by Brian Sims (Ethanol Producer Magazine) State, county and city dignitaries were on hand to witness the official groundbreaking last week of EdeniQ Inc.’s Corn-to-Cellulosic Migration pilot plant at EdeniQ’s headquarters in Visalia, Calif. EdeniQ had been optimizing its biomass conversion
Department of Energy (DOE)
Back TO HOMEDOE Announces Funding for U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center
(US Department of Energy) As part of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy announced by President Obama and Prime Minister Singh of India last November, the Department of Energy has committed $25 million over the next five years to support
May 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Eucalyptus Tree Genome Deciphered
(EurekAlert!) Key to new possibilities for renewable bioproducts The key to the survival of forestry in South Africa as well as many new possibilities for renewable bioproducts like biofuels and biopolymers may now be available with the click of a mouse. This
May 20, 2011 Read Full Article
National Advanced Biofuels Consortium: How Biomass Fits into the Petroleum Infrastructure
(National Advanced Biofuels Consortium) This 55-slide presentation from a National Advanced Biofuels Consortium Webinar describes the organization and work of the consortium using many valuable charts, graphs and illustrations, including those that depict existing infrastructure. One of the most useful illustrations
May 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Algal Harvesting Progress Update from DOE
(Algae Industry Magazine) Joyce Yang, Technology Development Manager for the Department of Energy’s Biomass Program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, has revealed recent progress made in algal harvesting technology by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in
May 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Ending the Enzyme Enigma
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Figuring out how to produce enzymes at a feasible cost is just part of the puzzle A decade ago, the cost of enzymes was at the top of the list of concerns for most
May 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Oops! DOE Goofs Difference between Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the DOE’s Energy Blog identified the Diamond Green renewable diesel project as “a biodiesel refinery that will triple America’s domestic biodiesel production.” US biodiesel capacity, which is at 2.2 billion gallons, will not in fact
May 18, 2011 Read Full Article
An Update on the US Energy Department’s Loan Programs
by Jonathan Silver (US Department of Energy) ...One of the three types of loans or loan guarantees offered by our office – Section 1705 loan guarantees from the Recovery Act – will expire by statute on September 30, 2011. To
May 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Project to Turn Nearly Any Organic Waste into Biofuels
by Melissa O'Neil Perdue (Washington State University) An innovative idea for making advanced biofuels such as jet fuel, diesel and gasoline from regional resources is moving forward with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). “This process will demonstrate the
May 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Ag Secretary Touts Agrivida
by Donna Goodison (Boston Herald) Greater Boston doesn’t usually rate as a Hub of agriculture but yesterday U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Medford to praise start-up Agrivida Inc. as an example of how renewable energy research could help
May 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Striking the Right Balance: JBEI Researchers Counteract Biofuel Toxicity in Microbes
by Lynn Yarris (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Advanced biofuels – liquid transportation fuels derived from the cellulosic biomass of perennial grasses and other non-food plants, as well as from agricultural waste – are highly touted as potential replacements for
May 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Spikemoss Genome Offers New Paths For Biofuels Research--Bridges Plant Development Gap
(RedOrbit) It’s not quite Christmas, but the DNA sequence of a small plant that resembles the seasonal conifers is providing biofuels researchers with information that could influence the development of candidate biofuel feedstock plants and offering botanists long-awaited insights into
May 11, 2011 Read Full Article
GOP Bill Would Merge EPA, DOE
by Robin Bravender (Politico) Senate Republicans are pushing a plan to morph the Energy Department and the EPA into one giant agency. A bill introduced Thursday by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C) would combine the DOE and the EPA into a new agency
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
UK Gets $6.9 Million Federal Grant to Help Reduce Reliance on Imported Oil
by Mary Meehan (Lexington Herald-Leader) The University of Kentucky has received a $6.9 million federal grant to help reduce America's reliance on imported oil, one of eight awards in the country. "It's going to be big," said UK's principal investigator, Sue
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
KU Research Team Awarded $5.6 Million to Convert Biomass into Chemicals
(The University of Kansas) ...A University of Kansas-led research team has received a $5.6 million grant to develop clean technologies to convert biomass into chemicals that could ultimately replace the petroleum-based chemicals currently used in many household items. Bala Subramaniam, director
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA and DOE Award Biomass Research and Development Grants to Reduce America's Reliance on Imported Oil
Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S. As part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a total of $47 million
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Development Gets a Boost at NREL’s New Biorefinery Research Facility
by Mark Rosenzweig (Sustainable Planet) ...However, moving promising biofuels technology from the lab to demonstration scale often poses a significant financial as well as technical hurdle. Now, though, developers can take advantage of an expanded government research facility. Indeed, the U.S.
