During April US congressmen Bill Pascrell Junior and Brian Bilbray introduced a bipartisan bill called the Qualifying Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit, designed to encourage job creation in the biotech sector by providing tax incentives for biotechnology companies that use renewable sources like soyabeans, algae, switchgrass and non-harvested wheat.

The legislation would establish a production tax credit of $0.15 (€0.12) per pound of eligible content of renewable chemicals produced during the taxable year and that the total amount of the credit that can be allocated under the initiative is $500 million. The maximum amount of credit that can be allocated to any taxpayer for any taxable year under the programme is $25 million.

With support from the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO), which has asked members to co-sponsor the bill, it is hoped that as a new legislation it would help accelerate commercialisation of renewable chemicals and bio-based products.