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Middle TechAuthor: Middle Tech
A podcast network exploring startups, technology, and entrepreneurship in Kentucky and beyond. Language: en Genres: Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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336 | Sunflower Fuels: This startup's plan: grow a crop on old mines, sell horse bedding, then make jet fuel
Tuesday, 21 April, 2026
Kentucky has millions of acres of underutilized land, a shifting energy economy, and a generation of farmers looking for what's next. Sunflower Fuels is trying to answer all three with a single crop.In this episode, Sunflower Fuels CEO Gabrielle Blocher joins us to share how the company is building a Kentucky-rooted biomass business around Miscanthus — a perennial, "fire and forget" crop that can yield for 30+ years, grow on reclaimed surface mine land, and feed multiple growing markets.We dig into the full stack of the business: the horse bedding product (Revive Animal Bedding) generating revenue today, the renewable food packaging market forming next, and the long-term vision — bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS) and sustainable aviation fuel. Gabby explains why the real economics of BECCS live in the voluntary carbon credit market, why Sunflower Fuels pivoted in 2025, and what her Naval Academy and Marine Corps background taught her about building a real-world startup. Hosted by Logan JonesMiddle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.org
