Category: Top Stories

Brazil’s President Rousseff christens Raizen cellulosic biofuels plant

Brazil’s President Rousseff christens Raizen cellulosic biofuels plant

July 23, 2015 |

Iogen’s technology at commercial-scale, and officially open for business. In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff launched Iogen Energy’s cellulosic ethanol technology at the official opening of Raízen`s newly expanded Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil on July 22, 2015. Iogen, a leading developer of cellulosic biofuel technology, and Raízen, one of the […]

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Numbitrax picks Blume Distillation for African energy crop, waste-to-ethanol project

Numbitrax picks Blume Distillation for African energy crop, waste-to-ethanol project

July 22, 2015 |

In California, Blume Distillation sold a license to its Blume Biorefinery system to Numbitrax, based in Touwsriver, Western Cape, South Africa, has completed a purchase agreement and fund transfer for a Blume Biorefinery system. The purchase represents a several million-dollar investment for Numbitrax, which plans to produce ethanol as well as additional high-return offtake products, […]

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US DOE: Big Update on Loan Guarantee program for renewable energy projects

US DOE: Big Update on Loan Guarantee program for renewable energy projects

July 22, 2015 |

Douglas Schultz, Director of Loan Guarantee Origination at the US Energy Department posted a key update on project eligibility for the Loan Program. He writes: During the latest three solicitations issued by the Department’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) for approximately $24 billion in Title XVII loan guarantees for energy projects (Solicitation No. DE–SOL– 007791, 7154 and 6303), the LPO identified […]

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RIP, Aurora Algae: Algae and the Never-Never

RIP, Aurora Algae: Algae and the Never-Never

July 22, 2015 |

Where did the once VC-heralded algae venture go off the tracks?’ They’re selling off the Aurora Algae lab equipment in California’s East Bay — specifically hgpauction.com is, and a good source reports that the company sold off the Texas-based land upon which  their first commercial project was aiming to build. Here is a link to sale […]

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“Nothing will happen without the will” – addressing climate change through low-carbon fuels

“Nothing will happen without the will” – addressing climate change through low-carbon fuels

July 22, 2015 |

Condensed from remarks by Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, on receiving the Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology,  from the Biotechnology Industry Organization. So many people beginning with my mother but including colleagues, professors and many others who have guided me, occasionally kicked me. Rosalind Franklin said that technology is about making […]

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GFBiochemicals reaches commercial-scale in renewable levulinic acid project

GFBiochemicals reaches commercial-scale in renewable levulinic acid project

July 22, 2015 |

Biobased chemical company GFBiochemicals has started commercial production at its 10,000 MT/a capacity levulinic acid plant in Caserta, Italy. The announcement was made at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, Montreal. GFBiochemicals is the first company to produce levulinic acid at commercial scale directly from biomass. “Caserta is now the world’s largest operational production […]

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Glucan Biorenewables wins Renewable Chemistry Start-Up Award

Glucan Biorenewables wins Renewable Chemistry Start-Up Award

July 22, 2015 |

Sofinnova Partners, the renewable chemistry venture capital firm, announced that Glucan Biorenewables is the winner of the prestigious Renewable Chemistry Start-Up Award. Following a public vote with almost 8,000 votes cast, the Top-5 companies were shortlisted.  These companies then presented yesterday to a jury of industry experts at the BIO World Congress in Montreal. The […]

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DSM: “We are completely committed to the POET-DSM venture and the technology.”

DSM: “We are completely committed to the POET-DSM venture and the technology.”

July 21, 2015 |

DSM Bio-Based Products’s new chief, Atul Thakrar, visiting with The Digest on the sidelines of the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology taking place this week in Montreal. On POET-DSM. “We are completely committed to the POET-DSM venture and the technology. It’s harder and takes longer to get through the commissioning period than we had expected, but […]

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FedEx, Southwest Airlines combine to buy entire jet fuel output of Red Rock biorefinery, through 2024

FedEx, Southwest Airlines combine to buy entire jet fuel output of Red Rock biorefinery, through 2024

July 21, 2015 |

FedEx joins Southwest Airlines to buy out Red Rock’s entire 8-year jet fuel inventory — key milestone for project construction. In Colorado, Red Rock Biofuels will produce approximately three million gallons of low-carbon, renewable jet fuel per year from 2017 through 2024 for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, in an agreement announced by the […]

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Cargill invests in Genomatica; joint marketing deal positions Cargill as supplier of carbohydrate feedstocks, production services for Genomatica process technologies

Cargill invests in Genomatica; joint marketing deal positions Cargill as supplier of carbohydrate feedstocks, production services for Genomatica process technologies

July 20, 2015 |

In Minnesota, Cargill made an equity investment in Genomatica and secured rights to make additional investments, as part of an agreement tin which the partners will co-market Cargill’s feedstock and production services to current and prospective Genomatica licensees, and chemical users.The collaboration, according to the partners, “will give chemical producers, distributors and users access to […]

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