US EPA approves Chevron facility-specific fuel pathway for CoverCress oil under RFS
Updated: Aug 3
Chevron received its facility-specific pathway approval for CoverCress oil in mid-July from the U.S. EPA under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program.
CoverCress, a modified version of field pennycress, is a rotational cash crop that combines grain production with the environmental benefits of a cover crop without displacing other harvests.
The company CoverCress Inc. is majority owned by Bayer (65 percent) with Chevron and Bunge owning the remaining minority share (35 percent).
Renewable Energy Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corp., had petitioned the agency to approve a pathway for the generation of biomass-based diesel (D4) renewable identification number (RIN) credits for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and advanced biofuel (D5) RINs for renewable naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced from CoverCress oil through a hydrotreating process using natural gas and grid electricity for process energy at its facility in Geismar, Louisiana.
Through the petition process, REG submitted data to EPA to perform a lifecycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) analysis of fuels produced through the Chevron Geismar CoverCress pathways.
“Based on our assessment, renewable diesel and jet fuel produced through the Chevron Geismar CoverCress pathways qualify under the Clean Air Act for [D4] RINs, and renewable naphtha and LPG produced through the Chevron Geismar CoverCress pathways qualify under the CAA for [D5] RINs, assuming the fuel meets the definitional and other criteria for renewable fuel specified in the CAA and EPA implementing regulations,” EPA stated in the approval letter.
The approval applies specifically to the REG Geismar production facility and to the processes, materials used, fuels produced and process-energy types and amounts described in the March 2024 petition request submitted by REG for their Geismar facility.
EPA said its fuels program electronic registration and transaction system applications will be modified to allow REG to register and generate RINs through the approved pathways.
The approval arrives as CoverCress prepares for its first commercial crush in early 2027, giving growers, grain handlers, processors and fuel producers regulatory certainty as they plan for the crop’s expanding role in the renewable fuel supply chain.
“The recognition of CoverCress oil as an approved feedstock pathway under the Renewable Fuel Standard strengthens the commercial foundation for adoption across the value chain—from growers to grain handlers, processors and fuel producers,” said CoverCress CEO Jim Hedges. “This is a major milestone for our company and stakeholders. We appreciate the thorough review conducted by EPA and the commitment of industry partners who have helped advance the development of this innovative crop.”
