by Paul Hoversten  (Air & Space Smithsonian)  Richard Altman, who spent 39 years as a propulsion engineer at Pratt & Whitney, is executive director of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative. The industry-government alliance was formed …

by Robin Bravender & Darren Samuelsohn (Politico)  …Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Monday said that the future of transportation fuels shouldn’t involve ethanol, the gasoline additive that historically has received billions of dollars in federal subsidies.

“Ethanol …

(La Jornada en Internet)  ”El transporte de todos los participantes se va a hacer no sólo en camiones chiapanecos sino con biodiesel hecho en Chiapas”, destacó el mandatario al inaugurar la primera planta del combustible en …

by Jessica Shirey (Gant Daily)  The Clearfield County Commissioners voted to terminate its cooperation agreement with SWAN Biomass Inc. at its meeting Tuesday in order to proceed with the transfer of grant funding to a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In July, the EPA indicating in a draft ruling that it would specify a range of 6-25 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol, and finalized its mandated volumes at 6.6 million …

(US Environmental Protection Agency)  Under the Clean Air Act Section 211(o), as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set renewable fuel standards each …

by David Schwartz  (Algae Industry Magazine)  …Up until recently a low profile player in the algae arena, Eldorado Biofuels has developed a niche that may not have received much attention so far, but has the …

By Rod Nickel  (Reuters)  Monsanto Co. has raised its spending on canola research and development to between C$20 million and C$30 million ($19.8 million to $29.7 million), roughly the same investment the company puts into wheat, …

(Platts)  Eight Brazilian ethanol producers have registered as advanced renewable fuel producers with the US Environmental Protection Agency, easing controls on their exports to the world’s largest fuels market, Unica, Brazil’s main sugarcane group said …

(Chicago Tribune/AP)  A decision by Congress on whether to extend or gradually phase out a tax credit to oil companies and refiners to blend ethanol with gasoline could make or break some of Indiana’s 12 …

(Information Week Government)  …In a White House blog post last week, the Obama administration listed 10 “must-have” mobile applications it’s made available on its USA.gov mobile applications site.
The site, launched in July as part of …

(Ceres) Energy crop developer Ceres, Inc. reports that growers are ready and willing to produce biomass for biopower and advanced biofuels, and have the land to do so.  
A company survey of U.S. growers showed that …

(Green Car Congress)  In April 2011, Lufthansa will begin a six-month trial of renewable jet fuel with an Airbus A321 on scheduled commercial flights on the Hamburg-Frankfurt-Hamburg route. Pending certification, one of the aircraft’s engines will …

(Farmers Guardian)  More than 100 delegates attended the HGCA Biofuel Conference at Aldwark Manor, York, supported by Farmers Guardian. A further 100 joined the proceedings online as Farmers Guardian streamed video live from the event. Angela …

by Matt Hardigree (Jalopnik/MSNBC)  Family makes full-fledged home on wheels from recycled materials
…With 46-inch tires and a biodiesel engine also used by construction equipment, the EcoRoamer looks and sounds terrifying. Its size belies its sophistication — …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Massachusetts, a team of researchers from University of Massachusetts Amherst reported in Science that they have developed a new process to produce key chemical intermediates from pyrolytic bio-oils. According to …

(Energy & Fuels)  Featuring peer-reviewed articles published in 2009 and 2010, the research shows progress on utilizing biomass for fuels production – a hotbed of research with global implications on agricultural, energy, and environmental policy. …

(Green Car Congress/FavStocks)  A team from East China University of Science and Technology (Shanghai) and Guangxi University for Nationalities reports on a study of hydrogen production via catalytic steam reforming of bio-oil in a fluidized-bed reactor …

