Pentagon, World's Biggest Fossil Fuel User, Shops for Biofuels

October 23, 2012

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by Andrew Herndon (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Gevo Inc. (GEVO), Syntroleum Corp. and Solazyme Inc. (SZYM) may be among a “small set” of biofuel producers vying for supply contracts from the U.S. Defense Department, the world’s largest consumer of fossil fuels, analysts said.
The agency is preparing to announce about five initial grants to companies making fuels from renewable materials to power jet fighters, battleships and other vehicles.
...Winning one of the small initial grants will land recipients on the short list for large, long-term fuel-supply contracts, according to Pavel Molchanov, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc. in Houston.
... Recipients of the first grants under the Advanced Drop-In Biofuel Production Project will receive about $6 million in March. In the program’s second phase nine months later, as many as three companies will share as much as $180 million to help fund commercial production facilities.
... The program requires applicants to demonstrate viable supply chains and scalable technologies. READ MORE