A Call to Action Summit: Ensuring Iowa's Leadership in the Bioeconomy -- Objectives

Objectives:

Convene technology and policy experts from biobased industry and academia, key stakeholders, members of the Iowa Legislature, and representatives of state and federal agencies.
Generate policy and program recommendations to sustain viability of current bioindustries, assure Iowa's continued leadership in renewable fuels and biobased products, and encourage future bioindustry investment and expansion in Iowa.
Outline a plan of action for implementing the recommendations.

Expected Outcomes:

The workshop is expected to produce two primary outcomes:

Policy ideas that will sustain the current viability of the grain ethanol and biodiesel industries while encouraging future investment and expansion of biorefineries based on cellulosic renewable fuels. Policies might include incentives for biomass producers and renewable fuels companies, promotion of E85 fuels, and tax laws that encourage the establishment of biobased manufacturing in Iowa.
Research and commercialization investment recommendations that will help ensure Iowa's continued leadership in renewable fuels and biobased products. Investments might range from cost-sharing basic research on the next generation of biofuels to reducing the financial risk of constructing early-phase commercial biorefineries in Iowa.