Feedstock – Advanced BioFuels USA

BASF Partner with New Energy for Uptake of Pyrolysis Oil Derived from Waste Tires.

by Luke Upton (BioMarket Insights) BASF has signed an uptake supply agreement with the Hungary based New Energy, a technology company specialized in the pyrolysis of waste tires. According to the agreement, New Energy will supply BASF with up to 4,000 metric tons of pyrolysis oil per year derived from waste

September 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Integrated Strategies to Enable Lower-Cost Biofuels

(U.S. Department of Energy)The Integrated Strategies to Enable Lower-Cost Biofuels report summarizes the findings of a qualitative analysis to identify integrated strategies needed for more affordable biofuels. It outlines five key strategies needed to achieve lower fuel production costs in an integrated biorefinery and provides high-level research needs across the

September 12, 2020 Read Full Article

2019 Project Peer Review Report Published

(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted the 2019 Project Peer Review on March 4–7, 2019, in Denver, Colorado. During the event, 447 projects in BETO’s research portfolio were presented in 14 simultaneous review sessions and two poster sessions. Projects were systematically reviewed by

September 12, 2020 Read Full Article

Coconut Waste Could be Used for Cheaper Biodiesel and Bioethanol Production

by Victoria Sinla (Nature World News) It has been found that the production of biodiesel and bioethanol from coconut waste is possible with specific chemical processes. As an environmentally attractive alternative to diesel fuel, biodiesel can be produced using the method of transesterification, with the use of alcohol to react with edible

September 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Biodiesel from Coconut Oil: An Eco-Friendly Alternative Fuel for Diesel Engine

by Victoria Sinla (Nature World News) A recent study shows that coconut oil could be used as biodiesel: renewable and alternative energy for diesel engines. The study findings suggest that coconut oil biodiesel is capable of running an engine and other properties showed promising results. Production of biodiesel from coconut oil is

September 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Using Light-Harvesting Polymers to Speed up Photosynthesis in Algae

by Bob Yirka (Phys.Org) A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found a way to speed up photosynthesis in algae by applying a conjugated polymer. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes experiments with applying polymers to algae and what they learned from

September 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Alliance BioEnergy Establishes Giant King Grass Test Plot

(Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc.) Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc., (“Alliance”) announces it has leased 18 acres of land in Southwest Florida to establish a test plot to optimize the production of Giant King Grass as a renewable cellulosic feedstock. Giant King Grass grows year-round, up to 20 feet in height, and

September 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Disruptive Plant Tech and Gene-editing: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Calyxt

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Using science to deliver disruptive plant-based innovations, Calyxt launched their soybean go-to-market strategy this year and have plans for selling seed to processors who contract with growers and partnering with processors on future product launches and enhancements. Their gene-editing process for plants is just the beginning.

September 7, 2020 Read Full Article

Scientists Develop Technique to Produce Biofuel from Algae to Boost India’s Clean Energy Efforts

by Ankita Singh (The Logical Indian) The ministry said in that the use of microalgae has been strongly considered for the production of biofuels. — Indian scientists have developed low-cost biodiesel from microalgae under the INSPIRE programme of ministry of science and technology. The Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (Inspire) is

September 7, 2020 Read Full Article

Study Finds Wastewater Treatment Plants Could Profit by Processing Food Waste while Reducing Greenhouse Gases

(California Environmental Protection Agency) Upgraded plants could generate $255 million each year — A new report issued today by the California Environmental Protection Agency shows that at least half of California’s landfill-bound food waste could be processed at the state’s wastewater treatment plants and serve as an innovative power source. Waste can be “co-digested” at

September 6, 2020 Read Full Article

DOE Awards $1.3 Million Grant to Study Beneficial Links Between Biofuel Sorghum and Fungus

(AZO Cleantech) For years, researchers have been trying to harness the crop-growing benefits of the symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), for example, can deliver water and nutrients to the roots of plants like sorghum, a grain used to produce biofuels. The US Department of Energy (DOE)

September 4, 2020 Read Full Article

SUNY ESF Receives USDA Grant: Biomass Products Will Reinvigorate Abandoned Land

(SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry) SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), as a member of a mid-Atlantic consortium, has received $630,000 over five years from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop biomass systems and products with the potential to put abandoned lands and people

September 4, 2020 Read Full Article

ARPA-E Announces $16.5 Million for Technologies Supporting the Biofuels Supply Chain

(U.S. Department of Energy/ARPA-E) Today, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy announced $16.5 million in funding for six projects as part of the Systems for Monitoring and Analytics for Renewable Transportation Fuels from Agricultural Resources and Management (SMARTFARM) program. These projects will develop technologies that bridge the data gap in the biofuel

September 4, 2020 Read Full Article

The Use of Forest Biomass for Climate Change Mitigation: Dispelling Some Misconceptions

(IEA Bioenergy) Articles and statements in the media have raised concerns over the climate effects of bioenergy from managed forests2. As some of these statements seem to reflect misconceptions about forest bioenergy, IEA Bioenergy has prepared a brief document presenting key facts about the use of forest biomass for climate

September 1, 2020 Read Full Article

WIU School of Agriculture Part of Second Pennycress Research Grant

(Western Illinois University) Just 12 months after Western Illinois University Agriculture Professor Win Phippen announced the award of a $10 million federal grant to investigate the use of Pennycress as a commercial cash crop, a second grant has been awarded that dovetails into the initial grant and helps ensure a

September 1, 2020 Read Full Article

Hemp Farm in Ohio Shows Possible New Source of Low Cost, Easily Processed Biomass

