(EnergyDigital) In the ethanol fuel market, the US takes the lead. Pilot and demonstration plants to commence in late 2013.
Ethanol is the most widely acclaimed alternative or additive for gasoline used for running vehicles, and …

by Chris Woolston  (Bioenergy Connection)  … If you drove around certain parts of the Midwest this summer, you might have seen patches of energy grass or tall, green sorghum flourishing amid the ruined corn and soybeans. …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  The Biofuels Center of North Carolina recently awarded $684,058 for six projects to accelerate the renewable fuels industry in western North Carolina. Awards are made through the 2012-2013 targeted biofuels …

by John Ramsey (FayObserver.com)  Construction on a $170 million refinery in Clinton to convert 20 million tons of grass into fuel each year could start as early as this fall.
Chemtex, an international company with offices …

(Direvo)  Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH (Direvo) today announced that it reached an important milestone in developing a consolidated bioprocess for lactic acid production from lignocellulose.
Up until now, there has not been any known consolidated bioprocess …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  The Perennial Grass Grower Assistance program was established in 2011 by N.C. State University with funding by the Biofuels Center of North Carolina to support the expansion of biomass acreage …

by Michael Wang, Jeongwoo Han, Jennifer B Dunn, Hao Cai and Amgad Elgowainy (US Department of Energy/IOP Science)  corn-based ethanol production occurring mostly in the US and sugarcane-based ethanol production occurring mostly in Brazil. Advances …

by Ned Stowe (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  The USDA estimates that farmers in the U.S. will plant nine million more acres in corn in 2013 than they did in 2011, an increase of almost 10 …

(Nanowerk.com)  Researchers working on the biofuel crop Miscanthus sacchariflorus, commonly known as Asian Elephant Grass, have shown that delaying flowering in the plant can result in a 50% growth increase.The discovery could have important implications for …

(EurekAlert!/University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences)    Perennial biofuel crops such as miscanthus, whose high yields have led them to be considered an eventual alternative to corn in producing ethanol, are …

(25 x ’25)  … In any strategy aimed at meeting America’s soaring energy demand, biomass must be considered a principal among the several renewable, sustainable solutions that make up the fastest growing domestic energy sector since …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The Union of Concerned Scientists has published a report that shows that biomass feedstock has the potential to dramatically increase our nation’s renewable energy supply. The report, titled “The …

(Environmental Leader)  Google has been using Cool Planet Energy Systems’ biofuel blend to run a fleet vehicle at the search giant’s Mountain View, Calif. campus, according to the energy-tech startup.
…During the Google trial, a campus …

by Nino Marchetti (EarthTechling)  One of the major issues facing those growing biofuel crops are finding suitable locations where they can be grown sustainably, avoiding competition with food crops for land resources. A new renewable energy research project being …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Florida, BP announced it is canceling plans to build a 36 million gallon commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Highlands County. The company said that it would refocus its US …

(Pennsylvania State University)  The Northeast could help lead the way to a renewable-energy-based economy by utilizing marginal and abandoned land to grow energy crops such as perennial grasses and fast-growing woody plants.
That’s the goal of …

by John Crane (GoDanRiver.com)  The CEO of a company that wants to build commercial refinery that would convert feedstock hopes to locate at Gretna Industrial Park.
The town of Gretna and Ken Moss, CEO of Piedmont …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Every great biofuels technology has its own companion feedstock strategy – with unique advantages and technical challenges.  Who’s got what it takes to be a great Sherpa, providing that feedstock …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The next five years—the often scoffed mantra of cellulosic ethanol developers—is getting whittled down to the next year or two. A milestone was reached this year when Blue Sugars …

by John Perritano (HowStuffWorks)  At first glance, the fields of miscanthus that blanket Sampson County, N.C., seem of little importance. Standing 4 feet (1.21 meters) taller than a basketball hoop, miscanthus is a giant, spiky, …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  As part of its project to establish energy grasses in the southeastern part of the state on hog lagoon sprayfields and verify the economic opportunities for biofuels, the Biofuels Center …

