Iowa Biodiesel Board celebrates National Biodiesel Day with 5 reasons for optimism in 2026
- Iowa Biodiesel Board
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
March 18 is National Biodiesel Day, and after one of the most challenging years in the industry’s history, the Iowa Biodiesel Board is marking the occasion with a positive look forward.
The date marks the birthday of Rudolf Diesel, the visionary engineer who invented the diesel engine in the late 1800s and believed from the start that it would run on plant-based fuels—a vision Iowa’s biodiesel producers have spent decades turning into reality.
This year, with federal policy uncertainty weighing on plants and producers across the state, the IBB is spotlighting five reasons for optimism in the year ahead.
5. B30 on the horizon
As Iowa farmers head into spring planting season, the state hopes to see field demonstrations using B30—a 30 percent biodiesel blend—in farm equipment.
John Deere approved B30 for use in its equipment last summer, a milestone that followed Iowa’s first-of-its-kind B30 tax incentive.
Together, these developments open the door to higher biodiesel use right where Iowa’s feedstocks are grown and where it will help farmers succeed and grow markets.
4. A thriving B99 pump in Des Moines
At a Pilot travel center on Douglas Avenue in Des Moines, a B99 (99 percent biodiesel) pump is up and running after announcing the plan on last year’s National Biodiesel Day.
PepsiCo, which has set ambitious environmental goals and is backing them with real action, currently deploys 17 Class 8 Volvo tractor-trailers equipped with Optimus technology to make them capable of seamlessly running on pure biodiesel from the pump.
The program offers a powerful proof of concept for high-blend biodiesel in commercial fleets.
3. Promising state legislation
Iowa lawmakers are considering legislation this session that would extend and strengthen the Iowa biodiesel production tax credit.
The current credit stands at 4 cents per gallon and is set to expire at the end of 2027.
The proposed legislation would increase it to 5 cents per gallon and extend it through 2030.
That one extra penny—and five additional years of policy certainty—is exactly what producers need to make sound, long-term capital decisions.
It also helps keep plants open and Iowans employed.
2. Growing clarity on federal policy
The industry has been watching closely as the federal government works through key policy questions, including guidance on the 45Z clean fuel production credit and finalization of the Renewable Fuel Standard volumes.
While final answers aren’t in hand yet, optimism remains.
Clearer, stable federal policy would be a significant tailwind for biodiesel producers across Iowa and the country.
1. The return to profitability
Above all else, Iowa’s biodiesel producers and farmers are looking forward to a return to strong plant production and profitability.
The past year was marked by margin pressure, policy uncertainty and difficult operating conditions for many facilities—particularly smaller, independent plants.
The industry has weathered storms before, and the fundamentals—Iowa soybeans, growing clean-fuel demand and decades of infrastructure investment—remain strong.
“Iowa’s biodiesel plants, especially our independent producers, have been hit hard by the whiplash of inconsistent federal policy,” said IBB Executive Director Grant Kimberley. “But this industry was built by people who don’t give up easily. On National Biodiesel Day, we’re celebrating what we’ve built, acknowledging what’s been hard and looking forward with real optimism—because the components for a strong future are all here.”
Iowa is home to eight biodiesel production facilities.
According to a study by Decision Innovation Solutions, in 2024, biodiesel plants in Iowa had a value-added (gross domestic product) contribution of $307 million.
Iowa-grown soybeans supply the majority of the feedstock for the state’s biodiesel production.
More than 125 years after Rudolf Diesel famously demonstrated his engine running on peanut oil at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, Iowa’s biodiesel industry continues to prove his vision right, Kimberley noted.
