The Stampede of Elephants: Biofuels and Big Balance Sheets
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Today, we’ll look at the bigger balance sheets to see who is investing what, and when, with whom, and why.
…We’ve also focused here, for the sake of brevity, on those financing commercial scale projects. So, Exxon’s $300 million commitment into algae biofuels R&D is not here, nor are activities at Bayer, BASF, Dow and elsewhere which are still in the joint development agreement stage. Also, we have not reported investments by sovereign wealth funds, family offices or VCs, although they can be in the tens of millions.
…Oil & gas companies, major chemical companies, steelmakers, airlines, Big Ag, enzyme producers and food companies – from 14 countries in all. There are upstream feedstock aggregators, technology developers, and downstream customers.
Abengoa Building a 23 million gallon cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas – off its own balance sheet – opening in 2013. …
Bao Steel Investing, with LanzaTech, in deploying gas fermentation technology, in China, utilizing steel mill off-gases. …
Beta Renewables Building and financing, off its balance sheet, a 20 million gallon first commercial cellulosic ethanol project in Crescentino, Italy – and is aiming to build another on its own dime in North Carolina.
BP There are now more than 4,000 employees in BP Biofuels …
British Airways The company is moving forward on the construction, contributing equity from its balance sheet, of a first commercial project producing aviation biofuels from municipal solid waste, located east of London. The plant is expected to open by 2014.
Bunge The company has formed a JV with Solazyme to build a commercial scale renewable oils production facility in Moema, Brazil …
Cargill/NatureWorks …
Chesapeake Energy …
COFCO …
Darling …
DONG Energy …
Dupont …
FHR …
Graal Bio …
INEOS …
Mitsubishi Chemical …
Neste Oil …
Petrobras …
POET-DSM …
PTT Chemical …
Raizen (Royal Dutch Shell-Cosan) …
Roquette …
Total …
Tyson …
Valero In addition to operating numerous corn ethanol plants, Valero has invested in Algenol, Enerkem and Mascoma, and is proving major financing for Mascoma’s first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Michigan, scheduled to open in 2013-14.
Waste Management Invested in Enerkem, Fulcrum Bioenergy and Renmatix – and is proving financing, off its balance sheet, for Fulcrum Bioenergy’s first commercial cellulosic ethanol project near Reno, Nevada.
Wilmar …
Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials …
Smaller balance sheets financing projects
Gevo …
KiOR …
Solazyme … READ MORE and MORE (Biofuels Digest) and MORE (Raymond James)
