BASF and Arva have partnered to assist US biofuel producers and farmers in maximising the value of the upcoming Clean Fuel Production Credit (Section 45Z) once its implementing regulations are finalised.
The partnership connects biorefineries with verified low-carbon intensity (CI) grain across both commercial and farmer-direct supply channels. The framework aims to provide ethanol plants with the auditable documentation necessary to secure regulatory tax credits, while creating clear mechanisms to financially compensate growers for carbon-reducing agricultural practices.
Roughly half of all US ethanol production relies on commercially sourced grain routed through independent elevators, which has traditionally complicated field-level carbon tracking. The joint initiative expands BASF’s existing Circalo: Low Carbon Intensity Crops program by bridging this data gap through a synchronised digital infrastructure:
- Farmer-direct stream: Agronomists and farmers utilise the xarvio FIELD MANAGER platform to optimise crop yields and lower field-level carbon scores, linking this data directly to plants via xarvio BIOENERGY procurement contracts.
- Commercial elevator stream: Commercial grain elevators can have their bulk grain scored and verified through Arva’s CropForce platform. These commercial volumes are then integrated into the xarvio BIOENERGY platform, allowing biorefineries to track and verify the carbon profile of third-party commercial grain purchases.
The collaborative ecosystem is designed to establish a single, unified interface for biofuel facilities to manage their entire feedstock supply, regardless of whether it is purchased directly from local farms or via commercial elevators. The integrated workflow is built to co-operate with corporate accounting and compliance partners to streamline future Section 45Z administrative filings.
To ensure the integrity of the carbon credits, the technical integration between xarvio FIELD MANAGER and Arva’s CropForce platform generates traceable, third-party certified CI scores. This end-to-end digital traceability is structured to prevent the double-counting of environmental attributes across the supply chain, ensuring audit readiness. Beyond federal Section 45Z compliance, the data reporting framework is designed to satisfy low-carbon fuel standards enforced by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Jeff Carver, Commercial Manager for xarvio BIOENERGY at BASF Agricultural Solutions, emphasised the scale of the deployment, stating: “Approximately half of U.S. ethanol production relies on commercially sourced grain. Our collaboration with Arva creates a scalable solution for U.S. ethanol that, when combined with xarvio FIELD MANAGER, will help meet the industry’s need for low-CI grain as well as the farmer’s need to be recognised for growing it.”
Ryan Pearcy, Managing Director of Biofuels and Renewable Energy at Arva, highlighted the operational advantages for production plants, adding: “Biofuel producers need both verified field-level data and operational simplicity. By integrating our growing network of commercial grain partners and our proven verification capability with BASF’s BIOENERGY platform, we can help plants recognise more low-CI bushels so farmers can have a clear way to be rewarded for their regenerative agricultural practices.”