(Business Green)  Neste Oil cuts ribbon on giant biofuel facility and promises additional plant in Rotterdam early next year.
Finnish refinery giant Neste Oil has this month opened a major new biodiesel refinery in Singapore, hailing the …

by Alex Morales (Bloomberg Businessweek)  Malaysia’s limited room for expanding palm oil cultivation means that industry growth will have to come from improving productivity, its plantation minister said.
About 4.6 million hectares (11.4 million acres) of the …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  …Preserving and increasing the planet’s forest cover is likely to be high on the agenda. Both Indian and China have ambitious reforestation programs under way. For India as well as other Asian …

by Erin Voegele  (Biodiesel Magazine)  The European Commission released the results this month of a biotechnology report that explores public perceptions of biotechnology, including biofuels. Over all, the Eurobarometer survey found that 80 percent of …

by Greg Sargent (The Washington Post/The Plum Line)  It looks like Chuck Grassley is not happy with fellow GOP senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn for calling on Congress to let billions in ethanol subsidies …

(EurekAlert!)   Purdue University scientists have found the last undiscovered gene responsible for the production of the amino acid phenylalanine, a discovery that could lead to processes to control the amino acid to boost plants’ nutritional …

by Gary Parsons (Key.aero)  Airbus and Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines are trialling a new biofuel that could reduce the carbon footprint by up to 80%, the companies claim.
An Airbus A320 has been converted to use …

(Alibaba.com)  State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) has sold out its first batch of biodiesel on the island province of Hainan, the company said on Wednesday.   The fuel was blended into normal diesel and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …“How do get growers to grow if there’s no market? How do you get a market if there are no growers?” Arvent CEO Sudhir Seth summed up the problem.
…The problem …

by Rob Parsons and Lance Holter (Sierra Club-Maui/The Maui News)  In early 2007, Hawaiian Electric Co. and subsidiary Maui Electric Co. announced plans by BlueEarth Biofuels to construct a mega-sized palm oil refinery on Maui, which would …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  he U.S. military wants New Mexico State University to find improved ways to turn algae into a sustainable source for jet fuel. The research project is part of a $2.346 million grant funded …

The future of farming is coming to the 46th National Farm Machinery Show, as the nation’s largest indoor farm show returns to the Kentucky Exposition Center in February. Start the year with row after row …

by Lynn Grooms  (Farm Industry News)   The market for corncobs for cellulosic ethanol production is still new. So, too, is the market for other types of biomass. But new research and new collection equipment are …

Organized by Stephen P. Mayfield of the University of California, San Diego, Martin Keller of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Jeffrey P. Obbard of A*STAR, this four-day conference will:

Critically examine the most promising avenues for …

(BioPro NewsWire)   Mississippi tree farmers look forward to new biomass facilities in the state providing a new market for wood, according to an article published this month in the Jackson, Miss., USA-based Clarion-Ledger. The newspaper reported …

(Rentech) Rentech, Inc., announced that its synthetic RenDiesel(R) fuel will power an Audi A3 TDI during the Green Cars LA Auto Show Ride & Drive event, hosted by Green Car Journal. 
During the event, credentialed journalists will experience …

by Greg Sargent (Washington Post/Plum Line)  Fresh off a big victory over the GOP establishment on earmarks, conservative GOP senators are opening up a new front in the battle on government spending that could be similar …

by Alan Yonan Jr. (Star Advertiser)  …As the algae companies slowly move forward with their research and development, however, another source of renewable energy is blossoming — literally — on the Big Island. Hawaii Pure …

(UPI)  The U.S. Navy flew a MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on a 50/50 biofuel blend last week as part of its “green” fuel efforts.
The helicopter from the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two One used a fuel …

(Sweetwater Energy)   Sweetwater has begun delivering concentrated sugar water from its expanded pilot system in Rochester, NY to sources developing bio-jet fuel. Production is ramping up over the next 3 months in preparation for major-scale deliveries beginning in 2011, utilizing Sweetwater’s …

by James Cartledge  (BrighterEnergy.org)  New research from Purdue University highlights the need to improve efficiencies in the logistics of cellulosic biomass feedstocks for ethanol production.
A study from the university’s agricultural and biological engineering researchers found that …

by Matt Hartwig (Renewable Fuels Association)  Now he tells us: Al Gore was for grain ethanol before he was against it.
Speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens, the former vice president declared “it is …