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) “They seem to be serious,” said Atlantic Biomass’ Bob Kozak reflecting on a tour of a hemp farm in central Ohio. He noted, “They are going all-in, putting their own money into this—no grants and planting 26 acres the first year.” Kozak was there with

September 1, 2020 Read Full Article

Study Predicts Climate Benefits Stemming from the Use of Advanced Biofuels

(AZO CleanTech/Colorado State University) Biofuel and bioenergy systems are integral to scenarios for displacing fossil fuel use and producing negative emissions through carbon capture and storage. But the net greenhouse gas mitigation benefit of these systems has been controversial, due to concerns around carbon losses from changes in land use and

August 31, 2020 Read Full Article

Phenotyping and Trait Predictions: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Sorghum as Energy Crop

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Take genotype + environment + management practices and you’ve got phenotyping, a measurable characteristic or trait of a plant. In this case, we look at sorghum from Purdue University’s Dr. Melba Crawford and how they are using multi-modality sensing and modeling for high throughput phenotyping of

August 31, 2020 Read Full Article

Follow the Rainbow! The Digest Interview: Dr. Chaudhari at Praj Industries on 2020 and What the Future Holds

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … The recent launch of Praj’s Bio-Prism platform comprises of renewable chemicals and materials (RCM) solutions and promises sustainability while reimagining nature. We are witnessing strong interest from various stakeholders and some of the initial discussions have steadily progresses into serious conversations about potential

August 31, 2020 Read Full Article

Biofuels Digest Published Library of Recorded Presentations on Multitude of Bioeconomy Topics

(Biofuels Digest) Recorded presentations for your on-demand review and enjoyment. Just Pick and Click! On BioChannelTV RENEWABLE DIESEL & DME Saola Energy – Adam Belyamani Axens- David Schwalje Oberon – Rebecca Boudreaux Honeywell UOP-Dan Szeezil NextChem-Valerio Coppini Velocys – Jeff McDaniel ENGINE TECH What if everything with a diesel

August 28, 2020 Read Full Article

UB Engineer Joins DOE-Funded Project to Purify Water and Produce Fuel

by Peter Murphy (University at Buffalo) UB engineering professor Ian Bradley and his research group are collaborators on a $2 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy that will study the use of algae to purify wastewater while simultaneously producing biomass for fuel production. The project is led by

August 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Daimler: Jatropha Plant Opens up New Prospects

(Auto123.com/Daimler) The seedlings for the first 100 hectares (250 acres) have been planted. Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India. The company is supporting several village communities in the state of Tamil Nadu with funds and expertise from its already

August 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Low Carbon Cash Cover Crop: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to CoverCress

The Digest recently reported on CoverCress and why the U.S. Department of Energy’s $13 million grant for new high-value feedstock, pennycress, is so key. For an in-depth visual guide on how CoverCress is delivering new farm income and low carbon intensity feedstocks while producing cover crop benefits, how it fits between

August 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Competitive Edge: Scipio Biofuels

(Biofuels Digest) Scipio Biofuels was founded to use the company’s innovative algaculture technology to do its part to alleviate the effects of Carbon Dioxide emissions upon the environment by consuming and converting those emissions in large quantities into biofuels, bulk algae, algae products and co-products. The problems our technology addresses are

August 28, 2020 Read Full Article

Corn, Camelina, Canola: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Yield10 Bioscience

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We reported breaking news from Yield10 Bioscience’s latest development with their genome-edited canola plant lines here and today we have their latest investor presentation highlighting how this agricultural bioscience company is developing innovations to improve crop yields for a variety of feedstocks. From this year’s accomplishments

August 26, 2020 Read Full Article

Till, Baby, Till – $13M DOE Grant Advances New High-Value Feedstock, Pennycress

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a five-year, $13 million grant to a nationwide research project to genetically strengthen Thlaspi arvense, commonly known as pennycress, for use in sustainable energy efforts. CoverCress is an unfunded co-participant in this work, and you can see CoverCress

August 25, 2020 Read Full Article

Captain Canola – Yield10 Biosciences One Step Closer to Canola Feedstock Superhero

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) News just in from Yield10 Bioscience, Inc., a Massachusetts-based agricultural bioscience company, that they have obtained a positive response from USDA-APHIS’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) for its CRISPR genome-edited trait C3007 in canola plant lines developed for increased oil content and now have plans for

August 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Showcase Bioeconomy: Research Wants to Combine Species Protection and Palm Oil Production

(University of Hohenheim) In Sumatra, smallholders in particular have a key function, according to a study on the conversion of rainforests into monocultures and their effects — Oil palm plantations as far as the eye can see. In addition to a dramatic decline in many animal and plant species, such plantations often lead

August 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Terravesta Launches New Video Touting Miscanthus as Biofuel Feedstock

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In the United Kingdom, Terravesta launched a new animation video to spread the word about building a bio-based future with Terravesta Performance Hybrids, and miscanthus grown from seed rather than the usual rhizomes, allowing it to be upscaled 200 times faster. Terravesta is reducing the world’s

August 17, 2020 Read Full Article

How Low-Carbon Can You Go?: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to California Ethanol + Power’s Low-Carbon Sugarcane Project

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The $850 million California Ethanol + Power project has been years in the making – no wonder, there’s ultra low-carbon fuels, sugarcane and biomass-to-power in the complex value mix. Now, the California Green Rush is on, and the project’s developers believe that 2020 is the

August 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Mustard Family Member Seen as Biofuel Source