(Melodika.net)  …Biofuels of the 2nd generation are made of agricultural waste – from wood chips, straw or specially cultivated “energy crops”. The Austrian competence centre acib (Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology) has found ways to …

by John Ramsey (Fayetteville Observer)  The grass grows as tall as two men and thick as a jungle.
This, farmers across the Cape Fear region keep hearing, is the future of ethanol. The giant miscanthus is …

by Susanne Retka Schill   (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  In one of those interesting ironies of renewable fuels, Chemtex’s North Carolina proposed cellulosic ethanol project puts a sector of the hog industry rooting for the success of advanced …

(Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  Cleaner, more sustainable, more climate-friendly, more affordable advanced biofuels are closer to reality than many outside the industry seem to think. At least three new, advanced biofuel biorefineries are being …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In North Carolina, Chemtex announced that it has received a $99 million conditional loan guarantee from USDA, under the USDA’s 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program for the engineering and construction of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  With the US drought, food vs fuel has returned as an issue.  What alternatives are scientists, entrepreneurs developing to take us beyond the old debate?
…1. Feedstock diversification.  In biofuels, it …

(Texas AgriLife)  BP Biofuels and Texas AgriLife Research, part of The Texas A&M University System, have signed a three-year agreement to develop and commercialize cellulosic feedstocks for the production of advanced biofuels.
The collaboration will utilize …

(Yahoo!/PRWeb)  The Doe Run Company is participating in a pilot project with MFA Oil Biomass LLC and Missouri University of Science and Technology to plant Miscanthus grass to help transform mine tailings sites into potential biofuel crop sites.
The Doe Run Company is participating …

Jannette Pippin (JDNews)  Eastern North Carolina farmers have an opportunity to get involved in growing renewable energy crops for fuel and power through a program that will help pay planting and other start-up costs.
USDA Farm …

by Jill Bock  (Standard Democrat/Southeast Missourian)  …Southeast Missouri State University’s Department of Agriculture hosted a grand opening ceremony for its Biomass/Biofuels Research and Demonstration Field at Southeast’s Sikeston campus Thursday morning. A $200,000 two-year grant …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As the 2012 Summer Games approach, BP Biofuels launches its showcase for cellulosic ethanol, renewable diesel, and biobutanol.   Amidst the blizzard of demo drives and informational marketing, why are these …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As bio-based companies race across the Valley of Death, in the dash for scale, who’s getting financing now, and how?
The path to financing success in bio-based project development used to …

(Bioenergy News)  Chemical and biofuels company Gevo has signed a joint development agreement with Beta Renewables to develop an integrated process for the production of bio-based isobutanol from cellulosic biomass.
The agreement anticipates production plants will …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Dire US media headlines abound: “Drought!”  What’s real, what’s hype, and what are the impacts?  More importantly, what alternatives does science give us now, and in the future, with more …

by Heather Youngs and Chris Somerville  (The Scientist)   Research is underway to reduce the use of food crops for biofuels by shifting to dedicated energy crops and agricultural residues.
…Conversion of biomass is currently the most …

(Weed Science Society of America)  The biofuels industry is hitting its stride, with both small farms and large-scale plantations producing renewable crops that can be converted to energy. But scientists with the Weed Science Society …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Yet, even in an era where venture capital has been harder to come by (Why? See these 42 article links under the rubric, “The VC Model is Broken” ) — some great …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Section 9011 of the Farm Bill – the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – USDA deploys $9.6M in new investments in bioenergy crops as questions revolve around the program’s future and …

(Chemtex International/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Chemtex International announced today (June 13, 2012) that it has been selected by the USDA to participate in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. The $3,996,000 award will support establishing and growing over 4,000 acres …