by Gerard Wynn   (Reuters)  Former vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was “not a good policy”, weeks before tax credits are up for renewal.
U.S. blending tax breaks for ethanol make …

by Matthew Daneman (ROC Now)  From fuel cell research and development in Honeoye Falls to the world’s first sustainability doctoral program at Rochester Institute of Technology, the region has a slew of assets that could make …

by Stacy Feldman ( SolveClimate/Reuters)  With over 100 start-ups hard at work, industry predicts it can deliver success in under a decade if granted production tax credits
…The head of the 170-member Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), Mary …

(Platts) A decision this week by California regulators to lower corn-based ethanol’s so-called indirect land use penalty is good for that product’s demand, but timing of the change is not, the Renewable Fuels Association said …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  Independence Bio-Products Inc., a Dublin, Ohio-based algae production startup which secured its initial funding from a European investor two years ago, plans to break ground next year on a 100-acre commercial-scale algae …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  From Sergio Hernandez at the Village Voice comes word that New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection has a new pilot program that will convert algae at a Queens waste-water treatment plant …

By Susanne Retka Schill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   …Venture-capital backed Proterro has developed a technology using a microorganism grown in a unique bioreactor that secretes fermentable sugars using sunlight, CO2, water and a few commonly available …

by Bob Hague (Wisconsin Radio Network)  …Madison based environmental consultant Brett Hulsey said it’s important to realize that while corn-based ethanol is subsidized, it’s not as if petroleum based gasoline isn’t. “Depending on who you listen …

(The Phnom Penh Post) NTC Jacam Energy has halted plans to produce biodiesel because of a lack of raw materials, particularly jatropha, according to the firm’s chairman.
The firm had planned to more than triple its …

by Jason Armstrong  (West Hawaii Today)  Within a year’s time, Big Island truckers will be able to run their diesel engines with a sustainable, locally produced fuel made from used cooking oil.
That’s the goal of …

(MarketWire)  Company Is in Final Negotiations With a Strategic Partner
Clean Energy and Power, Inc.  announced  that management has decided to launch a new division focusing on renewable energy developed from non-edible feedstock. This decision comes after …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Today, we look at companies that, in the month of November, have made material strdes towards commercialization – through securing of funding, commencement of construction, offtake deals, or in other ways.

AE …

BiobasedChemAsia brings forth the complexities of managing new biobased chemical value chains, and addresses future challenges for Asian companies as they embark on a new path.
Meet prominent industry players from :
- Dow – DSM – …

by Candace Lombardi  (Green Tech)  GE subsidiary GE Energy Financial Services and North Bridge Venture Partners will invest $8 million in a company developing a biofuel production process coupled with the production of biochar.

Cool Planet Biofuels …

(Star Advertiser)  The Marine Corps said it will host a ribbon cutting tomorrow for the first “E85″ fueling station in Hawaii that utilizes a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
“As always, we are …

by Matt Hartwig (Renewable Fuels Association)  Earlier this week, Iowa State University Professor Bruce Babcock released a policy brief entitled “Impact of Ethanol, Corn, and Livestock from Imminent U.S. Policy Decisions.”  Much of this analysis …

by Bracken Hendricks, Lisbeth Kaufman, Ken Berlin, Monty Humble, Reed Hundt, Alex Kragie, Gerry Waldron  (Center for American Progress) … Congress must move immediately to reduce the cost of clean energy and remove infrastructure and regulatory barriers …

(The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center)    National  Method employs cost saving catalyst and produces useful byproducts
The National Alliance for Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB), a consortium of leading scientists and engineers from universities, private industry, and national …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In New Zealand, LanzaTech announced that its cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with PNNL has been given final approval by the DOE.  The first phase of the CRADA work will …

(MarketWatch) Neste Oil has started up the world’s largest renewable diesel plant in Singapore. Production of NExBTL renewable diesel will be ramped up on a phased basis. The plant was completed on-schedule and on-budget and marks …