(Canton Daily Ledger/US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service) Lesquerella (a.k.a. Fendler’s bladderpod and Yellow Top) is a member of the mustard family that’s native to the U.S. Southwest. But Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are now eyeing it as a home-grown source of butanol. Butanol is a cleaner-burning alternative to

August 14, 2020 Read Full Article

Dual-Purpose Hemp Cultivars Have Best Biofuel Potential

by Katie Pratt (University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment) Dual-purpose industrial hemp cultivars show the best potential for coproduction of biofuel and bioproducts, according to University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment study. In the study led by Jian Shi, UK assistant professor in the Department

August 14, 2020 Read Full Article

Green Fuels and INOCASs Team on Macaúba Project in Minas Gerais

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Brazil, Green Fuels and INOCAS announced an agreement to engage in the development of a sustainable fuels value chain in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Using macaúba in novel intercropping and agrosilvopastoral techniques, the partners intend to ensure future sustainable fuel production for distributed energy and land, marine and air transport sectors, as signatories of the Zona da Mata Biokerosene and Renewables Platform (an integrated

August 12, 2020 Read Full Article

Frontiers in the Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Praj’s Bio-Mobility, 2G Ethanol & Renewable Chem

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At ABLC Digital in July, Pramod Kumbhar, President and CTO at Praj Matrix’s R&D Center shared this illuminating slide guide on their Bio-Mobility platform, enfinity – Praj’s 2G ethanol technology, their latest work in marine biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable natural gas, and biodiesel, demo

August 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Success in Promoting Plant Growth for Biodiesel

(Japan Science and Technology Agency/Phys.Org) In JST Strategic Basic Research Programs, a group led by Zhongrui Duan (Researcher, Waseda University) and Motoki Tominaga (Associate professor, Waseda University) succeeded in promoting plant growth and increasing seed yield by heterologous expression of protein from Arabidopsis (artificially modified high-speed motor protein) in Camelina sativa,

August 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Blue Flint Ethanol Studying Biomass as Potential Fuel Source

by Dave Thompson (Prarie Public/Bismark Tribune) Blue Flint Ethanol is considering wheat and corn leftovers as it continues efforts to find new fuel and power sources. The plant is co-located with Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station coal-fired power plant, near Underwood in McLean County. Coal Creek is scheduled to close

August 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Biomass Alliance for Logistics Efficiency and Specifications: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to BALES Bioenergy Feedstock Analysis

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bale analysis, probes, core samples – measuring and analysis of bioenergy feedstocks is key. In this illuminating slide guide from ABLC Digital, the Idaho National Laboratory, Antares Group, ASDI, and B Hames Consulting share how bale probes are a novel sensor for in-field, real-time analysis of

August 5, 2020 Read Full Article

Biofuels Project Led by John Sedbrook Awarded $13 Million from DOE

by Rachel Hatch (News Illinois State University) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a $13 million grant to a nationwide project led by Illinois State University. Professor of Genetics John Sedbrook will head up the project aimed to genetically strengthen a plant for use in sustainable energy efforts. “We’re

August 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Carbon-Optimized Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to ARPA-E’s Carbon Programs

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Carbon is the talk of the town, but what’s the difference between a low-carbon economy and a renewable “new” carbon economy? What’s the role of carbon management in the bioeconomy? What is carbon optimized bioconversion? David Babson, Program Director at the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency

July 31, 2020 Read Full Article

Israelis Turning Watermelon Waste into Fuel of the Future

Racheli Wacks (ZAVIT* Environment and Science News Agency/YNetNews) Malali watermelon is known for its large crunchy seeds, which make a popular snack in Israel, and while 97% of the fruit is discarded in the field, a new study shows that the discarded produce could be used to produce renewable energy —

July 30, 2020 Read Full Article

Exelon Foundation and Exelon Corp. Name First Round Startups of the $20 Million Climate Change Investment Initiative

(Exelon) The year two application process is now open for startup projects addressing climate change in Atlantic City, NJ, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE — The Exelon Foundation and Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC), the nation’s largest generator of carbon-free energy and the largest energy service provider by customer

July 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Black Gold: Iowa’s Soils Can Be a Fort Knox for Carbon Storage

by Zhichao Wang and Jim Ramm (EcoEngineers) Iowa’s fertile farmland could be a soil-based Fort Knox that — instead of gold — stores a wealth of carbon within its underground vaults. How farmers can tap into the potential riches of carbon capture and sequestration and how biofuels producers can benefit from forming

July 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Department of Energy to Provide $68 Million for Bioenergy Crop Research

(Department of Energy) Studies Will Focus on Improving Crop Productivity and Resiliencen — Today (July 28, 2020) the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $68 million in funding over five years for basic research aimed at making bioenergy feedstock crops more productive and resilient. “One key requirement for sustainable bioenergy

July 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Farmers, Researchers Agree: COVID-19, Climate Change Revealed Holes in Agriculture System

by Sarah Spicer (Wichita Eagle) To preserve the environment, mitigate climate change and stabilize the U.S. food system, Midwest farmers should diversify their crops and move away from raising corn and soybeans, researchers say. The current crop system, which was founded after the 1930s Dust Bowl, is causing environmental and economic

July 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Pivotal Research Discovers Practices, Technologies Key to Sustainable Farming

by Anna Marie Tomczyk (Argonne National Laboratory/Phys.Org) … The practices that grain farmers use to produce their crops—managing fertility, tillage practice and crop rotations—influence the overall carbon footprint of U.S. agriculture. By using sustainable practices, farmers could substantially reduce their carbon footprint and become a vital partner to the biofuel

July 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Competitive Edge: Aequor Inc.