May 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Chu Addresses Renewable Energy
by Casey Aylward (The Dartmouth) ... (United States Secretary of Energy Steven) Chu said he is optimistic that the United States can lead the rest of the world in clean energy invention and production by establishing a market in which technologies
May 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Sen. Bingaman Eyes Committee Vote on Clean-Energy Agency
by Ben Geman (The Hill/E2Wire) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is planning a committee vote before Memorial Day on legislation that would create a federal “Clean Energy Deployment Administration” to jump-start the commercialization of green
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Cellana's Kona Demonstration Facility and Patented Algae Production Process Showing Promising Results
(Cellana) Company Is Leveraging Technology Investments to Date of Over $100 Million; Company Is Focused on Government Programs and New Corporate Partnerships; Plan for Maui Commercial Algae Facility on Track for 2014 Cellana LLC is positioned to be the first algae
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Alternative Power Projects in Michigan Being Held up by Lack of Energy Department Loan Guarantees
by Katherine Yung (Detroit Free Press) ...Together, these deals represent $1.2 billion in new investment in the state and more than 3,800 new jobs. If successful, they would significantly boost the state's efforts to grow its clean energy industry. Last year,
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
SUNY Researchers Optimizing Efficient Biobutanol Pathway
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) A team of researchers at State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry are experimenting with different strains of microorganisms to efficiently ferment sugars, extracted from woody biomass, into biobutanol and
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Keasling Featured in NOVA’s ‘Power Surge’ Program
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/PBS) Can emerging technology defeat global warming? The United States has invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects as our leaders try to save our crumbling economy and our poisoned planet in one bold,
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
UC Berkeley Launches Synthetic Biology Institute to Advance Research in Biological Engineering
(EurekAlert!) An alliance of top researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed the UC Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute (SBI), advancing efforts to engineer cells and biological systems in ways that promise to transform technology in health and medicine,
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Aussie Scientists Lead Race for Renewable Fuel
by Rebecca Baillie (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) With the price of fuel hitting $1.50 a litre, there's a growing push to develop renewable alternatives. Scientists in Australia are part of the global race to develop new biofuels. In fact researchers here
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae Holds Promise as Renewable Fuel — Just Not Yet
by Abby Schultz (CNBC.com) ...“There’s a significant amount of capital required for algal oil producers to scale up to commercial meaningful quantities,” says Jim Rekoske, general manager at Honeywell’s UOP division, which provides technologies to the gas processing, refining and petrochemical
April 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Secretary Chu Announces $130 Million for Advanced Research Projects
(US Department of Energy) ARPA-E's 4th round of funding focuses on rare earth alternatives and breakthroughs in biofuels, thermal storage, grid controls, and solar power electronics U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $130 million from
April 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Cobalt Technologies, American Process to Build First Cellulosic Biobutanol Refinery
(SustainableBusiness.com) Biobutanol company Cobalt Technologies and American Process Inc. (API), a developer of lignocellulosic sugar production technologies, announced an agreement to build the world's first industrial-scale cellulosic biorefinery to produce biobutanol. Additionally, the companies agreed to jointly market a GreenPower+TMBiobutanol solution
April 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Bryan: DOE Shifting Focus from Gasoline Replacement to Entire Barrel of Oil
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Paul Bryan, program manager of the DOE’s Office of Biomass, said at the Advanced Biofuesl Leadership Conference that the DOE is shifting gears from focusing solely on replacing the gasoline fraction of refined crude oil,
April 21, 2011 Read Full Article
U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy Announce Funding for Biomass Research and Development Initiative
(U.S. Department of Agriculture) To support President Obama's goal of reducing America's oil imports by one-third by 2025, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) today jointly announced up to $30 million over three to four years that
April 15, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE Gearing Up For Quadrennial Technology Review
by Matt Hourihan (Innovation Policy Blog) One of the big gaps in federal energy innovation policy has been the lack of overarching vision or strategy to define how to get where we need to go. When the President’s Council of
April 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Harvesting, Storage and Transfer Technology Update
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 energy R & D grant
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Trends in Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity 2009
