Bioeconomy Working Group

2003 - 2006

Purpose

This group operated as part of the Value Chain Partnerships program from 2003-2006. It met four times a year in Ames to discuss ways to grow Iowa's biomass feedstock production and encourage the use and commercialization of Iowa bioproducts. Research and development projects included biofibers in plastics, kenaf production, flax fiber quality and corn stover transportation.

At that time, the federal BioPreferred program had just been launched. The existing federal legislation dictated that any federal entity, when buying products, was required to purchase a biobased version if it was available at comparable quality and cost. The biomass used in the product needed to be produced domestically. HON Industries, of Muscatine, Iowa, embarked on a research and develop program to make biobased office supplies, and were interested in working with the Bioeconomy Working Group to establish a supply chain for the needed feedstock.

The goal of the Bioeconomy Working Group:

• to make Iowa a leader in bioproduct feedstock production, materials, engineering and advanced manufacturing

Accomplishments

• recruited and convened a group of committed people who worked to make a difference in how value chains developed for biobased business in Iowa
• sponsored the 2004 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference in Ames, Iowa
• received funds for research and development projects, for support staff and for honoraria to participants
• developed a sustainability matrix for the biofiber economy in Iowa
• awarded a total of ten research and development grants, four in 2003 and six in 2004
• developed a partnership with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Collaboration Cluster, which formed a Biomass Working Group to promote the use and commercialization of bioproduct materials

Lessons learned

The Bioeconomy Working Group closed when the requirement for biomass to be domestically produced was removed from the legislation. Opportunities for Iowa producers diminished considerably as manufactures imported lower-cost products from offshore. Additional challenges for the project included a limited ability of existing machinery to deliver kenaf fibers to market and competition with the bioenergy corn and soybean economy.

Although the working group was not conceived this way, it developed a narrow focus of one crop fiber source and one potential market. This is too narrow a base or value chain to support long-term ongoing work. When the one potential market disappeared, there wasn’t enough incentive to continue the working group.