Penn State researchers evaluating biomass-to-gasoline startup in northern Pa.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Researchers in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences are working with the entrepreneur behind the proposed startup of an innovative woody biomass-to-energy facility planned for north central Pennsylvania to determine if the planned operation will be sustainable and ecologically sound.

Woodland Biomass Innovations is developing a proposed operation that promises to convert roughly 1,000 tons of regional wood residues per day into 42,000 gallons of gasoline, biochar and renewable electricity. Company founder Luca Pandolfi plans to build his facility in Tioga County, where it can be fed by surrounding dense forests partially composed of small-diameter trees that mostly go to waste in timbering operations.

The novel partnership between the college and the startup benefits students, the startup and the state, according to Dan Ciolkosz, associate research professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

“Penn State Extension and research faculty have worked together with Woodland Biomass Innovations in a way that helps the business move forward while also giving students invaluable practical experience studying new business opportunities for bio-based energy in Pennsylvania,” he said. “In many ways, this is a neat example of how Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences’ efforts in teaching, research and extension all have worked together to support innovation in the private sector in our state.”

Researchers in the College of Agricultural Sciences have been modeling the environmental impact and benefit of the process Woodland Biomass Innovations will use and are evaluating forests in the area to ensure they’ll sustainably provide enough biofuel to support the proposed operation.

Is there enough biomass in the nearby forests to feed the operation? That is a question that needed to be answered, according to Juliana Vasco-Correa, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering. She arranged a capstone project involving fourth-year students majoring in the agricultural and biorenewable systems management to find the answer, using U.S. Forest Service data describing northern Pennsylvania forest resources.

In preliminary findings, the students determined that forests within 25 miles of the proposed facility can sustainably provide enough woody biomass to meet Woodland Biomass Innovations’ projected demand. The 25-mile limit is important, Vasco-Correa explained, because previous studies by researchers in other places have shown that beyond that distance transportation costs — both financial and ecological — associated with delivering large quantities of biomass make projects like Woodland Biomass Innovations not viable.

Conducting a carbon life cycle assessment — a scientific methodology used to quantify the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product or process throughout its entire lifespan — the students also created a detailed comparison of refining gasoline from traditional fossil fuels versus Woodland Bio’s process using woody biomass. The students determined that gasoline made from woody biomass was significantly better for the environment.

“But because this was a student project, we are using the numbers they came up with as a starting point, and now we have a postdoctoral researcher verifying all the calculations before we publish them,” Vasco-Correa said. “We will have final calculations by this fall. But certainly, what we have seen so far looks very good for Woodland Biomass Innovations.”

The postdoctoral researcher on the project, Dominic Aboagye, has expertise in bioenergy and spatial optimization. Supported through a McIntire-Stennis research project, he is leading a team that includes Gamini Mendis, assistant professor of polymer engineering and science and plastics engineering technology at Penn State Behrend, under the supervision of Christine Costello, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

The team is evaluating forest biomass availability, supply-chain logistics and environmental impacts associated with woody biomass utilization in northern Pennsylvania, drawing on forestry data and collaboration with Pennsylvania foresters to develop an accurate assessment of regional forest resources.

Biomass transportation costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions are significant concerns, Costello pointed out. She noted that the research findings so far confirm the viability of the Woodland Biomass Innovations concept, suggesting local wood availability should support the project’s goals.

“Transportation can be very variable, and especially now with the fluctuation and the increase in diesel fuel prices, it can be very costly to haul wood around, along with resulting greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. “Where we get the material from is really important for the net greenhouse gas emissions of the gasoline that’s produced. We want to make sure that gasoline made from woody biomass in northern Pennsylvania has a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline made from fossil fuels.”

Woodland Biomass Innovations’ system is designed to be highly efficient, generating much of its own power requirements and producing minimal waste, Pandolfi explained.

“The research that Penn State is doing is essential, because when investors are looking at investing in the project, they want to understand what the carbon impact will be, and just as important — how it will impact the forest,” Pandolfi said. “Penn State research is really helping to validate the carbon intensity of the project and make investors feel more comfortable that this actually is going to provide carbon reduction compared to fossil fuels.”

While research is progressing, Penn State Extension educators who are experts in biofuels have been helping Pandolfi connect with the wood-products community, such as the Pennsylvania Fuels for Schools and Communities work group. Ciolkosz, one of those experts, suggested that Woodland Biomass Innovations’ concept is perfectly suited for north central Pennsylvania, and could be a good match for the local economy.

“The region is richly provided with forest resources and has a great deal of ‘low use’ woody material that needs regular, ongoing harvest so that foresters can better manage the quality and health of our forestlands,” he said. “Woodland Biomass Innovations would provide a market for those materials by transforming the woody materials into gasoline. Our long-term goal is to promote wood-based energy and help support sustainable growth of this sector.”

Building a brand-new industry is a slow process, and Pandolfi has been steadily developing the design, business model and financing to turn this concept into reality, Ciolkosz said, adding that Penn State Extension has been working with him to help strengthen his business plans.

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences seeks to grow and support promising businesses that promote environmental conservation and seem likely to boost the economy of Pennsylvania by fostering innovation and creating new job opportunities through its Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems (TALiS) initiative, which is dedicated to conserving vital living systems, including agriculture and the adjacent forests, wetlands and waterways — along with the resilience of the state’s rural and urban communities.

“We believe that Pennsylvania can be a leader in developing and testing these integrated agroecosystems, serving as a living laboratory for scalable and practical solutions,” said Gretta Tritch Roman, senior director of research development and initiatives in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “The TALiS initiative envisions that the state’s landscapes offer an excellent testbed for integrating technologies across different types of agriculture, natural and social ecosystems.”

While Pennsylvania’s diversity of farms, forests and waterways offers the perfect living laboratory for agricultural innovation, scaling technologies for that unique landscape requires a robust foundation of collaboration, noted Sara Fitzsimmons, TALiS coordinator. Through the TALiS initiative, she explained, the College of Agricultural Sciences is leveraging Penn State’s extensive infrastructure and building deep, cross-sector partnerships to bridge the gap between early-stage research and sustainable, real-world impact across the commonwealth.

“The recently held 2026 TALiS Symposium highlighted how strategic partnerships can accelerate the path from research to real-world application,” Fitzsimmons said. “Woodland Biomass Innovations was just one example featured at that event.”