(New Energy Farms) New Energy Farms (NEF) has developed a revolutionary new method of propagating energy grasses; this will reduce farmer establishment costs by 50% or more. Cost effective scaling of perennial energy grasses such …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  With the purchase of two new pieces of equipment Feedstox is prepared to begin executing contracts to harvest biomass in less than two weeks, says Jeff Roskam, CEO of …

(Purdue University)  A new Purdue University-developed process for creating biofuels has shown potential to be cost-effective for production scale, opening the door for moving beyond the laboratory setting.
A Purdue economic analysis shows that the cost …

by Vershal Hogan  (Natchez Democrat)  Alcorn State University  has conducted research into using bamboo as a feedstock for biofuels production.  READ MORE

(Radio New Zealand)  The researchers are putting 7000 Miscanthus giganteus plants on sites near Port Chalmers and Oturehua in central Otago to test its growth patterns and frost-resistance.
Lead botanist Janice Lord says the grass has great potential …

by Peter Byrne  (The Energy Report)  Believe it or not, industry experts see biofuels accounting for up to 25% of global energy consumption by 2050. With this long-term vision in mind, Mark McHugh, president and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  It was revealed yesterday, in the peer-reviewed, online journal PLoS One that Ceres and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University in Wales have completed the first …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Yield unlocks value, and especially feedstock yield. What’s the latest? What feedstocks are reporting yields that could support 1000+ gallons per acre for terrestrial crops?
…Yield from the acre, yield from …

(iStockAnalyst)  Four-Year Agreement Includes 100 Acres of PowerCane Miscanthus Near BP Biofuels’ Demonstration Plant in Jennings, Louisiana
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. (MBI) and BP Biofuels have signed a four-year agreement to conduct a demonstration field trial of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the EPA withdrew the direct final rule to allow camelina, energy cane, napiergrass, and giant reed to meet the RFS2.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said: “EPA published a direct final rule …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What are Google, BP, Conoco, and GE investing? Is 3,000 gallons per acre of renewable gasoline possible?
In the past few weeks, news has begun to circulate around the industry – …

(University of Illinois)  With the support of a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, researchers will take the first steps toward engineering two new oil-rich crops. They aim to boost the natural, …

(UPI)  Studies of the genome of Miscanthus, a large perennial grass, could speed the development of biofuels derived from the plant, U.S. researchers say.
Changsoo Kim, a researcher at the University of Georgia, identified a set …

(EcoGreen4US) … Cellulosic ethanol is produced from plant fibre which is widely available almost anywhere in the world. Today, producing cellulosic ethanol is not in a laboratory anymore. A number ofmanufacturing plants around the world have been producing cellulosic ethanol asalternative to diesel and gasoline orpetrol.
Some of the plant fibres which …

by Jacob Barker (Columbia Tribune)  Despite large cuts to the federal program supporting it and concerns from some groups about environmental impacts, a project to begin growing a giant perennial grass to serve as a …

by Pavel Molchanov (Raymond James)  As energy investors know well, it is much better to own the oil than to refine it. In other words, the bulk of the value is in the upstream of the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …But the New Agriculture has arisen in recent years, with new solutions to the old dilemma: how do you produce, and afford, and haul, and utilize enough feedstock to make …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Good biofuel feedstocks are highly productive, have low input requirements and are widely adaptable. Unfortunately, those same traits are also common with invasive species.
Language addressing invasive species is included …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As POET lands a record biomass harvest in prep for a 2013 cellulosic ethanol launch, the Digest looks at stover, jatropha, miscanthus, switchgrass, MSW, wood and animal residue.  Are costs …

by Anna Austin (Biomass Power and Themal)  Energy crop developer New Energy Farms says it has developed a new system for establishing miscanthus that takes one-third the time of previous planting methods.
…The first is a …

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)  Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Create RiceNet for Predicting Genetic Functions in Rice
The first genome-scale model for predicting the functions of genes and gene networks in a grass species has been developed …

by Bill Lundberg (Biofuels Digest)  Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be scrapped, or revised? BP North America chief Susan Ellerbusch makes the case for “No”.
In Chicago, BP Biofuels North America president Susan Ellerbusch, in addressing …

