A two-part series looking at China, as Chinese cleantech investment continues to surge and surge Cleantech is going big in China, so big that’s it progress can be measured by the day and week, rather than the month and year. Last week, earlier in the week we had a $200M IPO filing by China Industrial […]
In North Carolina, Appalachian State University and Catawba County have set a date for the grand opening of their Biodiesel Research, Development, and Production Facility: August 15th. The complex features a production capacity of 100,000 gallons per year, while its crush capabilities will serve to test a variety of crops to determine which feedstocks grow […]
In Indiana, farmers are expecting a decrease in corn yields due to the heat wave that has put temperatures in the mid-nineties for the whole week. The exact effect on ultimate yields will remain unknown until harvest in October, but the decrease in supply will no doubt further impact already record-high corn prices. Already, the […]
In Florida, Marathon Biodiesel is producing biodiesel from local restaurants and backyard fish frying in the Florida Keys. Jeff Lillie, states that he is not trying to get rich, but is motivated by wanted to help out the ocean environment, stating, “We can’t go: ‘Timeout. I want to go to Earth 2.’” Reportedly, Lillie has […]
In France, Synthos and Global Bioenergies agreed to develop a new process for the conversion of renewable resources into butadiene, involving research funding, multi-million euro development fees, royalty payments, repartition of exploitation rights, and a €1.4m equity investment in Global Bioenergies. Butadiene is a chemical building block used to manufacture synthetic rubber, nylon, latices, ABS […]
In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff has decided to lower ethanol blending to either 18% or 20% with a decision likely in August. The country has been battling low ethanol supplies and rising pump prices with imports from the US expected well before the end of the year.
In the UK, Shell has opened up the Shell Springboard program for its seventh year, inviting “ecopreneurs” with innovative ideas for tackling climate change to apply for no-strings-attached financial grants up to £40,000. Previous winners include Scottish Bioenergy who used algae to convert CO2 emissions into biodisel and Oxy-Gen who developed an ultra-low emissions motor […]
In the Philippines, Roxhol Bioenergy hopes to get its ethanol production facility in Negros Occidental online by August after the company pushed its start date from July 1. The 100,000 liter per day facility, run off molasses as the feedstock, has been running trials at 80% capacity. Due to low molasses prices, the company is […]
In New York, Elsevier launched Elsevier Biofuel, an online search tool that provides biofuel managers and research development professionals access to scientific, industrial, and commercial information. The platform allows users to search by keyword through millions of documents including past research, current studies, and methodologies to minimize waste in resources. The Elsevier Biofuel tool allows […]
In Illinois, a University of Illinois study focused on biobutanol has drawn attention to the need for changes in the regulatory processes of the US’s approach to biofuels. The study, conducted by Kesan and Timothy A. Slating of the UI Energy Biosciences Institute, indicated that the current US regulatory process does not foster commercialization or […]