(U.S. Energy Information Administration) Despite an economic recession and a significant fall in overall energy demand/consumption, the use of renewable fuels grew strongly in 2009. This growth has been supported by Federal and State programs, including federal tax credits, state
April 08, 2011 Read Full Article
FACT SHEET: National Clean Fleets Partnership
(U.S. Department of Energy) In 2008, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. On Wednesday, the President announced a bold goal of cutting that amount by one-third by 2025. To achieve this goal we will harness a broad
April 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels and Biofuel Research beyond Ethanol is Crucial to Developing Alternative Sustainable Energy Resources
(KQED/Quest/Planet Forward) For years there’s been buzz — both positive and negative — about generating ethanol fuel from corn. The Bay Area is rapidly becoming a world center for the next generation of green fuel alternatives. Meet the scientists investigating
April 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Obama Announces Clean Fleets Partnership
(SustainableBusiness.com) ...The public-private partnership aims to assist large companies in reducing diesel and gasoline use in their fleets by incorporating electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and fuel-saving measures into their daily operations. AT&T (NYSE: T), FedEx (NYSE: FDX), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), UPS
April 04, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE Announces $12 Million in Available Funding to Support Advanced Biofuels Development
(US Department of Energy) To support the goal announced by President Obama today to reduce America’s oil imports by one-third by 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it will be accepting applications for $12 million in funding for
March 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Senate Hearing Examines Oil Price Spikes, Role of Biofuels
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) During a U.S. Senate committee hearing on March 30, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said that focusing on advanced biofuels for homegrown energy is in the best interest of the United States. “I think that
March 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Key Plant Traits Yield More Sugar for Biofuels
(University of California, Riverside) Research by UC Riverside's Charles Wyman could lead to less expensive production of biofuels New clues about plant structure are helping researchers from the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center narrow down a large collection of poplar tree
March 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Will the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Be Chopped by Congress, as US Falls to 3rd in Cleantech Investment?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, 34 cleantech CEOs, are trying to make sure the DOE doesn’t drop its loan guarantee program despite threats of budget cuts from Congress. Signatories to the letter include Abengoa Bioenergy EVP Christopher
March 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Alt Energy Groups Ask Congress to Support DOE Programs
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) A multitude of leading energy trade associations today wrote to Congressional leaders with a request for Congress to maintain support and funding for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) including the Loan Guarantee Program. The program, in
March 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Benishek under Pressure to Block Federal Funding for Ethanol ‘Boondoggle’
by Eartha Jane Melzer (The Michigan Messenger) Rep. Dan Benishek (R-Crystal Falls) campaigned on cutting federal spending. Now some of his constituents are asking him to keep the U.S. Dept. of Energy from spending $58 million on a project to
March 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Argonne Creating Life Cycle Analysis Tools for Algal Biofuels
(Algae Industry Magazine) ...The objectives of the (Argonne National Laboratories) Algae LCA project include: Assemble a life cycle inventory for algal biofuels Implement an algae life cycle analysis (LCA) Enable and stimulate additional LCA communications The methods chosen to accomplish those objectives are: To
March 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Argonne National Lab, Nalco Ink Technology License Agreement
by Bryan Sims (Biorefining Magazine) The U.S. DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and industrial processing firm Nalco Co. struck a licensing agreement for a novel electrodeionization technology that can be integrated into biorefineries to convert biomass into fuels and chemicals. According to
March 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Budget Cuts May Target MSU-N Biodiesel Facility
by Kay Rossi (KXLH.com) ...Five years ago, Montana State University-Northern received $800,000 in grant funding for infrastructure and staffing for a new biofuel lab at the MSU-N Bio-Energy Center Now the nationally-certified facility performs a variety of functions, from researching
March 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Logos and EdeniQ Receive Department of Energy Funding for Corn-to-Cellulosic Pilot Biorefinery
(Logos Technologies) DOE commits full $20.5 million to retrofit and build pilot plant in Visalia, CA Logos Technologies®, Inc. and EdeniQ, Inc., announced U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval to fully fund $20.5 million in federal cost share under DOE's Integrated
March 23, 2011 Read Full Article
UConn Reactor Uses More Efficient Process to Make Biodiesel Fuel
(PhysOrg.com) Deep inside the University of Connecticut’s chemical engineering building in Storrs, Professor Richard Parnas and a team of students quietly monitor a murky brown emulsion bubbling inside an enormous 6-inch diameter glass tube like doctors carefully observing a patient
