In a keynote speech at the 11^th Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology on May 13, DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman called on Congress and the administration to ensure regulatory stability for the renewable fuel industry by preserving the renewable fuel standard (RFS), regulations ensuring renewable fuel makers market access in the United States.

Since 2007, the RFS has encouraged hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment from companies like DuPont to create a sustainable bio-based economy. Later this year, the EPA will submit a final ruling on the volume of renewable fuel blended into the nation’s gasoline supply.

“Legislative and regulatory uncertainty has a direct impact on the growth of this industry,” Kullman said. “If the EPA issues an RFS rule with increasing biofuels volumes, supporting a stable regulatory environment, our industry can thrive.”

She continued, “So let me state clearly: the renewable fuel standard works and Congress and the administration need to ensure its stability. This will bring a reduced reliance on fossil fuels, increased energy security, many more rural jobs and much needed environmental benefits.”

DuPont has invested heavily in the future of renewable fuels and will soon complete one of the world’s largest commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefineries, set to open in Iowa later this year. DuPont committed over $200 million to the project, which will yield 30 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year, produced from corn stalks, leaves and cobs left in fields after harvest.

Kullman attended the BIO World Congress to accept the 2014 George Washington Carver Award, which each year honors one individual in the private sector, government or academia for leadership in using industrial biotechnology innovation.

DuPont has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802.  The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.