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Aequors green, non-toxic TSCA-approved ingredients can lower costs and improve the profitability of biofuel production. By dispersing clumping and killing bacteria that attack yeast, Aequors treatments boosts algae and yeast biomass by up to 40% in half the time, preclude the need for antibiotics

July 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Belgian Wind Farm to Become ‘World’s First’ to Grow Seaweed between Wind Turbines

(EnergyMarketPrice.com) Seaweed can be used as a low carbon foodstuff or as a sustainable biomass fuel — A Belgian wind farm on the North Sea claims it will become the first in the world to grow seaweed between its wind turbines. The Belgian-Dutch consortium “Wier & Wind” will test in the next

July 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Strain Improvements Keep Algae Ponds Growing Strong

(U.S. Department of Energy) … A challenge for algal biofuel development is finding strains of algae best suited for producing copious amounts of oil quickly and under industrial-scale conditions. Maintaining pond health is also challenging—deteriorating health in a small fraction of algal cells within a pond can quickly lead to the

July 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Harnessing Biomass, Manure to Fuel Farms through Multi-institutional Project

(Penn State News) Transdisciplinary research team aims to create new value chains on U.S. farms, with emphasis on the generation of renewable natural gas, improved rural economic outcomes and protection of the environment. — A new federal grant will allow a research team led by Iowa State University, Penn State and

July 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Quality Unconcern

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol producers have sustained adequate production yields in 2020, despite low-quality corn from last year’s harvest. While experts aren’t sure why problems haven’t arisen, improved enzymes and yeasts have probably helped plants stay ‘dialed in.’ … The 2019 growing season presented a wide

July 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Discovery Yields Road Map to Oxygenated Hydrocarbon Production

by Mark E. Griffin (Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) … Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center scientists are enamored with one particular kind of long chain fatty acid, called furan fatty acid, because it could substitute for petroleum-based products including fuel, engine lubricant, medicines and food additives. Now, a team of

July 20, 2020 Read Full Article

New Process Turns Carbon into Cleaner, High-Performance Diesel Biofuel Blendstock

(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Phys.org) A new single-phase catalyst that enables the conversion of renewable and waste carbon into sustainable diesel fuels has been developed through a unique collaboration between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) consortia, Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy (ChemCatBio) and the Co-Optimization

July 17, 2020 Read Full Article

IIT Guwahati Researchers Make Biofuel from Non-Edible Seeds

(Times of India) The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have developed methods to produce biofuels from non-edible seeds. … As plants and trees found in India, such as peela kaner, mahua, gulmohar, neem, rain tree, castor and kusum produce seeds that have oil, from which biofuels can be made,

July 17, 2020 Read Full Article

A ‘Made in Oman’ Biofuel

by Conrad Prabhu (Oman Observer) … New research spearheaded by an Omani scientist and her team has uncovered the potential to harness high-quality biodiesel fuel from these (date) pits. Indeed, a pilot study funded by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has all the hallmarks of a ‘Waste-to-Energy’ success story with the

July 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Sime Darby Plantation Publishes Its Oil Palm Genome to Support the Company’s Ambition for a Deforestation-Free Industry

(Sime Darby) Publication of the research is to enable other researchers to accelerate their ability to increase oil palm yield. Over 10 years of research and RM150 million of investment in R&D has resulted in a much more detailed genome sequence than what has been publicly available before, with identification

July 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Milking Algae Can Produce Eco-Friendly Biofuel

by Hannah C. (The Science Times) … Furthermore, the costs of culturing, collecting, and extracting algae can be countered by a safer way of milking the algae. Alice Uchida and Masaki Ihara led a team from Shinshu University, Japan in the development of cultivating microalgae while tackling three major issues of milking algae. The

July 15, 2020 Read Full Article

New Alliance Backs Use of Renewable Natural Gas in Vehicles in Delaware

(Chesapeake Utilities Corporation/NGV Journal) Chesapeake Utilities Corporation announced a new partnership with CleanBay Renewables Inc. (CleanBay), an enviro-tech company focused on the production of sustainable renewable natural gas, which will generate greenhouse gas credits associated with vehicular usage, and provide Chesapeake Utilities the opportunity to bring additional renewable natural gas to

July 13, 2020 Read Full Article

Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium Launches New Website

by Helena Taveras Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, D.C., the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium released their revamped website which features renovated content describing the FCIC’s eight main research areas. Each research area will enable the consortium to help biorefinery developers understand and mitigate biomass feedstock and process variability. The FCIC develops science-based knowledge

July 13, 2020 Read Full Article

5 Ways to Reduce Costs in Integrated Biorefineries: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Enabling Lower-Cost Biofuels

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) just released a new report that outlines five specific, yet broadly applicable, areas of focus to reduce costs in an integrated biorefinery. This analysis builds upon ongoing R&D strategies to lower the minimum fuel selling price of biofuels to approach $2

July 13, 2020 Read Full Article

Bioenergy Technologies Office 2019 R&D State of Technology

(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) funds research and development (R&D) on technologies necessary for the deployment and production of costcompetitive bioenergy, primarily biofuels. Results of experimental efforts are periodically compiled and compared with benchmark technology designs to assess overall progress. This report

July 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Heard on the Floor at Day 3 of ABLC: 2,834 Attendees, Food, Fuel, Fun at ABLC Digital

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) These days hanging out with friends online chatting about food, fuel, fiber, and more is certainly a great way to spend the day. Once again, a day full of content on day 3 of ABLC Digital from 29 speakers that shared the latest news and updates

