In Brazil, the foreign affairs minister says that if the US doesn’t begin paying its fines for trade damages based on its previous cotton program—which the country became famous for when it won again the US in the WTO—then it will pick up where it left and go after the US for its ethanol import […]
The Biofuels Digest Index™ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, dropped 0.50 percent to 84.99 as the Index now has dropped 10 percent since the beginning of the month on fears of sector and global economic weakness. For the day, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) fell 0.71 percent to $29.30, while while Biofuel Energy (BIOF) […]
KiOR comes up 30% short of expectations in its IPO, but gets a $1.49B valuation as a pre-revenue company. Giddy times, or is the IPO window closing? In Texas, advanced biofuels pioneer KiOR sold 10 million shares at $15 per share in its IPO, which priced last night. The company, which will begin trading today […]
In Illinois, Forrest Jehlik of Argonne National Laboratory published “Five Ethanol Myths, Busted” at Wired: Autopia. In an entertaining read, Jehlik busted Myth No. 1: Ethanol requires more energy to make than it yields; Myth No. 2: Ethanol production reduces our food supply; Myth No. 3: Ethanol crops and production emit more greenhouse gases than […]
In Louisiana, BP Biofuels Americas president Sue Ellerbusch said that the company’s 36 million gallon Highlands County (Florida) cellulosic ethanol project will break ground “early next year” and will open in 2013. “Total investment in the facility and agricultural feedstock operation will be in excess of $400 million,” she noted, adding that the project will […]
In Hawaii, Pacific Biodiesel has planted safflower, sunflower and camelina to determine which plant would best replace the military’s oil dependence. The planting took place on Oahu, and was funded by a $2.4 million grant. The first harvest is expected in three months.
In California, Propel is offering a tiered fleet rebate program to their customers, worth $.03/gallon for 500 to 999 gallons and $.05/gallons for 1000 gallons or more per month. Matt Horton, CEO of Propel, stated “Many other fuel rebate programs have such high monthly volume requirements that small to mid-sized fleets can’t take advantage of […]
In Iowa, Iowa State’s Hybrid Processing Laboratory is working on using both biochemical and thermochemical processes to find new and better pathways for biochemicals and biofuels. Noting that fermentation normally occurs well below the boiling point of water, while thermochemical processes are usually hundreds of degrees hotter, Professor Robert C. Brown states, “In fact, these […]
In the Netherlands, Dutch KLM states they will launch over 200 flights on biokerosene between Amsterdam and Paris. The fuel will be produced by Dynamic Fuels and supplied by SkyNRG, the consortium launched by KLM and North Sea Group and Spring Associates in 2009, with used cooking oil as the feedstock. KLM stated that they […]
In Switzerland, Addax Bioenergy stated they have signed a loan agreement estimated at $366 million with seven European and African development institutions for an integrated renewable energy and agriculture project near Makeni, in Sierra Leone. The project includes a sugarcane plantation, an ethanol refinery and a biomass fuelled power plant that will supply both the […]
