In California at the annual BIO convention, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics announced a breakthrough in joint research into advanced biofuels involving the improvement of the Nannochloropsis gaditana algae strain. Currently at proof of concept scale, at the productivity rates seen under lab conditions, the strain could produce up to 1600 gallons per acre per year of […]
In Minnesota, ICM is rolling out a new product category for the US ethanol industry this week, a companion to ethanol, distillers grains, corn oil, and CO2. And, perhaps, a window into a future of a whole range of specialty products with higher pricing profiles. It’s called UltraMax, which sounds like something you’d pick up […]
In Minnesota, the US ethanol industry is descending upon Minneapolis this week for the annual Fuel Ethanol Workshops, and the theme is efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. You can feel the “get back to business” vibe, a steel-eyed “if you want a friend for ethanol, you can count on, get a puppy” perspective. The industry knows that growth […]
This short post on first-gen biofuels vs solar went viral on LinkedIn last week — thousands of likes, shares went bananas, it made a deep impression across the internet. Say 1 acre of corn ethanol produces 500 gallons, one acre of solar, 200kW, avg. US insolation on tracker produces 300,000kwh per year. Electric cars use .325kwh/mile […]
In Washington, hearings took place today on the future of E15 ethanol in the United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on S. 517, the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act. S. 517 was introduced in March and has 18 bipartisan sponsors, including Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The […]
The value of cellulosic fuels has reached $4.33 per gallon in the California market. That’s real-world, today, including the energy and the low-carbon attributes, and not based on speculation. The value has risen 59 cents, or 15.7 percent in the past 17 months. The soaring fuel values are prompting at least two companies to substantively […]
In Finland, we reported last week commercial vehicles operated by the City of Helsinki and bus services commissioned by HSL will fully switch to renewable fuels by 2020. HSL, Stara, UPM, Neste, Teboil, St1, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Employment, the Finnish Petroleum and Biofuels Association and the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT […]
In the Netherlands, a BBI subsidy of €25 million has been granted to “PEFerence,” a consortium consisting of 11 companies including Synvina, Avantium, BASF, Tereos Participations (France), Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co Kg (Austria), OMV Machinery Srl (Italy) and Croda Nederland B.V. (The Netherlands), Nestec Sa (Switzerland) Lego System As (Denmark), Nova-Institut für […]
In Washington, the US Patent & Trademark Office has just issued a “notice of allowance” for a patent by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for a high efficiency, high compression engine that would reduce the cost per mile for the American driver by 26.2 percent, compared to using straight gasoline and a conventional engine. […]
The US ethanol industry is working hard on E15 deployment right now — from market deployment to regulatory relief, there’s action on every front aimed at making E15 a widely-available, lower-cost source of octane that can replace mid-grade 89-octane fossil fuels at US pumps. Those fossil fuels generally cost the consumer 10-20 cents per gallon […]