March 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Bracketology: Which 3 of 6 Will Win in NABC Drop-In Fuels Consortium Cut-Off?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Amongst the various projects that received support under the 2009 Recovery Act were an algal R&D consortium called the NAABB, and a drop-in biofuels R&D consortium called the NABC, of the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium. ...Within
March 18, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE’s Duff Warns that Asian Industrial Buildup Threatens “Our Way of Life” if US Does Not Reduce Oil Consumption
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DOE’s Biomass Program Lead Engineer warns that, when it comes to biofuels, “it’s the economy, stupid”. In Georgia, DOE Biomass Program Lead Engineer Brian Duff, keynoting the BioPro Expo in Atlanta, said that “dependence on
March 17, 2011 Read Full Article
New UT/ORNL Center: Taking on the World's Energy Problems and Translating Intellectual Capital into Economic Investment
(University of Tennessee) The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), is launching an academic unit that seeks to transform the energy industry in our country and the world, as well as the state and
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Arizona State University's Dr. Qiang Hu
by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine) ...So we drive over to the Arizona State University Algae Farm, at the Polytechnic campus located in Mesa, AZ, and drop in on Dr. Qiang Hu at his Laboratory for Algae Research and
March 15, 2011 Read Full Article
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Looks to Expand Biofuels Partnerships
by Heather Lammers (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) The scenario for your business dream plays out like this. You have an idea to make a fuel from biomass using a biochemical conversion processes. You and your investors have completed bench-scale
February 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Study Confirms Viability of Jatropha Plant Oil for Electric Power Generation and Industrial Heating
(SG Biofuels) SG Biofuels and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) released results of a study revealing the performance and emissions benefits of using Jatropha oil as a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel in industrial furnaces used for electric power generation and
February 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Study Confirms Viability of Jatropha Plant Oil for Electric Power Generation and Industrial Heating
(SG Biofuels) SG Biofuels and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) today released results of a study revealing the performance and emissions benefits of using Jatropha oil as a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel in industrial furnaces used for electric power generation
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Wall Street Journal Bigotry, Lies and Abuse of Power or a “Range Fiasco”?
by Vinod Khosla (GreenTechMedia) Mr. Khosla comes out swinging at the Wall Street Journal’s take on Range Fuels and biofuels. ...Regarding certain “facts” in the editorial, “The Range Fuels Fiasco” (Review & Outlook, Feb. 10): The WSJ persists in mischaracterizing my relationship
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
The Money Identity, the Bond Supremacy, the Washington Ultimatum: Biofuels and Loan Guarantees
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Essentially, despite rising banking sector profits and good results from stress tests, the bank financing market has not returned for biofuels – the financing source for whom the USDA loan guarantee was developed in the
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
KiOR Receives Loan Guarantee Term Sheet for over $1 Billion Project from US Department of Energy
(KiOR) Project would produce drop-in fuels from wood biomass at four facilities across three states KiOR, Inc., announced today that it has received a term sheet for a loan guarantee supporting an over $1 billion biofuels project from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE Energy Innovation Portal Connects Innovative Energy Technologies to the Marketplace
(US Department of Energy) Energy Innovation Portal now has more than 300 business-friendly marketing summaries available to help investors and companies identify and license leading-edge energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The Portal is an online tool that links available
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Georgia Southern University Awarded $250,000 U.S. Department of Energy Grant to Research Alternative Fuels
(Georgia Southern University) Georgia Southern University researchers have been awarded a $250,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Energy that will allow them to study the emissions of alternative fuels designed to replace fossil fuels. The grant will go towards purchasing
February 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Funds SRI to Enhance Bioinformatics Tools for Renewable Energy Research
(SRI) DOE-funded project will develop enhanced tools to accelerate bioenergy research SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today it has been awarded a grant by the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand its MetaCyc database and enhance
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Small-Scale Enzyme Research Could Have Big Biomass Implications
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...Researchers at the U.S. DOE’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, based at the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University, are three years into a research project focused on identifying new enzymes for cellulosic ethanol
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Missed Today's Town Hall with Sec. Chu?
