In Maine, local press reports there is a potential buyer for the Fiberight facility that has been closed since May who could bring the MSW-to-biofuel plant online by early 2021. The undisclosed company is still negotiating with the Municipal Review Committee whose waste is processed at the facility and owns the land it sits upon, […]
In Indonesia, Reuters reports the government is working hard to find ways to keep its biodiesel program alive in the face of ongoing cheap oil prices and rising palm oil prices. An $865 million deficit in the biodiesel program’s budget due to the increasing gap between fossil and palm oil, currently four times last year’s […]
In Poland, ChemWeek reports the country’s oil giant PKN Orlen is looking to spend considerably on renewable fuels including hydrogen and biofuels through 2030 as part of its wider strategic plan. Like many other oil companies of late, PKN Orlen has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, hitting an interim reduction target […]
In Pennsylvania, with a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Penn State researchers will investigate how duckweed could be grown on Pennsylvania farms to limit nutrient pollution into the Chesapeake Bay. Duckweed, a tiny plant resembling a lily pad, grows rapidly in water with elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, often the result […]
In Washington, Growth Energy submitted a notice of intent to sue letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its failure to fulfill its statutory obligation to issue the 2021 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) by November 30, 2020, an annual deadline set by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The notice gives EPA 60 days to […]
This just released report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office sums up the input that 175 participants from biofuels and bioenergy sectors gave at a virtual workshop to come up with best practices for utilizing mathematical modeling tools across multiple scales to reduce technology uncertainty and accelerate scaling-up of biorefinery/chemical production equipment and […]
Who’s in Hot Water? Some of the Usual Suspects get into the usual trouble. We note that EPA missed the 2021 Renewable Volume Obligation deadline, and Growth Energy threatens a lawsuit. Really. We get tired of reporting on the industry having to (almost annually) sue the government to compel compliance to the law. It’s a […]
In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries completed a capital investment in Monolith Materials, which has innovative technology enabling the production of hydrogen and carbon black from methane via methane pyrolysis. Monolith Materials is the first U.S. manufacturer to produce a clean, industry-transforming hydrogen known as “turquoise hydrogen” on a commercial scale. Earlier this fall, Monolith Materials […]
On 30 November 2020, 39 associations and companies, collaboratively signed and sent a letter, calling on the European Commission to include sustainable renewable fuels in EU mobility legislation. The signatories of this joint letter represent a crucial part of the automotive, fuel, energy industry and civil society in Europe, i.e. a combined force behind the […]
In California, Codexis and Casdin Capital will launch the SynBio Innovation Accelerator. The goal of the accelerator is to fund and nurture early stage companies with disruptive technology platforms or unique product development capabilities in the far reaching and transformative field of synthetic and industrial biotechnology. Casdin Capital envisions in the next several years investing […]