(Le Monde)  Dans de vastes hangars sont stockés des bottes de paille, des tiges de miscanthus (sorte de roseau parfois appelé “herbe à éléphant”), des rondins de saule et de peuplier. D’autres bâtiments sont réservés …

by Alex Morales (Bloomberg)  Mutant maize genes can be inserted into switch grasses to increase their viability as a biofuel crop, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Transferring the so-called …

by David R. Robbins and Stephen S. Tam  (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Earth Sense Energy USA Inc.)    Miscanthus x Giganteus (MxG) has great potential to become the energy crop of choice in the United States. It …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Intrigued by cellulosic ethanol and a new product called MGT, in Mascoma’s IPO?
…Mascoma Corporation announced that it has filed an S-1 registration statement relating to a proposed $100 million initial …

by Tom Shortell (LehighValleyLive.com)  A New Jersey company is considering building a biorefinery in Plainfield Township that would convert tall grass and wood pellets into fuel, but no official plans have been submitted to the township.
Primus …

By: Sarah Zielinski  (Smithsonian Magazine)   If one of the goals of growing plants for biofuel is to be kinder to the environment than you are by extracting oil from the earth, you wouldn’t want to plant anything …

(Citizen-Times.com)  About 50 interested farmers, academics, and biofuels experts toured the five acres of energy crops under study at N.C. State University’s Mountain Research Horticultural Research Station Wednesday for the first Western North Carolina Bioenergy …

by Liz Ahlberg (University of Illinois)   Many energy researchers and environmental advocates are excited about the prospect of gaining more efficient large-scale biofuel production by using large grasses like miscanthus or switchgrass rather than …

(Biofuels Journal)  Five undergraduate students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign received a $5,000 grant from British Petroleum to research the engineering properties of biomass.
The students wrote the grant to develop a virtual database that will …

by Megan Cassidy  (Columbia Missourian)  Shibu Jose and his team believe that today’s soggy river bottoms could be untapped grounds for the largest advanced biofuel economy in the nation.
Jose, director for MU’s Center for Agroforestry, is …

(EurekAlert!/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)  Growing perennial grasses on the least productive farmland now used for corn ethanol production in the U.S. would result in higher overall corn yields, more ethanol output per acre and …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The U.S. Southeast is ripe for energy crop development, according to several panelists who spoke during a session devoted to next-generation feedstock strategies June 28 at the International Fuel …

by Tom Beres (WKYC)  Farmers in Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania are being recruited to grow a special grass that can be converted to biofuel energy.
Some are already planting miscanthus, a durable grass that won’t spread and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Mendel CEO Neal Gutterson talks about miscanthus, and the role of the power sector as the driver of a global supply chain for biomass.
…The company’s IP lies in its understanding …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Projects Further Obama Administration’s Effort to Produce Clean Home-Grown Energy, Create Sustainable Rural Jobs
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the establishment of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas …

by Tara Bozick (GoDanRiver.com)  …Other projects receiving tobacco commission money: …• The commission approved $490,000 for Piedmont BioProducts in Gretna to improve its biofuel-making process, which will lead to the company’s first commercial bio-refinery in Gretna Industrial Park. …

by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register)  Prototypes of the biofuels refinery of the future sit in a 19,000-square-foot complex on the Iowa State Research Farm west of Ames.
Two experimental plants, whose network of pipes and …

by Maynard Herron and Bob Matousek   (Kansas Alliance for Biorefining and Bioenergy)     AGCO (Hesston, KS) received an award for biomass feedstock supply demonstration as a partial match of a $5 million renewable …

by John Timmer (Ars Technica)  Biofuel crops have the potential to offset the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, increasing energy security and decreasing the risk of climate change. However, the choice of crops and target …

by Phil Ciciora (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)  A team of researchers led by Madhu Khanna, a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at Illinois, shows that very high biomass prices would be needed in …