by Ginny Simmons (Energy.gov) During the event, Secretary Chu highlighted several parts of the President Obama’s clean energy and innovation agenda: • Ending taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels so we can increase our investments in clean energy by a third; • Creating
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Loan Guarantees To Gain Steam in 2011: The DOE’s View
by Jonathan Silver (DOE/Biofuels Digest) ...After a year of unprecedented growth, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has emerged as one of the largest and most productive project finance organizations in the world. Through low-cost, long-tenor loans
January 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Association Responds to Faulty Study by RAND
(Advanced Biofuels Association) ABFA President Michael McAdams responded to the RAND Corporation’s release today of results of its study, Alternative Fuels for Military Applications: “Shame on the RAND Corporation as it does a great disservice to itself and our nation by
January 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Algal Biomass Organization Questions Flawed RAND Report
(Algal Biomass Organization) Today, the RAND Corporation published a study and accompanying press release calling into question the effectiveness of renewable fuels for military use. The report can be found here:http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2011/RAND_MG969.pdf A copy of the press release can be found here:http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/01/25.html It is
January 25, 2011 Read Full Article
No Direct Military Benefit from Use of Alternative Fuels by Armed Forces
(RAND Corporation) If the U.S. military increases its use of alternative fuels, there will be no direct benefit to the nation's armed forces, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Any benefits from investment in alternative fuels by the U.S. Department of
January 25, 2011 Read Full Article
DOE Office of Biomass Program: Enzyme Improvements
by Liz Moore (Project Officer, Biomass Program, Golden Field Office, U.S. Department of Energy) Moore begins with a breakdown of the cost structure describing the manufacturing process of ethanol from feedstock. She shows how each step in the manufacturing process
January 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Announces Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework
(US Department of Energy) ...As part of the Department of Energy's comprehensive strategy to support the production of advanced biofuels, Secretary Chu also announced the launch of a new online collaboration tool and data resource focused on bioenergy. The "Bioenergy
January 21, 2011 Read Full Article
The New Economics of Next-Gen Gasification: ClearFuels Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(S)team reformation, a process by which gasified biomass is converted into a useful balance of hydrogen and carbon monoxide ... itself has struggled with high costs associated with the high temperatures at which the system operates.
January 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Secretary Chu Announces up to $184 Million Available for Advanced Vehicle Research and Development
(U.S. Department of Energy) U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today(December 16, 2010) the Department is accepting applications for up to $184 million over three to five years to accelerate the development and deployment of new efficient vehicle technologies that will
December 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Issues RFI on Algae Biomass Supplies for Advanced Biofuels RD&D Efforts
(Green Car Congress) The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking input from industry, academia, and other biofuels stakeholders regarding supply systems and services for the production, handling, storage, transport and delivery of algae via a new Request for Information (RFI)
December 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Secretary Chu Announces up to $30 Million for Research to Advance the Next Generation of Biofuels
(U.S. Department of Energy) U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced the Department is now accepting applications for up to $30 million in total funding for small-scale process integration projects that support the development of advanced biofuels that will be
December 15, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE and Seven Other Agencies Launch Energy Export Initiative
(U.S. Department of Energy) U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today joined seven other U.S. Government agencies in launching the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative, a coordinated effort to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency exports. In partnership with the
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
New USDA Loan Guarantees, $50 Biofuels, Asia, Syngas among New Biofuels Trends, Gossip at Pacific Rim Summit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Honolulu, much of the leadership of the advanced biofuels and renewables chemicals industries have gathered this week at BIO’s Pacific Rim Summit. ...(W)hat are the key trends? Here are 11 that the Digest spotted. 1.
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Fulcrum BioEnergy Project Selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to Advanced to the Final Stage for a Loan Guarantee
(Fulcrum BioEnergy) Fulcrum Receives Detailed Term Sheet Proposal from DOE Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. announced November 16, 2010, that the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) has selected Fulcrum’s Sierra BioFuels Plant to enter the final phase of DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program. Fulcrum has
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Summary of Cellulosic Biofuels Finance & Investment Forum
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Faith and Belief. Most impressive about the 2010 Cellulosic Biofuels Finance & Investment Forum, as compared to the 2009 event, was the whiff of positive belief that somehow, some way, cellulosic biofuels are becoming
November 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Utilities’ Perspectives on Biomass-to-Power Opportunities
by Cindy O'Connor (Advanced Biofuels USA) Washington, DC Biomass Finance & Investment Summit, October 13-15 2010: Friday Session Highlights The physical location of the utility plants determines the biomass –to –power opportunities. Reed Willis, President, ADAGE (Duke Energy investor) said currently power is
November 12, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Launches New Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee
(Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the establishment of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (ERAC). ERAC is a federal advisory committee whose members will report directly to the Secretary of Energy with advice
November 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Rentech and ClearFuels Integrated Bio-Refinery Project to Receive Full Construction and Operations Funding
(Rentech/Enhanced Online News) U.S. Department of Energy Approves Remaining $19.7 Million of Funding Rentech, Inc., and ClearFuels Technology Inc., jointly announced today that a cooperative agreement has been signed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive the remaining $19.7 million
November 11, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Biofuel Production, Use Lags
by Philip Brasher (Zanesville Times Recorder) Motorists will use just a fraction of the next-generation biofuels in 2011 that Congress intended, and even that small amount depends on a single project in Iowa that isn't ready yet. ... Cellulose and algae are
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
RFA Urges White House to Support Cellulosic Ethanol
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In a letter hand (delivered) to President Obama this week, RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen urged the Obama Administration to maintain its commitment to the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels. The RFA letter is
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Revival! INEOS Awards $100 Million construction Contract for Florida Bioenergy Center
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, INEOS New Planet BioEnergy has awarded the EPC contract to build its 8 million gallon per year advanced bioenergy facility in Vero Beach to AMEC of Tucker, GA. The facility will also produce up
November 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Feedstock Interface :Uniform Format Design and Deployable Process Demonstration Unit
by Dr. Christopher Wright (Research Engineer, Idaho National Laboratory) Dr. Wright's presentation describes his current project on the creation of a mobile unit to preprocess bales of cellulosic feedstock into a form that can be utilized by a fuel production facility. He
October 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Feedstock-Conversion Interface Projects – Connecting Feedstock Resources to Conversion Processes
by Dr. J. Richard Hess (Biomass Program Technology Manager, Idaho National Laboratory) Dr. Hess details the biomass attributes that impact the nature of and cost of feedstock preparation, biochemical conversion, and thermochemcal conversion, along with general flow diagrams for each process.
