2025 Converting Agricultural Waste into Valuable Products
TomKat Energy Impact Fellowship 2025 Final Report: Commercializing Oleo's technology for converting lignocellulosic waste into valuable oils and sugars.
Authors: Jaydon Deras, Maya Anandan, Mark Rainier Catapusan
Over the summer, the 2025 TomKat Energy Impact Fellows conducted a comprehensive analysis and designed a strategic roadmap for commercializing Oleo's technology for converting lignocellulosic waste into valuable oils and sugars. The project integrated extensive research into feedstock sourcing, environmental impact, global regulatory incentives, and key process economics.
The final report contains seven sections and details some main takeaways for each. These sections define a clear path from feedstock selection to market entry. By integrating commercial opportunities with technical hurdles, this report provides a holistic and actionable strategy for successful deployment.
Section 1: Biomass Landscape Assessment (page 3)
The biomass feedstock analysis is complete with a table outlining information across the broad list of sources. The team correctly identified key factors like Crystallinity Index and Degree of Polymerization, but a method to determine the best sources is still being developed, pending experiments in the lab.
Section 2: Heat Map (page 9)
A heat map analysis produced several clear and actionable insights that directly inform Oleo's strategic planning for facility location and supply chain management.
- The Central Valley is the Overwhelming Resource Hub.
- Specific Feedstocks Form Distinct Sub-Clusters.
- Critical Feedstocks are Geographically Isolated. This geographic isolation highlights a major logistical challenge and potential supply chain risk, as reliance on these feedstocks would incur substantial transportation costs and complexities.
Section 3: Carbon Intensity (CI) Factors: CI Factor=kg-CO2e/kg (page 14)
A table was developed to identify and compile key carbon intensity (CI) factors relevant to Oleo’s technology. CI factors are reported for biomass feedstocks, energy use, waste streams, and transportation. Additionally, they examined the CI factors relevant to the many renewable energy sources.
Section 4: Domestic Regulatory Landscape (page 21)
The fuel producer utilizing Oleo’s oil is eligible to gain both RINS and LCFS credits, given that they meet each program’s unique standards. Within the Renewable Fuel Standard, this fuel applies to both the Advanced Biofuels and Biomass-based Diesel categories, if their fuel is made from renewable biomass and reduces lifecycle GHG emissions by at least 50%, and if they use their feedstock to produce RD. The company must meet the Renewable Volume Obligation to generate RINS. If the fuel is used in California’s transportation sector, the ‘double-dipping’ of these two credits is explicitly permitted, as CARB’s LCFS program is geographically limited to California. Specifically, the fuel produced using Oleo’s oil must be reported by a registered fuel reporting entity and tracked with a valid fuel pathway CI value.
Section 5: Biochar Landscape & Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) (page 28)
Oleo should convert its lignin-rich waste stream into high-quality, woody biochar and seek credits from Isometric or Puro.Earth carbon registries. Oleo should prioritize high-quality, woody biochar for the agricultural soil amendment market due to its size, profitability, and straightforward certifications for the time being. Once the concrete market is more established, Oleo should gauge its profitability as the credits will be more valuable with guaranteed offtake agreements and potential reductions to its overall CI Factor.
Section 6: United Kingdom (UK) Regulatory Landscape Assessment (page 35)
While this section focuses on the UK, a brief comparative analysis of the UK vs. US incentive mechanisms highlights different international approaches to incentivizing advanced fuels. The UK's regulatory framework for advanced fuels is both robust and dynamic, offering substantial opportunities but also presenting significant complexities. For any business aiming to enter or scale within this market, a multi-faceted strategy is essential.
Section 7: European Union (EU) Regulatory Landscape Assessment (page 45)
The EU, through its ambitious Renewable Energy Directive (RED), has established one of the world's most comprehensive and aggressive policy frameworks for promoting advanced fuels. However, the directive's ambitious vision is confronted by the complex reality of national implementation. The landscape for advanced fuels in the EU is a fragmented patchwork of national laws, varying support schemes, and divergent political priorities. While countries like Germany lead with proactive legislation and Denmark sets the standard for procedural compliance, other countries like Sweden, Finland, France, and Spain face significant delays, political hurdles, and implementation gaps. Success requires a deep, country-specific understanding of each nation's unique regulatory environment, primary support mechanisms, and political context.
Meet the 2025 Fellows
Maya Anandan '28
Majoring in Energy Science and Engineering
Mark Rainier Catapusan '26
Majoring in Bioengineering
Jaydon Deras '27
Majoring in Chemical Engineering
Jaydon Deras is a rising junior who wants to innovate the health sector by building medical devices capable of supporting brain health and immune function. In parallel, he aspires to develop sustainable, renewable biomaterials and energies to support the fabrication of said devices. As a chemical engineering major and biology minor, he is passionate about combatting climate change, supporting world health, and changing the world. He enjoys exploring medicine and biotechnology through the lens of a chemical engineer, and he wants his work to make a lasting impact as a future entrepreneur and aspiring PhD candidate. Outside of the classroom, Jaydon can be found playing basketball, volleyball, or hiking around Stanford in search of serene nature and adventure.