by Vinod Khosla  (GreenTechMedia)  Imagination is in shortest supply when it comes to agronomic econometrics that extrapolate the past instead of inventing a new future.
Part II:  Feedstock. Feedstock cost, environmental impact and even its politics …

by Cheree Franco (Mississippi State Ag Communications)   On a January morning in Soperton, Ga., southeastern farmers mingled with investors and biomass experts to discuss Freedom Giant Miscathus–a towering grass that may be America’s most promising …

by Susanne Retka Schill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Miscanthus will see a giant leap in acreage in 2011, thanks to Soperton, Ga.-based Repreve Renewables LLC. The company currently has 500 acres planted in five locations in …

by Cary Blake (Western Farm Press)   A growing U.S. agricultural biomass industry can help meet the catapulting energy and fuel demands of a global population that the United Nations predicts could reach 9 billion by 2050.  “We …

(Science Blog)  In the minds of many, Miscanthus x giganteus is the forerunner in the race of viable feedstock options for lignocellulosic bioenergy production. But researchers believe “putting all their eggs in one basket” could be …

(BIOLYFE)  The BIOLYFE project aims at improving critical steps of the second generation bioethanol production process and at demonstrating the whole supply chain, from feedstock sourcing via fuel production to product utilisation. The main result will …

(Agrivida)  Agrivida, Inc. announced a collaboration with Syngenta Ventures to develop advanced crop technology that will provide low-cost sugars for a variety of industrial applications. Under the terms of the agreement, Syngenta licenses to Agrivida …

(Sprigger’s Choice)  Sprigger’s Choice should be your choice establishing lifting, harvesting  and planting your Bio-Energy Crop such as Miscanthus with Rhizomes.
Growers of the energy crop Miscanthus will shortly have available to them some additional equipment, …

(Write2Market)  …Sunbelt Biofuels is a small company building on the business acumen of its Founder and CEO, so-called ‘SodFather ‘Phillip Jennings. Phillip supplies much of the world’s turf market, famously carpeting the ground for the …

(High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal)  University of Illinois researchers have confirmed the first report of a potential new virus belonging to the genus Marafivirus in switchgrass, a biomass crop being evaluated for commercial cellulosic ethanol production.
The virus …

(EurekAlert!)  Money may not grow on trees, but energy could grow in grass. Researchers at the University of Illinois have completed the first extensive geographic yield and economic analysis of potential bioenergy grass crops in the …

by Dr. Neal Gutterson (President and Chief Executive Officer, Mendel Biotechnologies, Inc.)  Dr. Gutterson details the activities of Mendel Biotechnologies relevant to the advanced biofuels business space. Mendel developed Miscanthus x giganteus, a custom, sterile, weed-resistant variation …

by Lisa Song (Solve Climate News)  Research emerging from the University of Illinois paints an ambiguous picture of the grass’s biofuel potential.
Miscanthus, a potential bioufuel crop, uses more water than corn or soybeans but is better …

(Oxford Resource Partners)   Opportunity to Convert Reclaimed Mine Lands for Renewable Energy
Oxford Resource Partners, LP and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. announced their collaborative agreement to develop a pilot project to produce Mendel’s proprietary Miscanthus varieties on land previously …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel)  …The potential of miscanthus and switchgrass has been studied extensively by researchers Greg McIsaac, Mark B. David and Corey A. Mitchell…
The study focused on two important environmental concerns surrounding biomass: water …

(US Department of Energy)  U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced September 8, 2010, the investment of up to $16.5 million for two major research and development (R&D) initiatives that will support the expansion of renewable transportation …

(New Energy Farms)  Growers of the energy crop Miscanthus now have two planters available from New Energy Farms, the leading Miscanthus development company in North America and the EU.
Miscanthus is a perennial grass which is …

by Hembree Brandon   (Delta Farm Press)   “We see a lot of potential in Freedom giant miscanthus — it’s the most promising of the hundreds of miscanthus cultivars we’ve evaluated over the years, and it’s light years ahead …