October 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Algenol Biofuels Opens State-of-the-Art Labs in Lee County, Florida
(Yahoo! Finance/PR Newswire) U.S. Rep. Connie Mack and Lee County Commissioners Tammy Hall and Ray Judah join in celebrating new advanced research labs and integrated biorefinery that will diversify local economy and create clean energy jobs Algenol Biofuels Inc. celebrated the opening
October 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel Project Hits Bureaucratic Snag
by Ron Brochu (BusinessNorth.com) ...Federal loan guarantees are available to support construction of the high-tech Flambeau River Biofuels refinery in Park Falls, but project sponsors say the government’s terms could derail their chance to succeed. Those Department of Energy terms, they
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Scientists Say It Is High Time for Hemp-Based Biofuel
by Danny Bradbury (BusinessGreen) University of Connecticut reveals plan to build biofuel research plant capable of turning hemp into biodiesel. Researchers at the University of Connecticut have found that hemp is a viable feedstock for biodiesel fuel and are now working
October 12, 2010 Read Full Article
NREL Releases BioEnergy Atlas – a Comprehensive Biomass Mapping Application
(US Department of Energy) BioEnergy Atlas, a Web portal that provides access to two bioenergy analysis and mapping tools, was released September 28, 2010, by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The visualization screening tools, BioPower and BioFuels
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Purdue Receives Nearly $1.6 Million for Biofuels Crop Research
(AgriMarketing/Purdue) Purdue University is receiving $1.59 million in federal funding for a project to conduct a sustainability assessment of energy crops for biofuels. The funding is part of a $16.5 million renewable fuel initiative by the U.S. Department of Energy to
September 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Improved Labs Energize Biomass Research
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) When you've lived in the same "home" for more than 20 years, a time comes when you need to upgrade your furnishings to keep current and spruce things up a bit. That is exactly what has
September 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Algal Energy Scores $3 Million from DOE
(Algae Industry Magazine) Renewable Algal Energy, LLC of Kingsport, Tennessee, has announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded them $3,000,000 to develop “Algal Biodiesel via Innovative Harvesting and Aquaculture Systems.” READ MORE and MORE (Department of Energy)
September 22, 2010 Read Full Article
SRSenergy and Partners Secure $6.2 Million DOE Contract
(Algae Industry Magazine) Solution Recovery Services, of Dexter Michigan, an employee owned industry leader in oil separation and purification systems has partnered with Touchstone Research Laboratory, a privately owned U.S. company with principal operations in Triadelphia, W.V. The project team together
September 14, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Announces Awards for up to $16.5 Million for Biomass Research and Development
(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 fuels production. The first initiative
September 09, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Announces Secretary of Energy Advisory Board
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the members of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB). Eliminated during the last administration, SEAB is being reestablished under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The twelve member board comprised
August 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Extends Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Solicitation
(US Department of Energy) Secretary Steven Chu announced today that the Department of Energy is extending the application deadline for the July 2009 energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution technologies solicitation. The Round 8, Part 1 application deadline
August 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Energy and Defense Departments Announce Agreement to Enhance Cooperation on Clean Energy and Strengthen Energy Security
At a White House Forum on Energy Security July 27, 2010, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense to accelerate clean energy
July 28, 2010 Read Full Article
California Team to Receive up to $122 Million for Energy Innovation Hub to Develop Method to Produce Fuels from Sunlight
(US Department of Energy) California Institute of Technology to lead team in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and other California institutions As part of a broad effort to achieve breakthrough innovations in energy production, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel
July 23, 2010 Read Full Article
GAO Report Urges Changes to DOE Loan Guarantee Programs
(Renewable Fuels Association) ...“Access to capital is a chief hindrance to the commercial deployment of cellulosic ethanol technology,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “DOE has created a loan guarantee program that in theory is helpful, but in practice
July 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Department of Energy: Futher Actions Are Needed to Improve DOE's Ability to Evaluate and Implement the Loan Guarantee Program
