by Katie Fehrenbacher (Earth2Tech) Wow, for a biofuel startup few have heard of, KiOR has raised a whole lot of money. According to an amended filing, KiOR, has now raised a whopping $110 million from backers including Khosla Ventures. KiOR was
advanced biofuels production
Back TO HOMECellulosic Ethanol Projects Progressing
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Magazine) Both Abengoa Bioenergy and Poet LLC hope to have the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the world and expect to begin operation in the next few years. Poet’s Emmetsburg, Iowa, plant is slated for operation
July 24, 2010 Read Full Article
New Tech Uses Coal Steam to Produce Cellulosic Ethanol
by Tiffany Kaiser (Daily Tech) Inbicon, a developer of biomass refineries in Kalundborg, Denmark, has turned wheat straw into cellulosic ethanol and is calling it "The New Ethanol." To mass produce this ethanol, the company also announced its plan to open
July 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels One Step Closer to Deployment in Europe
(Novozymes) ...Relying on agricultural and forestry residues and waste as feedstock, advanced biofuels can spur rural growth, promote job creation, increase energy security and save up to 90% CO2 emission. “Technology for advanced biofuels exists, but the sector needs clear political
July 21, 2010 Read Full Article
BP and Verenium Announce Pivotal Biofuels Agreement
(Verenium) BP to acquire Verenium's cellulosic biofuels business, including Jennings, San Diego facilities - - Verenium to receive $98.3 million and retain its commercial enzyme business including validated technology platform to apply to all business segments including biofuels BP and Verenium Corporation July
July 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Two Companies Isolate Pyrolysis Oil Fractions, Hydrogen from Algae, in Path towards Scalable Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...OriginOil ... has announced a hydrogen harvesting system, while an early-stage company based in Iowa, Avello Bioenergy, has developed a technology for fast pyrolysis oils that “improves, collects and separates bio-oil into various liquid fractions,” making
July 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Green Victory: the Flip Side of “NIMBY, NUMBEE and Nod”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Meanwhile, one suggestion that emerged was, in the grand tradition of funding the Statue of Liberty, for the public to do what Congress and Big Business won’t – that is, fund Green Victory out of
July 02, 2010 Read Full Article
First Commercial-Scale Algae Production Incubator
(National Algae Association) The National Algae Association, a 501(3)6 non-profit association, located in The Woodlands, Texas is starting a new algae production incubator to help lower the cost and risks in the algae production industry. It will be the first commercial-scale algae production
June 25, 2010 Read Full Article
USDA Issues Landmark Plan for Achieving 36 Billion Gallon Renewable Fuel Standard Targets by 2022
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the USDA released its highly-anticipated “Regional Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022.”... USDA identified dedicated energy crops, primarily switchgrass, as the practical platform for achieving a 20
June 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Will the BP Gulf Tragedy Spur Faster Adoption of Biofuels?
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) ...Although first-generation biofuels account for more than 99% of U.S. biofuel production, there are several hundred companies developing third- and fourth-generation "drop-in" biofuels whose chemical compositions mimic the molecular characteristics of petroleum. ...These companies are using a
June 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Smart Bioenergy: Guiding Sustainable Bio-Based Energy and Fuels Development
(Union of Concerned Scientists) The Billion Gallon Challenge: Advanced Biofuels from diverse sources such as grasses and agricultural waste hold the promise of sustainably reducing U.S. oil dependence and global warming emissions. Unfortunately the advanced biofuels industry not been able to
June 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Hard Choices Now: Financing the Renewable Fuel Standard
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Bottom line – if you make the ethanol blender credit go away, but stand behind the mandate and Shift the spending towards investment tax credits and loan guarantees, it is possible to do the following: 1.