(Earthtimes/PRNewsWire)  LPP Combustion, LLC, a Columbia, Maryland-based innovator in liquid fuel technology, has successfully demonstrated clean and green generation of renewable electric power using both   bio-ethanol   and   bio-diesel. LPP   Combustion   has …

by Iris Kuo (VentureBeat/Reuters)  …The good news is, biofuels and solar technology are the most likely of all alternative energies to reach the holy grail of grid parity in the next decade — that is, …

(US Enviromental Protection Agency)  As part of its commitment to help ensure that biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are safely stored in underground storage tanks (USTs), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft …

(Ethanol Producer Magazine) SEKAB E-Technology and Taurus Energy AB have successfully carried out a three-week long industrial demo scale evaluation of Taurus Energy’s yeast. The yeast has been specially developed, and, in contrast to ordinary …

(MarketWatch/Linde)  …Linde is currently researching various production options aimed at gradually increasing the share of “green” sources in the hydrogen landscape. One of these uses liquid biomass (glycerine), a by-product of biodiesel production, as the …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Two major organizations have announced that they will collaborate on key issues moving forward. The National Sorghum Producers (NSP) and the Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association (SSEA) will begin working together to develop …

(Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection)  Announces Nearly $8 Million for 21 Projects Promoting Biofuels, Natural Gas- and Electric-Powered Vehicles
Governor Edward G. Rendell said today that Pennsylvania is cutting its appetite for foreign oil by more …

by Andrew Restuccia  (The Washington Independent)  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), in a floor speech today, called for expanding electric and natural gas vehicles legislation slated to come up for a procedural vote during the lame-duck session …

by Christopher G. Standlee (Abengoa Energy/The Hill’s Congress Blog)  …(T)here is bipartisan support for answering an urgent national challenge: replacing imported high-pollution petroleum with clean-burning American biofuels.  …There is bipartisan support for biofuels because their development, …

by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  In a thinly veiled attempt to further line their pockets, the meat and poultry industry, and the grocery and convenience store associations, are once again trying to stop the …

by Eric Evarts   (Consumer Reports)   …Overall, 63 percent expect to get a significant increase in fuel economy, regardless of the type of vehicle they buy. Only 67 percent said they are considering a traditional gasoline …

By Robert Vierhout   (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   The eBIO brand is no longer. For five years it served the European fuel alcohol industry well. In those years, the industry has changed. Few players became many players …

Algaepreneurs, algae researchers, equipment companies and investors  from all walks of life are invited to attend the National Algae Association’s Algae Production Certification Program. This program provides intensive and comprehensive training about algae strains, growing, …

Collaboration, Strategic Alliances and Networking at Biotech Institute – Lone Star College
President Obama recently said, “Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover …

(Deccan Herald)  Sardine oil, cashew apples, jackfruit are good source of bio-ethanol

State Taskforce on Biofuels is ready with several initiatives and programmes to boost the production of biofuels. In coastal districts, the taskforce will produce …

(Click Green)  Liverpool’s bus operators Merseytravel and Stagecoach Merseyside are launching a new green initiative which will see buses run on recycled vegetable oil.
The initiative forms part of a commitment to the European BIONIC project …

(Fulcrum BioEnergy)  Fulcrum Receives Detailed Term Sheet Proposal from DOE
Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. announced November 16, 2010, that the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) has selected Fulcrum’s Sierra BioFuels Plant to enter the final phase of DOE’s …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In contrast to the “five years away” and subsidy-driven discussions that framed advanced biofuels conversations just two years ago, CEOs are widely reporting that they expect their companies to reach …

by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine)  Since June of this year, Greg Bafalis has been CEO of Aurora Algae, formerly Aurora Biofuels, overseeing the Company’s strategy, operations, and high-level relationships.
…Aurora was founded in 2006 by …

by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register)  A study making its way around the Agriculture Department raises doubts about the prospects for biofuels made from crop residue and other types of plant cellulose and calls for …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Houston Chronicle)  Letter to Editor   …The Chronicle says natural gas from shale deserves federal subsidies for production, but says ethanol doesn’t because it requires too much water to produce. The …

by Aureon Kwolek  (E-100-4)  …Today’s gasoline engines are not currently designed to exploit the attributes of ethanol and blends of ethanol-water, which already carry most of the oxygen required for combustion. Mainstream engine specifications (including …

