Back in 2014, Sapphire Energy and the US Department of Energy embarked on a project to advance Sapphire’s (then) biomass production technologies across three priority areas to meet a target of 2,500 gallons of oil per acre per year by 2018. Productivity is directly related to the economics of algal biofuels production. By improving average […]
Great process? Great target economics? Great feedstock? That’s super. But no one will ever build a world-class business without competing effectively to build world-class team, so consider that Job #1. Each year, in partnership with the executive search firm Kincannon & Reed, the Digest conducts an extensive survey on leadership, team-building and companies. And at ABLC […]
In June 2011, the Secretaries of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy signed MOU to commit $510M (up to $170M from each agency) to produce hydrocarbon jet and diesel biofuels in the near-term. This initiative sought to achieve multiple, commercial scale integrated biorefineries, cost-competitive biofuel with conventional petroleum (w/o subsidies), domestically produced fuels from non-food feedstocks, and […]
Structuring and financing an International Bioeconomy Project is not for the neophyte or the faint of heart — =so advises Kilpatrick Townsend’s massively-experienced partner Mark Riedy. Where is it best to build? In this illuminating presentation from ABLC 2017, Riedy looked at regulatory uncertainty, returns, available supply chains and the risk therein, among many other factors that […]
Methane in biogas offers a renewable alternative to natural gas as a feedstock and intermediate in bioprocesses. The US DOE is supporting a development effort led by NatureWorks in collaboration with Calysta to develop a commercially viable, disruptive fermentation process using methane in biogas and engineered methanotrophic bacteria for the production of lactic acid (HLA). Such a […]
The US Department of Energy initiated a project to identify and mitigate the challenges of moving new fuels and vehicles into markets. Specifically, engaging with all critical stakeholders (OEM’s, fuel producers, distribution networks, gas station owners, UL, regulators, consumers, etc.), to understand and address impacts, concerns, opportunities, and barriers. The goal is to facilitate new […]
The DOE is supporting an Oak Ridge-led project to produce and commercialize lignin-derived, industrial-grade composites with properties including 3D printability, rivaling current petroleum-derived alternatives. The project outcomes? A novel family of commercial-ready, lignin-based 3D-printable composites. Also, suitable for high-volume applications. With recyclable compositions retain their unprecedented mechanical properties. Also, utilizing unmodified lignin at ≥50 (%) […]
What is the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit, where is it, who does it serve and how? Located at Berkeley Lab, the ABPDU aims to “support the commercialization of industry-, academic-and DOE-driven biofuels and bio-products by providing a key technical resource and an agile, flexible team for process development and demonstration. The project aims to have […]
Hydrogen, hydrogen, hydrogen — the most abundant element in the universe, but the advanced bioeconomy can never seem to get enough of it, and finding ways to produce renewable, affordable hydrogen — well, that’s real gold. A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Abhijeet Borole and including a number of ORNL colleagues and also […]
Hydrothermal liquefaction has a huge fan base in the biorefinery R&D sector. There’s lots to like. It’s robust tech and can be applied to attractive, low-cost wet feedstocks (ag resid, sludge, manure) that exploit HTL attributes and minimize deployment challenges associated with pumping. It’s conceptually simple (feed preparation, pump, heated pipe, gravity separate biocrude). HTL […]