July 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Policy and Investment Failures Doomed the Biofuel Revolution

by Todd Woody (Bloomberg Green) To reignite the industry, biofuels need the type of government incentives that allowed solar and wind companies to flourish, analysts say. — … Technology from Honeywell’s subsidiary UOP had refined the camelina into renewable jet fuel, and as we reached cruising altitude executives settled into wide

July 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Chesapeake Utilities, CleanBay Renewables Partner to Produce RNG

by Matthew Mercure (NGT News) Chesapeake Utilities Corp. has entered a new partnership with CleanBay Renewables Inc., an enviro-tech company focused on the production of sustainable renewable natural gas (RNG), that will generate greenhouse gas credits associated with vehicular usage and provide Chesapeake Utilities the opportunity to bring additional RNG to its Delmarva

July 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Heard on the Floor at Day 2 of ABLC: 1325 Attendees, Sideline Chat of ABLC Digital

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Biogas, carbon, renewable diesel, biodiesel, methane, hydrogen, and many new markets, innovations, technologies, novel crops, and more were the talk of the day. On day 2 of ABLC Digital it was chock full of content from 29 speakers that shared the latest content with 583

July 9, 2020 Read Full Article

Alliance BioEnergy Begins Testing 4th Gen Prototype of its Revolutionary Green Renewable Energy Technology

(Alliance BioEnergy/WallStreetOnline) Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. (PINK: ALLM).Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc., is pleased to announce that its 4th generation Cellulose-to-Sugar (“CTS”) prototype is now completed and installed in our lab. Testing is in preparation and will begin this week. This 4th generation design of the Company’s revolutionary green renewable energy technology

July 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Valero & Diamond Green Diesel Joint Venture: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Renewable Diesel

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Diamond Green Diesel is North America’s largest renewable diesel plant, Valero is the largest renewable fuels producer in North America, and Darling Ingredients is the world’s largest independent processor of animal by-products, according to this illuminating slide guide that dives into renewable diesel’s margins, mandates, blending,

July 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the City of Calgary with Steeper Energy Canada Ltd.

(Steeper Energy Canada) The City of Calgary “The City” and Steeper Energy Canada Ltd. (“Steeper Energy”) are pleased to announce a new cooperation agreement, by way of an MoU, regarding the future transformation of The City’s sewage sludge and other urban generated bio-organic wastes for the production of sustainable biofuels

July 6, 2020 Read Full Article

New Candidate for Raw Material Synthesis through Gene Transfer

(Karlsruhe Institute of Technology/Phys.Org) Cyanobacteria hardly need any nutrients and use the energy of sunlight. Bathers are familiar with these microorganisms—often incorrectly called “blue-green algae”—as they often occur in waters. A group of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has discovered that the multicellular species Phormidium lacuna can

July 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Potential Feedstocks, Biofuel Markets, Corn and Cellulosic Ethanol: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Increasing Feedstock Production for Biofuels

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)The Biomass Research and Development Board published a report that looks at how to address the constraints surrounding availability of biomass feedstocks for biofuels. Four questions guide the analysis: What feedstocks and at what price? What is the regional distribution of feedstock production? What are the

July 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Digging into Dung and Anaerobic Digestion: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Biogas and RNG from Manure

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) On last week’s DigestConnect webinar, Christopher Bush, Founder of Canada-based Catalyst Agri-Innovations Society shared this fun and informative slide guide complete with poop pictures and more importantly, the reason why cow manure and farm waste makes a fantastic renewable biogas and renewable natural gas. From

June 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Save the Rainforests, Use Degraded Land AND Produce Fuel and Food? Soleá Looks at How Macaúba Could Solve Many Problems

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … Macaúba is known for its high productivity and adaptability to the most adverse climate conditions and even better, the fruit’s shell, pulp, endocarp, and almond can be converted into a range of food products, fuels and hydrocarbons, and other biomaterials including chemicals and

June 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Bamboo Forests in the Desert

David Liepman (Disruptive Nation) … Strong commercial applications of bamboo include sustainable branded products such as pulp paper, timber, lumber and textiles. And, in line with tissue and textile major brand owner concerns, bamboo is twice as soft as cotton and doesn’t require pesticides and fertilizers in its crops. As a

June 26, 2020 Read Full Article

Energy Transition in Times of Coronavirus: A Challenge and an Opportunity

by Pierroberto Folgiero (NextChem/Biofuels Digest) … The challenge today is to plan an industrial recovery which must be rapid but durable at the same time and prepare the industry to reduce risks and economic losses deriving from pollution and climate changes, with their effects impacting on many sector industries. These risks are tangible,

June 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Oman Makes Headway with $430mln Algae Farm Project

by Conrad Prabhu (Oman Daily Observer/Zawya) UK-based SuSeWi is leading the development of a 100,000-tons per annum capacity farm in the Sultanate — Oman hopes to make a landmark foray into the multibillion dollar global algae farming industry with a maiden investment in a mega project on the South Al

June 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Renewable Fuels Expansion: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo’s Next-Gen Renewable Fuels

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Gevo is developing a platform to fund expansion projects in the next phase of its unique, next generation renewable fuels business. Their commercial-scale facilities are converting agricultural, forestry and other feedstocks to high value, low pollutant, low carbon substitutes for gasoline and jet fuel. So

June 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Smart Farms of the Future: Making Bioenergy Crops More Environmentally Friendly

by Julie Chao (Joint BioEnergy Institute) Farmers have enough worries – between bad weather, rising costs, and shifting market demands – without having to stress about the carbon footprint of their operations. But now a new set of projects by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), including scientists at the