June 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Workshop Precedes FEW
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) All biofuels producers- from biobutanol to renewable diesel plus cellulosic ethanol and more-must work together to promote the biofuel industry interests, said Michael McAdams. The president of the Advanced Biofuels Association gave the keynote
June 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Can 3rd and 4th Gen Biofuels Wean Us from Our Petro-Addiction?
by Eric Wesoff (GreenTechMedia) With images of oil-drenched wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico fresh in our minds, we look at innovations in biofuels that might displace our petroleum habit. ...Joshua Kagan of Greentech Media Research reports on Third and Fourth Generation
June 08, 2010 Read Full Article
The 30 Most Transformative Technologies of 2010
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) (S)ubscriber voting begins for the 30 Most Transformative Technologies of 2010. In all, 149 companies were nominated in 19 categories. Categories are: (Micro) Algae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms (20) (Macro) Algae technologies (5) Biobutanol technologies (4) Biodiesel systems (2) Cellulosic ethanol
June 08, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Announces up to $11 Million for Biofuels Technology Development (Pyrolysis)
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $11 million in funding over three years for research and development in the area of thermochemical conversion of biomass into advanced biofuels that are compatible with existing
June 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Avantium Launches YXY, the New Green Building Block for Materials and Fuels
(24-7 Press Release) Green solutions are the holy grail of industrial innovation today. Every company is anxiously looking for answers to the renewable challenges our world is facing. However, most of these solutions are not stimulating enough. They often build
May 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Thailand Biofuels: Feedstocks and Market Opportunities
by Ben Lazarus (Biofuels Digest, American World Services) Looks at cassava, sugarcane, cellulosic feedstocks (rice husks, bagasse), spare production capacity, and export opportunities in Thailand. READ MORE
May 17, 2010 Read Full Article
2010-2011: Pivotal Years for Next Generation Biofuels
(PRNewswire) The number of next generation biofuels projects reached 200 globally, a report from the Global Biofuels Center (GBC) recently announced, beyond the more than 100 Brazilian bioethanol facilities that will qualify as "Advanced Biofuels" in the U.S. These projects include
May 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Shell Says Share of Renewables in Transport Fuel Set to Double
by Eduard Gismatullin (Bloomberg Business Week) Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, expects the share of renewable energy in transport fuels worldwide to double over the next 10 years. The portion of renewables is already approaching 10 percent because of
May 14, 2010 Read Full Article
The Renewable Fuel Standard and Cellulosic Biofuels: Prospects and Challenges
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On March 18, 2010, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing on the state of the cellulosic biofuel industry and its prospects for producing the volumes required by the federal Renewable Fuel Standard
May 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the History of Biofuels
by Jeremy Shere (EnergyWorld.com) excerpts from his in-process book on the history of biofuels: ... Promoting alcohol as motor fuel would benefit not only the automobile industry, Ford thought, but also help farmers would find a ready and lucrative market for their surplus
May 06, 2010 Read Full Article
BP Biofuels Chief Calls Biofuels “The New Oil”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the Opening Address at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in Washington, BP Biofuels CEO Philip New said that advanced biofuels “will require partnerships if it is to succeed,” but described biofuels as “the new
May 03, 2010 Read Full Article
UOP: An Unlikely Cleantech Leader
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) The petro-chemical company uses its core competency to expand into biofuels. Unlikely as it may seem, UOP is leading the charge in developing catalysts required to transform feedstocks into "drop in" fuels like renewable diesel, jet fuel,
April 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Ethanol: Expanding Options, Identifying Obstacles
by Ann Perry (USDA ARS) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are figuring out how to turn wheat straw into ethanol “gold,” and learning more about the bacteria that can “infect” ethanol plants and interfere with fuel production. ...But the same environments
April 09, 2010 Read Full Article
America's Biofuel Muddle Coming Up Empty: America Will Have Trouble Meeting Its Ambitious Goals for Biofuels
(The Economist) The renewable-fuel standard released in February by America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) paints an ambitious picture of biofuels’ future. It wants the amount of the stuff used as transport fuel to climb from 13 billion gallons (49 billion