(US Government Accountability Office) Since the Department of Energy's (DOE) loan guarantee program (LGP) for innovative energy projects was established in Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, its scope has expanded both in the types of projects it
July 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Hydrocarbon Fuels: The Thermochemical Biorefinery
by Dan Burciaga (President & CEO, TRI) Burciaga discusses TRI's proprietary steam reforming gasification system, and its applicability to the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and renewable power. TRI's biorefineries are feedstock-flexible, controlled to maximize thermal efficiency, scalable, and potentially self-powered. The
July 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Growing Biomass Innovation: Progress Towards Transformative Energy Technology Innovation
by Dr. Eric Toone (Program Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, U.S. Department of Energy) Dr. Toone described the role and mission of ARPA-E, the process related to ARPA-E's first Financial Opportunity Announcement (FOA1), project selection and awards at the Biomass 2010 Conference March
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Breaks Down Market Barriers with Online Technology Commercialization Portal
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today the launch of the Technology Commercialization Portal—an online resource that will serve as a tool for potential investors to identify opportunities to invest in work being conducted by DOE
July 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Are You Driving Your Last Gasoline Powered Car?
(ETCGreen.com) Vehicle owners now understand the ever dwindling supply and higher expense and risks of extracting petroleum will continue to increase the price at the pumps. For over 100 years we have enjoyed this cheap energy source, but the party is
June 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Releases National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap
(US Department of Energy) Despite algae's potential, many technical and economic challenges must be overcome for algal biofuels to be commercialized. To identify these hurdles and guide research and development activities, DOE convened the National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap Workshop, bringing together
June 29, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Announces Funding Opportunity for Sustainable Bioenergy Feedstock Production
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) June 2, 2010, announced $5 million in funding for research focused on sustainable production of large quantities of non-food biomass for bioenergy. The intent of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to quantify
June 04, 2010 Read Full Article
The Name is Bond: New Concepts in Bond Financing May Break Biofuels Finance Logjam
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A team from the investment bank Stern Brothers, the law firms Mintz Levin and Kreig DeVault have developed a bond-oriented approach that has received favorable initial reaction from the USDA, and may well break the logjam
May 14, 2010 Read Full Article
The Presidential Biofuels Directive: One Year Later, Where Are We?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The invite-only meeting, which attracted more than 100 attendees, was structured around two panels, one focused primarily on policy and led by USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber and featuring biofuels consortium head Jose Olivares (Los
May 14, 2010 Read Full Article
OPXBIO Wins $6 Million Department of Energy Grant
(Marketwire) Award Accelerates Development of Advanced Biofuels OPX Biotechnologies Inc., a renewable biochemical and biofuel company, has been awarded a $6 million grant for the development of advancement biofuels by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Advanced Research Project Agency -
May 12, 2010 Read Full Article
New DOE Video Highlights Impact of Biofuels on Rural Communities
(US Department of Energy) DOE also released May 6, 2010, a new video which showcases how cellulosic biofuel technologies can help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur growth in the domestic biofuels industry, and provide new revenue opportunities to farmers in many
May 11, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE, USDA Announce Funding for Biomass Research and Development Initiative
(US Department of Energy) The U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) today jointly announced up to $33 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products, subject to annual
May 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Vice President Biden Announces Recovery Act Funding for 37 Transformational Energy Research Projects
(US Department of Energy) At a Recovery Act Cabinet Meeting today, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $106 million in funding for 37 ambitious research projects that
May 03, 2010 Read Full Article
US Military Warns Oil Output May Dip Causing Massive Shortages by 2015
by Terry Macalister (The Guardian) ...The US military has warned that surplus oil production capacity could disappear within two years and there could be serious shortages by 2015 with a significant economic and political impact. The energy crisis outlined in a
April 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Sustainable Feedstock Resource Availability: Overview
