Category: Top Stories

The Valley of Fog: As Sundrop moves on from Louisiana, what’s up and what’s wrong with Loan Guarantee programs?

The Valley of Fog: As Sundrop moves on from Louisiana, what’s up and what’s wrong with Loan Guarantee programs?

August 15, 2017 |

In Louisiana, reports surfaced in Alexandria’s TownTalk online paper that Sundrop Fuels has struck an agreement to sell the 1200-acre site where it once planned to build its $450 million, 50 million gallon capacity first commercial plant to produce green gasoline from woody biomass. The company selected the site, the former location of the Cowboy […]

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Earnings season: An advanced bioecononomy’s health and wellness check-up

Earnings season: An advanced bioecononomy’s health and wellness check-up

August 14, 2017 |

In today’s Digest, let’s look at trends driving the industry’s results at scale — and while money is not the measure of all progress, it is the ultimate yardstick and especially for companies that have reached industrial scale. So, let’s look at Q2 earnings statements now just coming out from four of the sector’s signature […]

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Genomatica goes big with Bio-BG

Genomatica goes big with Bio-BG

August 12, 2017 |

The secret is out about new 1,3 butylene glycol In California, Genomatica continues to innovate in big ways with its latest Bio-BG butylene glycol using their new GENO BG process, which makes a naturally sourced 1,3 butylene glycol. This isn’t a pie in the sky innovation either as production already started in 85,000 liter fermentation […]

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Make Energy Great Again, via BIOmass: The DOE’s MEGA-BIO project expands

Make Energy Great Again, via BIOmass: The DOE’s MEGA-BIO project expands

August 10, 2017 |

This week, the U.S. Department of Energy revealed that it will award a fourth project—up to $1.8 million—under the MEGA-BIO: Bioproducts to Enable Biofuels Funding Opportunity. That is, they call it MEGA-BIO, like a vitamin. We call it Make Energy Great Again, via BIOmass. The Side by Side theory In it’s essence, it’s the Side-by-Side Theory. Long […]

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The Bioeconomy Investor and the decline in information channels, company awareness and fundamental research

The Bioeconomy Investor and the decline in information channels, company awareness and fundamental research

August 9, 2017 |

  Investing in the BioEconomy is a complicated endeavor, but can offer significant opportunities for the informed investor. The industry drivers are numerous and presents a puzzle that demands quality information flow, insight and analytics to succeed. Three storylines this week offer us evidence of a growing information gap, with fewer channels for insight and information to […]

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How’s that? Cellulosic fuels now worth $4.06/gallon, up 15% in 2 mos

How’s that? Cellulosic fuels now worth $4.06/gallon, up 15% in 2 mos

August 8, 2017 |

The value of cellulosic fuels has reached $4.06 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 15.1 percent in the past 56 days. The soaring fuel values are prompting several companies to substantively expand or re-evaluate plans for cellulosic […]

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A smart, faster path to Zero Lifecycle Emission: advances from the EU in direct carbon capture from air

A smart, faster path to Zero Lifecycle Emission: advances from the EU in direct carbon capture from air

August 7, 2017 |

The Tesla Model 3 is on the way and the world is celebrating a shift towards Zero Tailpipe Emissions — but of course, with the Tesla, you’re driving the grid and the grid is still dirty. A more powerful goal is a shift towards Zero Lifecycle Emission — that is, no net carbon at all. […]

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Don’t be selfish, save the shellfish! Shellfish are more useful than ever imagined

Don’t be selfish, save the shellfish! Shellfish are more useful than ever imagined

August 5, 2017 |

In Colorado, researchers are fighting nasty, deadly, stubborn bacteria with chitosan, a material derived from shellfish shells like lobsters, crabs, and shrimps. The new material helps prevent superbug bacteria biofilms from forming in about 85 percent of their lab testing. Chitosan is also being used as an ingredient in biopolymers that form bioplastics and biodegradable […]

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The renewing of Nevada renewable fuels and the rise of Ryze Renewables

The renewing of Nevada renewable fuels and the rise of Ryze Renewables

August 3, 2017 |

In Nevada, Ryze Renewables has two new renewable diesel projects totaling $250M now in planning for the Nevada and Las Vegas areas. There’s been some confusion about the technology in question — described locally around Nevada as IsoTherming, which we understood as a DuPont trademark — but according to one of the Digesterati: “IsoTherming was […]

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Corbion bids to acquire TerraVia

Corbion bids to acquire TerraVia

August 2, 2017 |

In California, Corbion has made a $20M stalking horse stock and asset purchase bid for TerraVia . The purchase agreement provides TerraVia with a binding bid of $20 million in cash along with the assumption of certain liabilities, which is subject to higher or otherwise better offers. As part of the transaction, Corbion will be […]

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