(New Energy and Fuel)  …The U.S. is closing in on the million barrel per day milestone.  Cheers in some sections, groans in others, but for America, slashing off the equivalent of 750,000 b/d of imported …

(PetroAlgae)   Joint Effort with Leading Airline Focuses on Renewable Jet Fuel
PetroAlgae Inc., a leading U.S. renewable energy company that licenses its commercial micro-crop technology globally, today announced it has entered into a non-binding offtake supply …

(PR Newswire)  Energy Efficiency Innovation and Environmental Impact Advances Prized
The Global Energy Prize is now accepting nominations for its $1 million 2011 award. The globally recognised prize, which has thus far been awarded to three prominent …

by Vijaysinh Parmar (Times of India)  Scientists from across the country, belonging to a consortium of nine laboratories, are working on an ambitious project called ‘New Millennium India Technology Leadership Initiative’ ( NMITLI), to develop …

(Digital Journal/Marketwire)  AMG Bioenergy Resources Holdings Ltd. (The Company) announced that it has just signed a Letter of Intent with China Zhejiang Biodiesel Co, Ltd (“CZBC”) to acquire the Eucalyptus and Jatropha Plantation assets that CZBC …

(Financial Express)  Shifting focus to its biodiesel programme, Thailand is planning to open large scale jatropha seed based plants to produce the much needed commodity.
Analysts said long-neglected jatropha ready for a starring role and a …

by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest)  …The US president’s visits to four key Asian democracies were scheduled long in advance to coincide with the G20 Summit in Korea and boost US sales of technology and equipment in Asia. …

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Technologies proven at the bench scale and biofuel feedstocks developed or identified are worthless until they come together at a successful biorefinery.  Getting there involves a series of choices: …

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuesl USA)  The Renewable Fuel Association’s Bob Dinneen started the Cellulosic Biofuels & Biorefineries Summit with a call to the biofuels community–ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, advanced biofuels, renewable and biodiesel–to realize their …

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Faith and Belief.  Most impressive about the 2010 Cellulosic Biofuels Finance & Investment Forum, as compared to the 2009 event, was the whiff of positive belief that somehow, some  …

by Tamsin Carlisle  (The National)  OPEC has sharply criticised the biofuels programmes of industrialised countries as it raised its forecast for global oil demand next year.
In the US, a federal biomass programme introduced this month “pays farmers …

by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com)   Republicans taking control of the U.S. House is good for the chances of the federal ethanol and biodiesel tax breaks seeing renewal … that’s according to a GOP member from Iowa.
AgriNews.com …

by Gary Clark and Rachel Ziemba  (Forbes)  Doctor Doom:  With Congress gridlocked, the U.S. may put the brakes on biofuels support.
Following the Republican Party’s capture of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, U.S. policy on …

by Cindy O’Connor  (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Washington, DC Biomass Finance & Investment Summit, October 13-15 2010:  Friday Session Highlights
The physical location of the utility plants determines the biomass –to –power opportunities.
 Reed Willis, President, ADAGE (Duke Energy …

Robert White (Renewable Fuels Association)  …The U.S. ethanol industry has the capacity to produce nearly 14 billion gallons of domestic renewable fuel annually, or more than 10% of our fuel supply.  The Renewable Fuels Standard …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  From Dan Boyce at Montana State University comes word that researchers there have found a way to get four times as much biofuel from a given amount of algae by adding baking soda, …

(Gevo)  First Isobutanol to Receive Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Registration as a Fuel Additive
Gevo, Inc., a privately held renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, announced November 11, 2010, that it received notification that its isobutanol had successfully …

(Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the establishment of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (ERAC). ERAC is a federal advisory committee whose members will report directly to the …