June 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Macaúba as Sustainable Feedstock for Biofuels and More: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Soleá Oils and Bioproducts

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Macaúba as a biofuel feedstock has lots to offer, like its high productivity per ton/hectare surpassing that of soy, sunflower, rapeseed, and palm oil, and that it can grow even on degraded land making it a more sustainable feedstock to consider. And Soleá knows that, which

June 22, 2020 Read Full Article

Neste Develops New Solutions to Decrease the Use of Crude Oil and Increases Research and Development in Finland

(Neste) Neste launches a new research project which aims at developing sustainable and globally scalable raw materials and technology solutions for transportation fuels and the production of chemicals and polymers. These new solutions decrease the use of crude oil and tackle climate change. The new technologies will be based on

June 19, 2020 Read Full Article

Climate Mitigation Potential of Agricultural Conservation Practices Is Significant!

(Solutions from the Land) A blog posted on the World Resources Institute (WRI) website last month dismissed the potential for regenerative agriculture and related systems to contribute to large-scale emissions reduction and carbon dioxide (CO2) removal – cuts that will be necessary to hold global warming below the 2-degree Celsius

June 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Scouting Report: We look at 4 Microbial Phenoms, Who’s Headed for the Major Leagues?

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 1. Advanced Yeast for sugarfree gum … 2. Merging light, enzymes … 3. BioLumic snags phenom CEO … Rooted in more than a decade of research into UV light treatments in plants and spun out from Massey University in New Zealand, BioLumic’s technology offers seed

June 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Profitable Growth Through Renewable Solutions: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Neste

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Everyone wants to dominate the world, right? But Neste wants to do it in a nice way by becoming the global leader in renewable and circular solutions. There are 3 ways they are working on this lately – 1) expanding global reach with new offices in

June 16, 2020 Read Full Article

Weed Wizard: Professor Alters Plant Genes to Create Wonder Crop

by Rachel Hatch (Illinois State University News) … An ISU professor of genetics, (John) Sedbrook is devoted to integrated plant biology and bioenergy, meaning his research focuses on bringing out positive genetic traits in plants. “We’re making mutations that are good,” he said. “That is the whole story behind domestication,

June 15, 2020 Read Full Article

Using Wastewater to Produce Better Algae for Biofuels

by Carrie Talus (New Mexico Consortium) New Mexico Consortium scientist, Joseph Msanne, along with colleagues Shawn Starkenburg and Juergen Polle, recently published an article titled An Assessment of Heterotrophy and Mixotrophy in Scenedesmus and its Utilization in Wastewater Treatment, in the June 2020 issue of Algal Research. This review looks at whether

June 15, 2020 Read Full Article

Safflower Oil Hailed by Scientists as Possible Recyclable, Biodegradable Replacement for Petroleum

by Tim Lee (ABC News) …Victorian grain grower David Jochinke, who participated in the trials, said the prospect of pioneering a biofuel was exciting. “To have a product that needs very little refining, is biodegradable, is a bio-energy, is a bio-fuel, is something that displaces petroleum, something that’s been traditionally used

June 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Norsk e-Fuel Planning Europe’s First Commercial H2-Based Renewable Aviation Fuel Facility in Norway

(Norak e-Fuel) Norsk e-Fuel is planning Europe’s first commercial plant for hydrogen-based renewable aviation fuel in Norway Leading industry consortium joins forces to make unlimited renewable fuel a reality to achieve climate-neutral transportation Norsk e-fuel is generating renewable fuels from CO2 & water using 100% renewable electricity Located in Herøya,

June 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Poop to Power – $30-40M Anaerobic Digestion RNG Deal between Bioenergy DevCo and Cheseapeake Utilities

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Big project news came in that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation entered into an agreement with Bioenergy DevCo to purchase biogas generated from organic materials at BDC’s facilities in Delaware which will be processed into renewable natural gas. The program uses excess poultry organics to create

June 8, 2020 Read Full Article

How to Get Electricity from Algae: Developed at ETU “LETI”

(St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University) Researchers from St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI” have developed a model of biofuel cell for electricity generation using cyanobacteria. — Nowadays, the engineering of environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources is one of the most important problems of humanity. The Engineering Center for Microtechnology and Diagnostics

June 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Smart Farms of the Future: Making Bioenergy Crops More Environmentally Friendly

by Julie Chao (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Berkeley Lab launches three new projects to advance sustainable agricultural practices … The three projects, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), leverage Berkeley Lab’s strengths in artificial intelligence, sensors, and ecological biology. They aim to quantify and reduce the carbon intensity of

June 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Licella and Unnmukt Urja Sign MOU to Explore Rice Straw Residues to Biofuel Opportunity in India

(Licella) India generates approximately 683 million tons of dry agricultural biomass every year. Biomass residues generated from rice crops account for approximately 178 million tons of this. The current practice to deal with rice straw residues (the waste biomass left behind after harvesting) is to burn it. Widespread agricultural burning is

June 1, 2020 Read Full Article

Technical Report Comparison of Biofuel Life Cycle Analysis Tools Phase 2, Part 2: Biochemical 2G Ethanol Production and Distribution

by Antonio Bonomi, Otávio Cavalett, Bruno Colling Klein, Mateus Ferreira Chagas, and Nariê Rinke Dias Souza (Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR)/ National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)/IEA Bioenergy) Second-generation (2G) or lignocellulosic biofuels are deemed advanced in view of the several advantages when compared to first generation

