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

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 rough particle-board subfloor) was more intriguing to use as feedstock, not