Crop residues presently emit carbon dioxide and energy by going to waste in the farm fields. Avoiding emissions from existing waste streams causes a key lifecycle offset because carbon is effectively captured upstream of diesel production. An energy enhancement is then used to increase fuel yields and decrease costs while still achieving net-zero emissions.

The US presently consumes 50 billion gallons of diesel per year. Our energy enhancement can enable the production of 50 billion gallons of diesel per year. At 12 kg CO₂ per gallon, that’s a potential reduction of 600 million tons of CO₂e per year.

According to many climate studies, the use of biomass for energy in combination with carbon capture and sequestration or use is the path with the greatest potential for lowering atmospheric CO₂ emissions. WeNeW’s approach applies both CO₂ use and sequestration. The conversion of biomass to fuels produces excess CO₂, but injecting this CO₂ into pipelines and underground reservoirs is very expensive and requires a lot of new infrastructure. WeNeW’s power + biomass to fuels approach ‘uses’ CO₂ by adding hydrogen to increase fuel production and reduce CO₂ emissions. WeNeW’s process also co-produces a biochar, which is a nutrient-rich soil amendment that sequesters carbon in the ground while improving soil quality.