May 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Could We Develop Plants to Absorb Our Excess Carbon? Salk Plant Biologists Have a Bold Solution to Climate Change

(Massive Science/The Salk Institute) … Plants — historically speaking, our most reliable friends — have evolved to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. They use energy from the sun to convert CO2 and water into sugar and other important molecules, generating oxygen as a byproduct that sustains life on our

May 29, 2020 Read Full Article

Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI2) Energy Seed Grants Awarded

(Maryland Energy Innovation Institute) The Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI2) awarded the third round of their Energy Innovation Seed Grants to six projects across the University System of Maryland. The grants are intended to bridge the gap between academic transformative laboratory research results and prototype demonstrations while fostering commercialization through technology development, creation and/or

May 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Palm Biofuel, Agro-Based Pharmaceuticals, Others Can Replace Petroleum, Says Ikuenobe

(The Guardian) … Oil palm can fetch Nigeria as much revenue as the crude oil can so said the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele. But self-inflicted challenges that de-ranked the country from the largest producer in the pre-independence era to the fifth producer are getting compounded

May 21, 2020 Read Full Article

Amid Oil Price Crash, a New Hope for Biofuels

by Tina Casey (Triple Pundit) … (T)there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of biofuels, as the field continues to evolve remarkably from where it was a decade ago. … Rather than letting the rest of the plant go to waste, the focus has turned to developing enzymes that can

May 19, 2020 Read Full Article

Zounds, 40% More Algae! Leading Paradoxically to the Big Feedstock Problem

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A new technology that produces a doubling of overall biomass in algae and 40 percent in camelina has appeared on the horizon, and I’d like to draw your attention to this work in The Plant Journal and this one in Nature Research. If you’ve been a fan of

May 13, 2020 Read Full Article

Solve Invasive Seaweed Problem by Turning It into Biofuels and Fertilisers

(University of Bath/Phys.Org) UK researchers have developed a cheap and simple way of creating biofuel and fertiliser from seaweed, whilst removing plastic from the oceans and cleaning up tourist beaches in the Caribbean and Central America. Millions of tonnes of rotting seaweed washes up on beaches of Mexico, the Caribbean and

May 13, 2020 Read Full Article

Can U.S. Homegrown Sorghum Help the Ag Industry Get through Covid-19?

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) It’s been only two years since the Environmental Protection Agency approved sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard, but a lot has happened since then. The EPA’s announcement marked a significant step toward leveling the playing field for ethanol plants extracting oil

May 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Gene Edited Algae and Microbes to Make Fuel on Mars

by Brian Wang (Next BIG Future) NASA NIAC fund work to use bioorganisms to perform atmospheric in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Utilizing 100% ISRU for propellant production, they aim to reduce the Entry Descent Landing (EDL) mass of a crewed mission to Mars by approximately 7 tons. This technology will enable long-term human

May 4, 2020 Read Full Article

Vale Male: Big Changes at the BioEnergy Technologies Office

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … If you’ve noticed that DOE is taking on a much more fundamental bit of science than we’ve seen in the past decade — a move away from catalyzing demonstrations and scale-up and towards more fundamental questions that might unlock industry’s scale-up purse-strings via developing breakthroughs

April 30, 2020 Read Full Article

Anaerobic Digestion and Farm Powered RNG: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Vanguard’s Renewable Natural Gas

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Cow poop. It’s a problem for farmers across the country, something that has to be dealt with, something that environmentalists and vegetarians often cite as a reason to cut your steak intake, but Vanguard Renewables is capturing the latent methane in animal manure, converting it

April 28, 2020 Read Full Article

What Happened to Nelson’s Algae-to-Biofuel Company that Was Going to Change the World?

by Nikki Macdonald (Stuff) … It was one of many pieces of breathless hype to come out of the Nelson company – the fuel was actually 95 per cent ordinary diesel and 5 per cent bio-diesel. But the stunt received worldwide attention and spurred a flurry of investment, research and

April 27, 2020 Read Full Article

The Competitive Edge: Marine BioEnergy, Inc.

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … We can add capacity for energy by turning to the massive spaces in the open oceans to gather sunlight to grow abundant, competitive biomass for carbon-neutral fuels. For scale, we need 220,000 square kilometers to grow kelp to replace 10% of fossil liquid fuels used

April 24, 2020 Read Full Article

Don’t Look to Mature Forests to Soak Up Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Results of Australian Study May Have Impact on New York State Carbon Neutrality Goals

(Suny College of Environmental Science and Forestry) Research published today in Nature suggests mature forests are limited in their ability to absorb “extra” carbon as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase. These findings may have implications for New York state’s carbon neutrality goals. Dr. John Drake, assistant professor in ESF’s Department of

April 23, 2020 Read Full Article

Researchers Model Spatial and Temporal Consequences of Increased Woody Biomass Use on the Global Forest Ecosystem

(University of Maine) Incentivizing both sequestration and avoidance of emissions— using a carbon rental or carbon tax and subsidy approach — versus only a carbon tax encourages protection of natural forests by valuing the standing stock, according to a new study led by Georgia Institute of Technology. In their study, the

April 17, 2020 Read Full Article

Oil Boom: ZeaKal Boosts Soybean Oil Output by 18%, Protein up 3%, No Drop in Yield

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … ZeaKal, which announced that its multiyear field trials of its PhotoSeed technology – and their soybeans increased the per acre production of oil and protein by 18 percent and three percent respectively without any penalty to seed yield. It’s probably the only oil glut you

