New York state, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Southeast (dark green): Agricultural Waste, Municipal Solid Waste, Timberland, Algae, Energy Crops – includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.
Southwest (light green): Municipal Solid Waste, Algae – includes parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.
Pacific West (red): Agricultural Waste, CAFO Manure, Municipal Solid Waste, Timberland, Algae – includes parts of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Inter-Mountain West (blue): Agricultural Waste, Municipal Solid Waste, Timberland – includes Wyoming and parts of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Utah.
Upper Midwest (orange): Agricultural Waste, Timberland, Energy Crops – includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Great Plains (yellow): Agricultural Waste, CAFO Manure, Municipal Solid Waste, Timberland, Energy Crops – includes parts of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska.
RBRH is led by researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) with expertise in feedstock production, integrated landscape management, carbon intensity measurement and supply chain logistics. This expertise is augmented by the Biomass Feedstock National User Facility (BFNUF), a U.S. government-funded facility that provides technology and expertise to help the bioenergy industry overcome biomass challenges. BFNUF researchers specialize in supply and logistics, analysis and sustainability, preprocessing, and characterization.
The RBRH team works with a broad range of stakeholders, including farmers, landowners, end-use stakeholders and policy makers, to ensure that the hubs are meeting the needs of the industry and the communities they serve.
The Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative is critical to achieving Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge 2050 production targets and a greater than 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emission compared to fossil-based resource goals. By accelerating the sustainable mobilization of purpose-grown energy crops, the RBRH will help decarbonize the transportation and chemical industries and create new economic opportunities for rural communities.
