S. 2467 — Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2025

This section revises the biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing assistance program by (1) expanding the purpose statement to prioritize development of advanced biofuels—including ultra-low-carbon bioethanol and zero-carbon bioethanol—renewable chemicals, and biobased product manufacturing; (2) broadening the definition of biobased product manufacturing to remove the "technologically new" requirement and include production of renewable chemicals and biobased products; and (3) authorizing competitive grants, in addition to existing loan guarantees, for eligible entities to develop, construct, or retrofit pilot- or demonstration-scale biorefineries that convert renewable biomass into advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, or biobased products. (As background, the program supports commercial-scale biorefineries to increase U.S. energy independence, diversify agricultural markets, and spur rural economic development.) The section further (1) establishes grant selection criteria—including a priority scoring system based on market potential, non-Federal funding, innovative feedstocks or processes, environmental benefits, rural impacts, replicability, scalability, and energy security—with a required third-party feasibility study (waivable for proven technologies) and federal cost-sharing limited to 60% of project costs (non-Federal share up to 30% in materials); (2) revises loan guarantee selection to reference the new grant provisions, add a feasibility study waiver, and limit the maximum guarantee to 10% of total fiscal year funding under subsection (g) (from a flat $250 million); and (3) provides $40 million annually for grants for FY2025 through FY2029, incorporates grants into overall funding allocations, and extends program funding availability through FY2029 (from FY2023). (Thus, grants target earlier-stage projects to prove commercial viability before scaling to loan-guaranteed facilities.)