Advanced Biofuels are high-energy liquid transportation fuels derived from: low nutrient input/high per acre yield crops; agricultural or forestry waste; or other sustainable biomass feedstocks including algae.

Some thoughts about the current state of Advanced Biofuels.

If you are a grower or investor or community member looking into this new agricultural opportunity, don’t just jump to a particular crop too fast. Here are three basic things to think about: 

1) What grows here without displacing food or feed crops that can be used for energy;

2) Who will buy this crop–OR, can I grow an energy crop that I can convert to fuel on my own farm or in my own community; then

3) What is the market for the fuel product?

 It doesn’t do any good to grow a crop if you  have no market or on-site use; and the fuel producers won’t be your market unless there is a market for the fuel.   AND, you want to grow something that is appropriate to your land and climate.

Some additional important questions:

1)  How will I get my crop to the biorefinery?

2) What technology will convert my crop into fuel?

3) How will the fuel get from the biorefinery to the ultimate customer? 

No matter what scale or community, these are important questions. 

For example, a community in Mali found that they could grow enough jatropha to make diesel fuel to operate a multi-purpose unit that could provide electricity, pump water or grind grain.  Communities in southern Minnesota are contemplating constructing a 10 million gallon/year combined fuel/electricity plant that will use local crops to provide local fuel and power.  Other corporate investors are building large plants designed to provide advanced biofuels (currently cellulosic ethanol) for nationwide distribution.

You’ll need the technology that overcomes biomass recalcitrance to break down your crop into sugars so that it can  be fermented into ethanol; or put through an additional  process to make biogasolines, biojetfuels, etc.; or used for fuel cells.

A lot of thought is being given to what are called the “logistics issues.”

The advanced process challenges are, for the most part, stuck in the research stage because there is no venture funding.  In addition to the dry credit market characteristic of the current economic situation around the world, venture capitalists (VCs , fondly referred to as “vulture capitalists” ) only want to fund “proven technologies” and are looking for an exit or IPO in 2-3 years.  Researchers in this nascent industry can’t promise those kinds of returns yet.  Regrettably, relatively miniscule amounts of federal funds are available and they are fought over tooth and nail–and often go to universities and national laboratories rather than to independent researchers or small businesses.  

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R, MD 6th), known as the Peak Oil Congressman, admitted at the Biomass 2009 conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, that it will take Apollo or Manhattan Project levels of investment to get advanced biofuels to take off as they should in a short time.  However, he’s a committed “small government” fellow and doesn’t think that the government should foot that bill (although he insists on using the language of large government investment–Manhattan Project and Apollo Program).  He stunned a lot of people at the Biomass 2009 conference when he conceded, when pressed, that our only real hope is to decrease our population by 4-5 billion people. (This from a man with 10 children and 17 grandchildren.)

What keeps those involved in helping us achieve the promise of advanced biofuels from becoming very depressed is the belief that this is the way of the future.  And, even with inadequate funding, many researchers, growers, entrepreneurs and supporters are putting their own time and funds into this cause. 

Many paths must be followed to achieve as much independence from fossil fuels as possible.  

Due to technological challenges and the length of time it will take to implement a smart grid, the cost of the cars and the challenges of battery disposal; few people will be driving electric cars or plug-in hybrids in 5 years.  Most of us will still be driving the cars we have now and we would certainly be better off fueling them with environmentally thoughtful fuels.  With adequate funding, the people working on this problem now can make that happen.

Click here   for a “take home” view of advanced biofuels from a financial investment perspective.  It includes a glossary of pertinent terms.

Click here for answers to questions asked at a February 2010 conference at the Stanford-MIT Venture Lab courtesy of Biofuels Digest.

Click here for frequently asked questions for communities seeking to attract biorefinery investors courtesy of Biomass4Energy.

Click here for examples of marketing summaries of biomass and biofuels technologies available for licensing from U.S. Department of Energy laboratories and participating research institutions.