Category: Top Stories

New Lords of Circular Carbon: ArcelorMittal, EU complete financing of Steelanol project

New Lords of Circular Carbon: ArcelorMittal, EU complete financing of Steelanol project

May 18, 2020 |

In Brussels, the European Investment Bank, with the support of the European Commission, has granted a EUR 75 million (nearly $82 million USD) loan to ArcelorMittal for Steelanol, the EUR 165 million ($180 million USD) industrial-scale demonstration plant based on LanzaTech’s process, capturing waste gases from the blast furnace and biologically convert them into recycled-carbon […]

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What’s next for biofuels? 8 Scenarios for a Post COVID-19 World

What’s next for biofuels? 8 Scenarios for a Post COVID-19 World

May 18, 2020 |

By Steve Hartig, Senior Consultant at ReCon Associates Special to The Digest  This has been a dramatic time in gasoline and ethanol with demand dropping quickly due to COVID 19 and the related shutdown. It is impossible to know what is going to happen ahead but what we can do is to create some scenarios. […]

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Millions in Australian government funding for renewable methane, hydrogen, solar hydropower projects

Millions in Australian government funding for renewable methane, hydrogen, solar hydropower projects

May 17, 2020 |

From the land down under arrives news of millions pouring in for renewable energy – $1.1 million (about $700K USD) funding pouring into renewable methane, $3 million (nearly $2 million USD) for building a world-first solar hydropower plant, and $1.7 million (a little over $1 million USD) to look at scaling up renewable hydrogen for […]

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Joni of Ernst leads the defense of the RFS

Joni of Ernst leads the defense of the RFS

May 14, 2020 |

In Washington, the Renewable Fuel Standard is being besieged again, and while it is starting to feel like a Siege They Never Stop Trying and Never Works out of a Monty Python episode, industry trade associations say it is time once again to man the ramparts and pour burning oil, throw stones and otherwise defend […]

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Running for Office on Climate Change?

Running for Office on Climate Change?

May 13, 2020 |

By Peter Brown, Founder and Principal of Euro Marketing Tools Special to The Digest This election cycle has confirmed that the United States’ political hopefuls have abdicated any participation, influence and presence in the climate change debate as it is being set out in the various ecosystems around the world. This is happening in the […]

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Zounds, 100% more algae! Leading paradoxically to the Big Feedstock Problem

Zounds, 100% more algae! Leading paradoxically to the Big Feedstock Problem

May 12, 2020 |

A new technology that produces a doubling  of overall biomass in algae and 40 percent in camelina has appeared on the horizon, and I’d like to draw your attention to this work in The Plant Journal and this one in Nature Research. If you’ve been a fan of the New Mexico Consortium, Dick Sayre’s algae […]

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Decarbon8-US debuts: New philanthropic impact fund to democratize, spark cleantech investment

Decarbon8-US debuts: New philanthropic impact fund to democratize, spark cleantech investment

May 11, 2020 |

There’s a new way to invest in decarbonizing transportation. This week, the Seattle-based angel investor community known as E8 launched Decarbon8-US, that could break down several barriers holding back the scale-up of cleantech, especially barriers faced by bioeconomy startups just emerging into revenues and facing the valley of death. Decarbon8-US accepts philanthropic donations that will […]

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Can U.S. homegrown sorghum help the ag industry get through Covid-19?

Can U.S. homegrown sorghum help the ag industry get through Covid-19?

May 10, 2020 |

It’s been only two years since the Environmental Protection Agency approved sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard, but a lot has happened since then. The EPA’s announcement marked a significant step toward leveling the playing field for ethanol plants extracting oil from sorghum and provides new market access for the […]

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Competitive Edge: HelioBioSys, Inc.

Competitive Edge: HelioBioSys, Inc.

May 7, 2020 |

Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity? We formed HelioBioSys to reduce the carbon footprint of fuels and other biomaterials. We initially targeted ethanol production via a […]

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Pivot Bio raises $100M as it proves out why it’s agtech’s next billion-dollar baby

Pivot Bio raises $100M as it proves out why it’s agtech’s next billion-dollar baby

May 6, 2020 |

In California, Pivot Bio announced the close of its $100 million Series C funding round. With this new funding, Pivot Bio will accelerate its plans to scale its first-to-market microbial nitrogen technology that increases crop yields and farmer revenue. The technology will also aid in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and global energy use […]

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