Moderator Laura Neal (Biomass Program, U.S. Department of Energy) emphasized the resources availability to ensure a sustainable supply of feedstock in order to meet increased biofuels demand. The presentation mainly pointed out three focused areas of feedstock platform: feedstock analysis, feedstock
April 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Cup Plant Promising for Ethanol Use
by Thom Gabrukiewicz (Argus Leader) A native perennial might hold the promise of being not only a new source crop for cellulosic ethanol, but also a way to help capture and store carbon. South Dakota State University plant breeders are helping investigate
March 29, 2010 Read Full Article
SAIC Awarded $21 Million Blanket Purchase Agreement For Biomass Engineering
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, R.W. Beck, has been awarded a blanket purchase agreement by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Golden Field Office to support The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Biomass
March 16, 2010 Read Full Article
Crude Oil Imports and National Security
by Robert M. Ames, Anthony Corridore, Edward Hirs, Paul W. MacAvoy (Yale Graduates Energy Study Group) The authors demonstrate that the United States profits handsomely in all circumstances by imposing an embargo on imports of foreign crude oil. The US removes its
February 26, 2010 Read Full Article
USDA Scientists Sequence Genome of Biofuel Model Crop
by Dennis O'Brien (Agricultural Research Service) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their colleagues at the Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute announced that they have completed sequencing the genome of a kind of wild grass that will
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Rentech and ClearFuels Integrated Bio-Refinery Project Awarded $23 Million Grant by U.S. Department of Energy
Rentech, Inc. and ClearFuels Technology Inc., jointly announced that their project to construct a biomass gasifier at Rentech's Energy Technology Center ("RETC") in Denver has been awarded a conditional $22.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE"). The
February 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Secretary Chu Announces Nearly $80 Million Investment for Advanced Biofuels Research and Fueling Infrastructure
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the investment of nearly $80 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure that will help support the development of a clean sustainable transportation
January 13, 2010 Read Full Article
US Dept. of Energy Secretary Chu Announces Climate REDI
Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the launch of a new initiative to promote clean energy technologies in developing countries. Secretary Chu also welcomed progress under the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) and invited his counterparts in MEF
December 15, 2009 Read Full Article
Inside DOE: A Look at How the $564 Million Integrated Bioenergy Grant Process Operated
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “What you win is the right to negotiate,” chuckles Jim Imbler, CEO of ZeaChem, reflecting on the company’s recent success in winning one of the DOE’s recently announced 19 awards for integrated bioenergy pilot and demonstration
December 14, 2009 Read Full Article
DuPont's 'Unique' Seaweed Venture Nets DOE Cash
by Dina Fine Maron (New York Times Greenwire) Seaweed holds promise as more than an ingredient in a purifying face mask or a maki roll. So say researchers at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., which alongside Seattle-based Bio
November 30, 2009 Read Full Article
DOE and USDA Select Projects for more than $24 Million in Biomass Research and Development Grants
The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy today announced projects selected for more than $24 million in grants to research and develop technologies to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Of the $24.4 million announced today, DOE plans to
November 13, 2009 Read Full Article
The Rise of Biofuels from Algae
(ClearSkies.com) Clean Skies News Dipka Bhambhani reports on the rise of biofuels from algae as part of the nation's energy portfolio. WATCH VIDEO
August 30, 2009 Read Full Article
Nonwood Fiber Raw Materials and the Biorefinery
by Robert W. Hurter (HurterConsult, Inc.) The biorefinery is being touted as the way for the North American pulp and paper industry to reinvent itself. Feedstock for biorefineries includes virtually any biomass including forest waste, bark, fiber bearing sludge, construction waste,
December 29, 2007 Read Full Article
How to Beat the High Cost of Gasoline. Forever!
by Adam Lashinsky and Nelson D. Schwartz (CNN Money/Fortune Magazine) You probably don't know it, but the answer to America's gasoline addiction could be under the hood of your car. More than five million Tauruses, Explorers, Stratuses, Suburbans, and other vehicles
January 31, 2006 Read Full Article
Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply
USDA and DOE put together this study finding that there could be adequate biomass to displace 30% or more of current US annual petroleum consumption. READ MORE
April 28, 2005 Read Full Article
Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass Volume 1: Results of Screening for Potential Candidates from Sugars and Synthesis Gas
(US Department of Energy) This report identifies twelve building block chemicals that can be produced from sugars via biological or chemical conversions. The twelve building blocks can be subsequently converted to a number of high-value bio-based chemicals or materials. Building