Sioux Falls, SD (October 16, 2023) – American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Chief Marketing Officer Ron Lamberty traveled 1,300 miles to Reston, Virginia, in his Hybrid Electric Flex Fuel vehicle to speak at the U.S. Grains Council’s Global Ethanol Summit (GES) taking place this week October 16-18 about retailer ethanol blending economics and margin opportunities. The Council requested Lamberty bring his hybrid as several countries consider implementing hybrids that run on ethanol blends. The GES will be followed by a tour of the South Dakota ethanol supply chain by a delegation comprised of stakeholders from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama that ACE, along with the USGC and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, is hosting October 18-21. These three countries in Central America are considering starting ethanol-gasoline blending programs in the 2024-2025 period.
The GES includes participants from more than 40 countries with the objective to increase global momentum for decarbonization through expanded ethanol use. The event covers a variety of ethanol topics from supply and demand to lifecycle analysis. On the ethanol infrastructure and compatibility track, Lamberty will speak on ethanol blending economics as a former fuel retailer and c-store owner himself.
“We launched a first-of-its-kind demonstration project in 2021 to disrupt the ‘EV-only’ narrative by showing a standard hybrid vehicle powered by ethanol blends can have lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions as low or lower than plug-in electrics and is likely to reach net-zero long before BEVs. I’m glad the USGC saw this as an opportunity to show other countries an example of an ethanol hybrid as they consider bringing in these vehicles to meet their climate goals,” Lamberty said. “I operated, supplied, owned and worked in convenience stores for nearly 40 years, and as a result, I am intimately familiar with the decision-making process of retailers who will ultimately determine whether consumers will be able to buy new fuels like E15, E30 and flex fuels, and I look forward to sharing the math behind ethanol blending with attendees.”
The participants in the post South Dakota tour will also attend the GES and then travel to South Dakota to engage with key players of the ethanol supply chain to learn about the industry and the social, economic and environmental benefits of using ethanol. The delegation comprises public officials, including representatives from the Ministries of Mines and Energy, Environment and Agriculture, and representatives from the private sector and the agricultural industry. Lamberty will help guide the delegation on tours of a farm, ethanol plants, fuel stations, a rail receiving facility and a pipeline terminal.
“The Global Ethanol Summit is an opportunity to generate renewed international visibility in bioethanol for transportation, energy needs and emerging biobased chemicals,” said Mackenzie Boubin, U.S. Grains Council’s Director of Global Ethanol Export Development. “The conference agenda, coupled with these interactive and robust post tours that allow participants to view the ethanol supply chain up close, make a compelling touch point for countries pursuing their own bioethanol initiatives.”
For more information about the GES, visit grains.org/event/ges, and stay tuned for more updates about the Latin American delegation tour of South Dakota.