April 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Department of Energy to Invest Nearly $18 Million for Advanced Biofuels User Facility
U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Cathy Zoi today announced that the Department’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will build an advanced biofuels process development facility aimed at speeding the commercialization of advanced biofuels by
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Washington Post Supplement Highlights Advanced Biofuels
“Advanced Biofuels: Your Guide to Sustainable Energy Sources” was published on March 31, 2010, by MediaPlanet as a supplement to the Capitol Hill editions of the Washington Post and will be distributed at coming advanced biofuels conferences and events. As part
April 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Botswana Plans a 50m-Litre Per Year Biodiesel Plant
by Mokagedi Gaotlhobogwe (MmegiOnline) Coal-rich Botswana has announced its ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions by setting up a 50 million-litre per year bio-diesel processing plant to be fed from jatropha (oil seed) plantations by 2012. The project will be funded
March 29, 2010 Read Full Article
Highlands County, FL, Still Waiting for Biofuels
by Gary Pinnell (Highlands Today) In April 2008, Congressman Tim Mahoney told county commissioners that Highlands was poised to become "the biofuels capital of America." They were expected to produce hundreds of jobs and millions in revenues. Two years have gone
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Tracking Database from Biofuels Digest
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, Biofuels Digest released its updated Advanced Biofuels tracking database, release 1.1, with advanced biofuels production capacity now projected to reach 1.704 billion gallons by the end of 2013, based on announced projects and
March 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Global Renewable Fuels Alliance Calls OPEC Report Self-Serving: Report Confirms Energy Security Risks
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance responded today to a report produced for the International Energy Forum to be discussed this month at their meeting in Cancun, Mexico. The report, co-written by the former Secretary General of the OPEC oil cartel,
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
International Energy Forum's Assessment of Biofuels Potential and Limitiations
by Claude Mandil and Adnan Shihab-Eldin (International Energy Forum) Biofuels production, driven by the potential to contribute to energy security, climate change mitigation and rural development, has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Several countries have initiated policies to support
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Southeast Asia – the Bio-Based Arabia?
by Per Dahlen (Portelet Asia and Biofuels Digest) “Saudi Arabia is the largest crude oil producer in the world and produces some 11 million barrels per day. Southeast Asia has the potential of producing 14 million barrels per day of renewable
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Transitioning from 1st Generation to Advanced Biofuels
by GTM Research in partnership with Enterprise Florida, Inc. In recent years, the growth in the U.S. biofuels production and consumption has been driven largely by policy measures. Mandates are requiring increasing amounts of biofuels to be blended into the
March 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Solid Separation, Product Drying and Oil Extraction Opportunities
by Tony Prehm (Virtuoso Biofuels Services) Prepared for the March 2010 National Algal Association conference in Las Vegas, reviews a variety of processes used in algal biomass-to-biofuels production, including separating solids, drying the product and extracting oils. The processes are
March 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels Could Create Jobs, Reduce Pollution in Chesapeake Bay Region, Report Finds
Homegrown energy could reduce millions of pounds of nutrients from entering the Chesapeake Bay’s streams, creeks and rivers and create more than 18,000 jobs in the region, according to a new report released by the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the
January 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Future Biofuels
by Herman Trabish (New Energy News and REnewable Energy.com) ... Despite enormous amounts of money poured into research and development, a way to economically produce second-generation (non-crop) biofuels at commercial scale has eluded the most ambitiously dedicated lab scientists and the
December 30, 2009 Read Full Article
INEOS Bio JV Selected for $50 Million U.S. Department of Energy Grant for Commercial BioEnergy Facility
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it has selected INEOS Bio and its partner, New Planet Energy, for a $50 million dollar grant for its advanced bioenergy facility in Indian River County, Florida. The grant was announced jointly by DOE Secretary
December 11, 2009 Read Full Article
