by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Established in 2013, AltAir Fuels was created to produce low carbon fuels and chemicals derived from sustainable feedstock. For its first commercial project, AltAir partnered with Alon Energy USA to use …

(Global Bioenergies)  Global Bioenergies (Euronext Growth: ALGBE) and Audi announced today the signing of a new agreement focused on the implementation of residue usage, preparation of a path to commercialization and engine testing of new …

(SEKAB)  European financing package amounting to €13.9 million, of which €4.2 million for SEKAB E-Technology AB. Industry consortium led by Global Bioenergies and bringing together SEKAB E-Technology, Graanul Invest, Neste Engineering Solutions, Repsol, PEAB, SkyNRG, Ajinomoto …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Global Bioenergies is a pioneer in the development of one-step fermentation processes for the direct and cost-efficient transformation of renewable resources into light olefin hydrocarbons, the key building blocks of the …

(Global Bioenergies)  European grant amounting to €13.9 million, of which €5.7 million for Global Bioenergies Industry consortium led by Global Bioenergies and bringing together Sekab, Graanul Invest, Neste Engineering Solutions, Repsol, Peab Asfalt, SkyNRG, Ajinomoto Eurolysine, IPSB, …

by Tim Albrecht (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The ethanol industry has polished its coproduction of distillers grains. Now, a handful of companies have found different uses for DDGS, or ethanol itself, that can provide new value-added coproducts …

(Global Bioenergies)  First Audi car to drive at the Montlhéry circuit using over 34% renewable gasoline; One-cylinder engine testing results confirm renewable gasoline has very high performances; Start of the on-road testing phase  —  Today, for the first …

(Global Bioenergies/Globe Newswire)  Global Bioenergies (Euronext Growth: ALGBE) and German carmaker Audi today announced that a key milestone was reached in their multi-year agreement. Renewable gasoline components were produced and shipped to Audi.
Using its Leuna Demo …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The IH2 process was developed by Gas Technology Institute (GTI) of Des Plaines, Illinois—a research, development, and training organization serving energy markets.  GTI experts invented, tested, and patented IH2 technology and are providing …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Within the ChemCatBio set of core catalysis projects lies Fast Pyrolysis and Upgrading, which has as its goal “to develop cost competitive biofuels through catalytic stabilization and deoxygenation of Fast Pyrolysis …

(Biofuels International)  India-based bioethanol company Praj Industries will be working with US-based advanced biofuels company Gevo to use Gevo’s proprietary isobutanol technology to process sugarcane juice and molasses.
This follows on the back of Praj’s development …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Vertimass’ John Hannon gave this illuminating overview of one-step, high-yield production of drop-in fuels without added hydrogen, at the 2017 DOE Project Peer Review sessions.  READ MORE

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Alcohol-to-jet. Several are working on it – Byogy, for example, and Vertimass, Virent and LanzaTech. But Gevo has been working through the rigorous ASTM process for six years, which includes extensive …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Byogy has developed a catalytic platform that converts any source of ethanol, butanol, mixed alcohols, or related olefins, into full replacement, and cost competitive biofuels including gasoline, diesel and jet …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The program objective seen in these slides is to take a technology from Technical Readiness Level 2 to TRL 3/4 — a technology that directly upgrades ethanol to a drop-in …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Gevo has two proprietary technologies that combine to make it possible to retrofit existing ethanol plants to produce isobutanol, a four carbon alcohol which serves as a hydrocarbon platform molecule. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Byogy has developed a catalytic platform that converts any source of ethanol, butanol, mixed alcohols, or related olefins, into full replacement, and cost competitive biofuels including gasoline, diesel and jet …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … But so far, the company and its celebrity investors and directors such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and famed venture capitalist Vinod Khosla had escaped close scrutiny.
…
The methods …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … The company was beginning to hurtle towards an IPO. But the fuel yields were low; the fuel was not usable by their initial chosen downstream partner; the catalyst they were …

(Globe Newswire/Global Bioenergies) Global Bioenergies announces today that its German subsidiary, Global Bioenergies GmbH, secured a €400.000 grant from the BMBF (the German federal ministry for research and education) to finance a 14 month-project aimed at …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Recognizing the importance of biofuels to energy and climate security, the Energy Department today announced up to $90 million in project funding focused on designing, constructing and operating integrated biorefinery facilities. …

(Nordic Paper)  RenFuel and Nordic Paper have signed an agreement to build a production test facility in Bäckhammar in the region of Värmland, in order to test manufacture an advanced biofuel based on lignin. The …

(Business Wire / Unitel Technologies)   –Unitel Technologies announced that Altex Technologies has selected Unitel to provide engineering services to design and build a pilot system that will produce 1 BPD of synthetic gasoline from biomass. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Yesterday, we held a well-attended webinar on “Drop-In Fuels” Here below is the first slide deck presented on the day. We’ll have the remainder of slides tomorrow.
The recorded version can …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Jeffrey Jacobs, who served as Vice President of Chevron Technology Ventures until his recent retirement from Chevron, was appointed CEO of Ensyn Corporation and elected to its Board of Directors. …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) had a call for information on Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Optima). The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments stating that the Association …