April 17, 2020 Read Full Article

The Pongamia Prospect: Tree from India May Breathe New Life into Florida’s Ghost Groves”

by Anthony Westbury (Treasure Coast Business) … Pongamia is a tree crop with several key advantages over citrus. It grows wild in India, where its pods have traditionally been crushed to yield lamp oil. The left-over meal is often used for livestock feed or fertilizer. Now, a 9-year-old American startup,

April 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Coral-Inspired Biomaterials Could Lead to Highly Efficient Biofuel Production

(University of San Diego Scripps Institute of Oceanography) Biologists and engineers design 3D printed corals that could help energy production and coral reefs — Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, and the University of Cambridge, U.K., have 3D printed coral-inspired

April 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Bio-Restore Workshop Presentations and Workshop Summary Published

(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has released the “Bio-Restore Workshop Summary Report.” This report summarizes the results of a BETO-sponsored public workshop held at Argonne National Laboratory on September 25–26, 2019. The Bio-Restore Workshop brought together experts to

April 8, 2020 Read Full Article

Making Biofuels Cheaper by Putting Plants to Work

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Biofuels are an important part of the broader strategy to replace petroleum-based gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels that we use today. However, biofuels have so far not reached cost parity with conventional petroleum fuels. One strategy to make biofuels more competitive is to make plants do some

April 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Reporters’ Notebook: The 10 Most Overlooked Bioeconomy Stories of the Week

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Amidst a tsunami of wall-to-wall ‘Rona coverage, a series of storylines have been lost in the shuffle that will have impacts near and wide-ranging for the bioeconomy, some of them relating directly to testing, scale-up and deployment of health remedies — some in the broader

April 3, 2020 Read Full Article

Researchers Hope New Seed-Based Miscanthus Hybrid Can Be Used as Feedstock for Biochemicals

by Liz Gyekye (BioMarket Insights) “These seeded hybrids are vital to our future business model and the rapid deployment of miscanthus as part of the climate change solution.” — Researchers at the Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences (IBERS) Aberystwyth University, with funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

April 2, 2020 Read Full Article

‘Tequila’ Powered Biofuels More Efficient than Corn or Sugar: Ethanol from Agave Could Be Used for Biofuels and Hand Sanitiser

by Marcus Storm (University of Sydney) The plant better known for making tequila requires no irrigation and produces comparable or better yields of ethanol than sugar or corn. Economic analysis shows a first-generation crop will need government support to kickstart an industry, researchers say. The agave plant used to make

April 2, 2020 Read Full Article

Bill Gates-Led Fund Invests in Synthetic Palm Oil Startup

by Akshat Rathi (Bloomberg Green) C16 Biosciences uses yeast to convert food waste and industrial byproducts into a sustainable alternative. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, helmed by Bill Gates, is leading an investment round of $20 million for C16 Biosciences, a New York-based startup, which is working on making sustainable alternatives for palm oil. The

April 1, 2020 Read Full Article

Bio-Based Chemicals: A 2020 Update

Ed de Jong, Heinz Stichnothe, Geoff Bell and Henning Jørgensen (EIA Bioenergy) Since the first issue of the IEA Bioenergy Task 42 report on bio-based chemicals in 2011, the importance of a circular economy has become evident. In the transition to a circular economy, chemicals and materials produced from biomass will

April 1, 2020 Read Full Article

Biodiesel Production: What Next for Zim?

by Nyasha Kavhiza (The Herald) A technical analysis of the current situation will point to the lack of feedstock as the main problem stalling biodiesel production in Zimbabwe. … Instead of discarding the project all together, the Government and all stakeholders involved ought to glean lessons from the experience and address the

March 25, 2020 Read Full Article

In Kenya, Herders Turn an Invasive Cactus into Biofuel

by Robert Kibet (Deutsch Welle) The prickly pear cactus has taken over thousands of hectares of grazing land in arid parts of Kenya. Now herders, NGOs and scientists are teaming up to fight back against the prickly menance that’s deadly to livestock. … The invasive Opuntia stricta, or prickly pear, was reportedly

March 13, 2020 Read Full Article

Safran to Study Biofuels Production in Southwest France

(Safran) Safran Helicopter Engines is joining Euralis, Teréga, ACD (Aquitaine Chimie Durable), Chemparc, Agri Sud Ouest Innovation, Xylofutur, CCI Pau Béarn, Pau and Pays de l’Adour University and the Aerospace Valley consortium to study the feasibility of producing aviation biofuels in southwest France. A Letter Of Intent (LOI) has been signed

March 11, 2020 Read Full Article

Biomass Fuels Can Significantly Mitigate Global Warming

(American Associates/Ben-Gurion University of the Negev/EurekAlert!) Biomass fuels derived from various grasses could significantly mitigate global warming by reducing carbon, according to a long-term field study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Michigan State University (MSU). In a new paper published in Environmental Science and Technology, the

March 10, 2020 Read Full Article

Rural Climate Action in the U.S. and China

(Wilson Center) In China and the United States–the top two emitters of greenhouse gasses–most climate policies and civil society campaigns have focused on reducing fossil fuels.. At this China Environment Forum (CEF) meeting, speakers will instead shine a light on the need for rural climate action that helps farming communities become

March 6, 2020 Read Full Article

Most Efficient Source of Fuel May Be Tiniest Organism

by Shelley Schlender (VOA) … The tiny single-celled, plantlike organisms known as algae are more efficient than other organisms at converting sunlight and carbon dioxide into the raw materials needed for foods, products and fuels. And not just a few specialized fuels. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado,