This Iowa bioenergy startup is turning almond shells, old wood floors, and grass clippings into aviation fuel

If it’s biowaste, Rise Energy is putting it into a reactor and making fuel from it.

[Photos: Rise Energy, Adobe Stock]

When the floor of the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa—home to the Iowa State University Cyclones basketball team—was ripped up during a renovation in 2023, some of the historic hardwood was preserved for superfans looking for the ultimate piece of memorabilia. 

For the trio of Iowa State researchers behind Rise Energy, a startup founded in 2022 and focused on designing more efficient biofuels, the floorboard (as well as the........

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