In North Dakota, the state will become the ninth state to offer E15 blended gasoline. The announcement, made jointly by Gov. Jack Dalrymple and key players from North Dakota’s agriculture and ethanol industries, was made on Sept. 23. Since then, the fuel has become available at six stations across the state. More on the […]
In Virginia, algae biofuels tested as very close to petroleum in energy efficient-production, according to a University of Virginia study. The study, performed at Sapphire’s demonstration plant in New Mexico, demonstrated that carbon emissions of algae biofuels come in at 50-70% lower than that of petroleum. The study evaluated EROI, Energy Return on Investment, or […]
In Iowa, POET and Royal DSM have announced that their Emmetsburg plant is on-schedule to open early next year. The $250M plant will make up to 20 mgy, and will be the first POET’s first cellulosic facility. The company expects to encounter several glitches along the way, but anticipates being able to work them out […]
In Seeking Alpha, the guide warns against investing in Metabolix for all but the most risk-tolerant investors. Claiming that the company is struggling to develop new sources of revenue, with a shrinking cash reserve and no financing for a new commercial-scale facility after the termination of its joint venture with DSM. The article also cites […]
In California, the sugar beet industry may have a future as ethanol producers Mendota Bioenergy looks into the possibility of retrofitting sugar mills to produce ethanol with a $5M grant from the California Energy Commission. This procedure has been done in Europe several times, but not yet in the United States. California sugar beet farms, […]
According to Bloomberg, palm oil prices may slump to 2009 lveles by January claims Dorab Mistry, director at Godrej International Ltd. Futures are expected to retreat to $629 per metric ton. The causes for the drop explored in the article include U.S. weather, which hurt the US soybean crop, expanding supplies between Malaysia and Indonesia, […]
In Indonesia, Shell and Total Oil must increase the proportion of biodiesel in their fuel mix to at least 10% by January next year or leave the business, warned the Indonesian government. The change comes in a regulative effort to stimulate Indonesia’s economy and push down fuel imports to combat the current-account deficit and weakening […]
In Minnesota, Michael Ceballos’s research team has been awarded an NSF Innovation Corps Team Program grant to research commercialization of enzyme platforms for biofuels at the industrial scale. The lab has a partnership with Energetix and DENCO II, allowing implementation and full testing capability for the company. The work is a spinoff of the work […]
In Washington, The Washington Times raises questions regarding the timing of LanzaTech’s $4M award, as it comes after important financier Vinod Khosla hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic Party at his home. Khosla, one of the company’s most active investors, hosted President Obama and Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) […]
In Washington, WSU will lead new federal research center focused on aviation fuel, working closely with FAA, MIT, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The project, which is centered in Richland and will spend more than $40 million over the next for years, will focus on commercial-scale viability of aviation fuels. Senator Maria Cantwell, D-WA, […]