Amyris Signs Letters of Intent Agreements with Bunge, Cosan and Guarani
Amyris Brasil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. today announced that it has entered into letter of intent agreements with three sugar and ethanol producers in Brazil, Bunge Limited, Cosan and Açúcar Guarani, with the purpose of partnering
December 09, 2009 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuel Capacity Expected to Increase from 6.88 Mgy in 2009 to 640.18 Mgy in 2012
Biofuels Digest released a downloadable, consolidated table of cellulosic ethanol and advanced biofuels production, including current production as of December 2009, and planned introductions of new capacity through 2012. The Digest found in its review of operating pilot and demonstration
December 03, 2009 Read Full Article
Plant and Microbial Research Seeks Biofuel Production from Lignocellulose
by Laura E. Bartley, Pamela C. Ronald (California Agriculture) A key strategy for biofuel production is making use of the chemical energy stored in plant cell walls. Cell walls are a strong meshwork of sugar chains and other polymers that encircle
December 02, 2009 Read Full Article
The Evolution Of An Eco-Prophet
by Sharon Begley (Newsweek) Interview with Al Gore: ... But next-generation biofuels are a different story, he says. "The pathway that I think is likely to be the winner is enzymatic hydrolysis, which essentially uses engineered enzymes to break down the cellulose,
November 14, 2009 Read Full Article
US House Agriculture Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Future of Next Generation Biofuels
Tim Holden (D-PA) chair of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research, held hearings concentrating on the future of next generation biofuels. Dallas Tonsager, Under Secretary for Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture admitted in prepared testimony that
October 30, 2009 Read Full Article
Big Oil Looks to Biofuels
by Guy Chazan (Wall Street Journal) The biofuels industry, hit hard by the global credit crunch, is getting a shot in the arm from a new source–the oil majors. Among the oil companies, BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC have
October 24, 2009 Read Full Article
Total Intends to Take an Active Part in BioTfueL France’s Second-Generation Biodiesel Pilot Program
As Europe’s leading automotive fuel refiner and marketer, Total is committed to stepping up the development of second-generation biofuels, which are needed to improve the environmental profile of crop-based fuels and avoid the use of food crops as feedstock. Already a
October 12, 2009 Read Full Article
Biofuels Producers Warn They Are Going to Fall Far Short of Federal Mandates
by Jessica Leber (New York Times Climatewire) The emerging cellulosic biofuel industry, stung by frozen credit markets, ineffective federal loan programs and lagging federal policies, will fall far short of mandated production volumes over the next few years. U.S. EPA is
October 10, 2009 Read Full Article
Bioenergy to Fuel Growth in Regional Australia
(The Land FarmOnline) A new analysis on second generation biofuels, conducted by Southern Cross University's Centre for Plant Conservation Genetics, shows that by 2025, 30 per cent of the country's petrol could be provided by bioenergy. "This would involve the
August 13, 2009 Read Full Article
Joule Biotechnologies Introduces Sunlight-based Process For Producing Renewable Transportation Fuels
Joule Biotechnologies unveiled its breakthrough Helioculture™ technology—a revolutionary process that harnesses sunlight to directly convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into SolarFuel™ liquid energy. This eco-friendly, direct-to-fuel conversion requires no agricultural land or fresh water, and leverages a highly scalable system capable
July 31, 2009 Read Full Article
US Dept of Energy Office of Biomass Programs Peer Review Presentations Available
All Programs in the U.S Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, are required to conduct a Peer Review of their funded projects on an annual or biannual schedule. The Office of Biomass Program (OBP) conducts these reviews by
July 17, 2009 Read Full Article
Western Biofuels Introduces New Process
by Susanne Retka Schill. Western Biofuels Inc. released the results of an independent validation test and announced plans to build a 1.4 MMgy demonstration plant for a new biofuel process. Fuel chemist Nicholas Irving, president and founder of Western Biofuels,
June 16, 2009 Read Full Article
Biofuels Digest Publishes Special Online Report on Aviation Biofuels
Biofuels Digest presents a special report on biofuels aviation, including coverage of feedstocks, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, engine makers and policy. READ MORE
May 25, 2009 Read Full Article
Defining Sustainability: Science, Standards, and Scorecards: Challenges and Science Needed to Describe Sustainable Biofuel Production
by Jeffrey Steiner (Agricultural Research Services, USDA). In this talk he points out the importance of rural landscapes and ecosystem services. · The success of the supply chain depends on productive, profitable, and good resource stewardship perspectives · Considering sustainability