(Defour Group/Transportation Fuels Consulting)  Dean Drake of the Defour Group LLC (D4) and Gary Herwick of Transportation Fuels Consulting (TFC) have submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Request for Information about co-optimization of fuels …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Byogy has developed a catalytic platform that converts any source of ethanol, butanol, mixed alcohols, or related olefins, into full replacement, and cost competitive biofuels including gasoline, diesel and jet …

(Ensyn/Biomass Magazine)  Robert Graham, chairman of Ensyn Corp., is pleased to announce that Ensyn has been granted a key regulatory approval from the U.S. EPA for its renewable gasoline product, RFGasoline. This approval, pursuant to …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  This fiscal year, three Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis (SCSA) reports were published through Argonne National Laboratory. The SCSAs use a life-cycle analysis approach to identify energy consumption or environmental issues that …

by Elliot Levine (US Department of Energy)  A five-company team led by Haldor Topsoe, and funded in part by the Energy Department, produced 10,000 gallons of gasoline from woody biomass, which included trees and wood …

(Algenol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Offering ethanol made from algae for the first time commercially, Algenol Biotech LLC and Protec Fuel Management LLC have entered into an agreement to market and distribute ethanol from Algenol’s Fort Myers, Florida., …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Tobacco’s been re-thought, re-engineered and re-invented as a platform for sustainable, low-carbon fuels, and green chemicals – who’s doing what, where and how?  … If tobacco’s reputation has fallen into disrepute …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Norwegian company to convert woody biomass into transportation fuels  —  In Texas, SynSel Energi has entered into an IH2 process demonstration license agreement with CRI/Criterion Catalyst Company Ltd, a member …

(US Department of Energy)  The Energy Department today announced two additional projects selected to receive up to $4 million to develop next-generation biofuels that will help reduce the cost of producing gasoline, diesel, and jet …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO’s) Algae Program is carrying out a long-term applied research and development (R&D) strategy to increase the yields and lower the costs of algal biofuels by …

(Gevo/Butamax/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Gevo Inc. and Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, a joint venture between BP and DuPont, announced that they have entered into worldwide patent cross-license and settlement agreements, ending a patent dispute related to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Solazyme took the #1 spot in the 2015 “35 Hottest Companies in Feedstock Development & Supply” rankings, announced today by The Digest, the world’s most widely-read bioeconomy daily, at the …

by Bill Brandon (Leaders in Energy)  Our country has seen many transitions in travel technologies and fuels. In the first installment I reviewed our transition from 1) barley and oats for our horses and mules …

(BusinessWire/IH2) Producing liquid transportation fuels from woody biomass — A leading global forest products company headquartered in Northern Europe has entered into an FEL-1 license agreement with CRI Catalyst Company (CRI), a global catalyst technology company. IH2 …

by Russell Hixson (Journal of Commerce)  Blue Fuel Energy, based in Victoria, plans to make its final decision on a $2.5 billion gas refinery at the end of the year. The renewables and natural gas-to-gasoline plant …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Eight years after then-Senator Obama co-sponsored a bill in Congress calling for a 60 billion gallon biofuels target, President Obama’s EPA slashes the Renewable Fuel Standard targets to wimpy levels, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Oil prices continue to show incredible volatility. $106 in June, $50 today. Which biofuels ventures have the pro-formas to make money in a tough market? The Digest investigates.
…
Avello Bioenergy
Cost: $57.50 per …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  US biodiesel leader heads for the EU – what’s up with used cooking oil, and what is REG’s path forward with the German-based biodiesel producer?  In Iowa, Renewable Energy Group …

(Vertimass)  “Green” Catalyst Technology Will be Commercialized Into Stocks Compatible With Current Transportation Fuel Infrastructure
Vertimass LLC announced today the company has received a grant of up to $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. …

(MarketWired/Ensyn)  Ensyn is pleased to announce that it has initiated the generation and sale of its first RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers) under the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) and that Ensyn’s D7 cellulosic RINs have …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … I would put the teeth back in RFS2, that actually had renewable fuel mandates with penalties, or converting RFS2 into a national LCFS program.
…
Taking a step back and giving myself …

(University of California Office of Research)  Tech ID: 23816 / UC Case 2014-170-0   Abstract:  A simple method of synthesizing gasoline from cellulosic biomass.

