Category: Top Stories

USDA invests $100M in renewable fuel pumps: the deep dive into who got what, and how the landscape shifts

September 13, 2015 | Jim Lane

USDA announces state finalists for the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership. Will it move the needle? The Digest investigates. In Washington, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that 21 states will receive grants through the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) to add infrastructure needed to supply more renewable fuel to America’s drivers. Since announcing the program in May […]

Methanol’s Moment: With low prices, and proven process, is meth your new best friend?

September 10, 2015 | Jim Lane

Methanol is gaining momentum as a low-carbon fuels target, as Enerkem starts producing in Edmonton. Why methanol, why now? Here, we look at the technology and market rationale for this rising trend. As we reported earlier this week, Enerkem has initiated methanol production at its Edmonton waste-to-fuels facility, and has raised an additional $115M in financing. […]

The Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy: Winning Photo Votes for September 11, 2015

September 10, 2015 | Jim Lane

Here are the winning Photo Votes for the week in this years’s competition for the Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy. “There’s nothing like a photo vote to help a company,” said Digest editor Jim Lane, “in the strange and microscopic world of industrial biotechnology — to visualize its creativity, company spirit, and communicate a fun, positive […]

The New Tobacco Road: a path beyond smoking for America’s traditional cash crop

September 9, 2015 | Jim Lane

Tobacco’s been re-thought, re-engineered and re-invented as a platform for sustainable, low-carbon fuels, and green chemicals – who’s doing what, where and how? From time to time, it’s been said in flowery moments of commercial rapture that such-and-such technology or such-and-such company or is a “pillar of our American democracy”. In the case of the […]

Who are the UK’s Wizards of Waste and why are they the best at something-from-nothing since Potter & Dumbledore?

September 8, 2015 | Jim Lane

Apparently, no waste in the UK goes unloved. Here, we look at three technologies that have picked up GBP 25 million from the UK Department of Transportation at the avant-garde of low-carbon fuels. As we reported overnight in The Digest, the UK’s Department of Transport is making an effort to jump-start domestic advanced biofuels, made […]

The Above Ground Oil Field: or, why $65 and $94 oil are inflection points for renewable fuels

September 7, 2015 | Jim Lane

Unlimited oil production, no exploration risk, positive on environment, cheaper than unconventional US crude — what’s not to like about certain biofuels? This year, Joule Unlimited noted that a “10,000 acre plant represents a reserve value of 100 million barrels of Solar Fuels, equivalent to a medium-sized oil field,” and the company projects that $1.25B […]

Carbon Dioxide and its practical, green uses

September 6, 2015 | Jim Lane

Carbon dioxide — everyone wants to see less of it lying around, but what is it particularly good for? Our resident Grandmaster of CO2, Sam, Rushing, takes us through the green applications. By Sam A. Rushing, president, Advanced Cryogenics, Ltd — special to The Digest WHEN CO2 is the subject of discussion, outside of those in the […]

The Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy: Winning Photo Votes for September 7, 2015

September 6, 2015 | Jim Lane

Calling Captain E0: Can renewable isobutanol beat out ethanol-free gasoline in the powerboat sector?

September 3, 2015 | Jim Lane

E-Zero – ethanol-free gas, has been popular with boaters, but here comes isobutanol, with Gevo leading the pack. Are the economics a slam-dunk? Here’s the hard data. One of the more interesting trends in recent years has been the rise of ethanol-free gasoline. Overall, Pure-gas.com reports 9915 stations offering ethanol-free gas in the US and Canada — […]

Calysta and its Happy Meal

September 2, 2015 | Jim Lane

It’s not just fish meal, it’s happy meal — for investors, we hear. As Calysta pivots towards methane-to-protein and supersizes its business plan, we visit with CEO Alan Shaw to find out who’s lovin’ it. Calysta CEO Alan Shaw doesn’t have a whole heck of a lot in common with Sir Elton John excepting that they are both […]

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