Full Description
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a novel synthesis …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) USDA issues $91M loan guarantee conditional commit to Cool Planet.  Obama Administration back building of the company’s first commercial plant in Louisiana, as it opens its first commercial-scale Cool Terra …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In the UK, If you look this week in your Google News alerts, you’ll see an awful lot of breathless headlines around a meme something like “Researchers have engineered the harmless …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Saturated E10 ethanol markets; unmet demand in aviation biofuels: can Vertimass’ technology provide the bridge?
… After all, if you dehydrate ethanol (that is, remove the water, H2O), what you have is …

by Jennifer Larino (NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune )  Cool Planet Energy Systems, a Colorado energy startup that aims to turn woodchips and other organic waste into gasoline as well as a crop-boosting soil enhancer, says it has …

(Virent) Registered Fuel Can Now be Used in On-Highway Motor Vehicles
Virent announced it has successfully received fuel registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its BioForm® Gasoline in blends of up to 45%. As a registered …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  It’s been known as a source of fiber, and tequila. But exotically high per acre yields and sugar content, and adaptability for low-water and marginal land prompt a key hook-up between …

(Byogy Renewables/Nassau News Live) Continuing its commitment to deliver price competitive, 100% replacement biofuels and chemicals, Byogy Renewables Inc. has invested in a strategic partnership with AusAgave Australia, as part of the upstream integration of …

(Gas Technology Institute) In a recently completed project, Gas Technology Institute (GTI) worked with Haldor Topsoe, Inc. on an integrated biorefinery to make renewable “drop-in” gasoline, successfully producing a high-octane transportation fuel. The use of renewable gasoline could reduce lifecycle …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  The U.S. EPA has released renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for April, reporting that both D3 cellulosic biofuel and D7 cellulosic diesel RINs were generated during the month.
EIA data …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Advanced biofuels – are plans turning into reality? Are development plans realistic? When these 10 projects open for business (or not) in 2014, you’ll know for sure.
…Well, the picture is incomplete.
Plants …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … One of the latest entries is a study out of the UK’s University of Southampton, with assist from researchers in Scotland and Italy, that delves into the pros and cons …

(Oak Ridge National Laboratory)  Vertimass LLC, a California-based start-up company, has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology that directly converts ethanol into a hydrocarbon blend-stock for use in transportation fuels.
The ORNL technology offers a …

(Cool Planet/Biomass Magazine)  Cool Planet Energy Systems, a technology company producing green fuels and biochar products, has broken ground on the company’s first commercial facility in Alexandria, La., dubbed Project Genesis. Permits have been received …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Everyone asks: exactly when will low-cost, energy-secure alternative fuels appear at the gas station?
You see, that’s where you come in. New technologies face the usual deployment challenges. Permitting, environmental review. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   Advanced biofuels – mirage or reality? In January we wrote: “When these 12 projects open for business (or not) in 2013, you’ll know for sure.”  So, what do we know?
…
We …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Texas, KiOR announced that its Columbus, Mississippi facility made its first shipment of cellulosic gasoline on June 28, which represented the first fuel shipment since March, 2013. The company added …

(Enerkem/PR NewsWire)  Enerkem Inc. (www.enerkem.com), a waste-to-biofuels and renewable chemicals company, announces the launch of a new research project with the Government of Canada. The objective of the project is to develop new catalytic processes for …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  On April 23 Joule Unlimited announced it was selected as a 2013 Bloomberg New Energy Pioneer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The award aims to recognize game-changing clean energy companies. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Neste Oil confirmed that they are using 65% virgin oils, primarily palm oil, and 35% waste residues, but that they are seeking to increase that percent of waste supplied, Neste’s …

(Environmental Protection Agency)   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to identify additional fuel pathways that the Agency has determined meet the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements for biomass-based diesel, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  B20, B5, B100, E10, E22, E15, M50, E85, Bu12.5, HEFA 50.  Is your head swimming with acronyms and blend ratios?  Who exactly is making drop-in fuels, and what does that …

by John Davis and Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Ethanol is good for taking harmful particles out of automobile emissions, but a group committed to cleaner air is worried that gasoline makers might just end up putting …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A long war of opinion has been waged for years between advanced biofuels’ detractors and supporters.  Mirage or reality? Completion of 6 key projects 2012 decided much of the debate. …

by Neal Simpson  (The Patriot Ledger)  Citgo Petroleum Corp. has won town approval to build a 33-foot-tall tank that will store almost 270,000 gallons of biofuel at its Quincy Avenue facility in Braintree.
The town’s planning …

(Butamax/PR NewsWire)  Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, the leading global biobutanol technology development company, announced that last week Fuel Product Manager James Baustian discussed the integration of biobutanol gasoline blends in retail fuel dispensing systems at the Petroleum Equipment …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Massachusetts, Joule announced the commissioning of its first SunSprings demonstration plant in Hobbs, New Mexico, where the company will prove its scalable platform for solar fuel production – the …

by Luke Geiver (Biomass Magazine)  The U.S. EPA has granted KiOR Inc. the necessary permit to sell renewable cellulosic gasoline in the U.S. According to Fred Cannon, the EPA’s acceptance of KiOR’s advanced biofuel blendstock …

(US Environmental Protection Agency)  EPA is issuing a direct final rule identifying additional fuel pathways that EPA has determined meet the biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel or cellulosic biofuel lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements specified …