Category: Top Stories

US Senate completes mark-up on Defense budget, supports continuation of advanced biofuels program

US Senate completes mark-up on Defense budget, supports continuation of advanced biofuels program

May 25, 2014 |

In Washington, the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, following mark-up, is reported to not include any attempts to undermine the Defense Production Act’s Advanced Drop-In Biofuels Production Project, which protects the military’s ability to decide what types of fuels to purchase. The House version of the NDAA offers strikingly different language — much […]

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Fuels America hits the airwaves in pro-RFS push

Fuels America hits the airwaves in pro-RFS push

May 22, 2014 |

The Fuels America coalition launched a robust inside-the-beltway advertising campaign this week, touting the lower prices that American renewable fuels deliver to consumers at the gas pump, and encouraging Americans to ask the Obama Administration to protect America’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The campaign consists of substantial paid media buys on Washington’s WTOP Radio and […]

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The rise of the neodiesel companies

The rise of the neodiesel companies

May 22, 2014 |

Biodiesel? Renewable diesel? Enzymatic biodiesel? Renewable jet fuel? Or, more to the point, a combination of some or all? Here comes Neo – the neodiesel companies — brimming with technologies to create cleaner alternatives to a powerhouse fuel. They have all the performance, half the carbon, and a range of no-food feedstocks to choose from. In covering the redefinition of the US […]

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Pass the Mustard: Why carinata is taking root as biofuel

Pass the Mustard: Why carinata is taking root as biofuel

May 22, 2014 |

By Don Konantz, President & CEO, Calyx Bio-Ventures, Vancouver, British Columbia  Navigant Research forecasts that the “global biofuels production will reach 61 billion gallons by 2023, replacing nearly 6% of global transportation fuel production from fossil sources and generating $70 billion in new revenue over the next decade.” The demand for an appropriate crop that […]

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“But I won’t cry for yesterday”: The re-making of the US ethanol industry

“But I won’t cry for yesterday”: The re-making of the US ethanol industry

May 21, 2014 |

The migration from first-gen to next-gen biofuels is becoming less ‘Invisible’ — and the new landscape is not, by anyone’s estimation, an ‘Ordinary World’. If Aemetis’ latest earnings hadn’t rocked your world quite enough, here are 10 hot strategies being pursued right now to morph the old into new. If you remained glued to the television […]

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US Navy approves biofuels MILSPECS, opens Pacific fuel buy

US Navy approves biofuels MILSPECS, opens Pacific fuel buy

May 21, 2014 |

From Washington, the Navy’s Director of Operational Energy, Chris Tindal, advises the Digest: “As of two weeks ago, the Navy has fully approved MILSPECs for JP-5, JP-8, and F-76 for the F-T and HEFA pathways.  As you may know, DLA – Energy will be adding these biofuel annexes into our two upcoming domestic bulk fuel […]

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No Shortcuts to the Top: A Digest Special Report on Scale-up in Industrial Biotechnology

No Shortcuts to the Top: A Digest Special Report on Scale-up in Industrial Biotechnology

May 20, 2014 |

Like climbing major summits in the Himalayas, it’s tougher than it looks, and it looks purity darn tough. Scale-up in industrial biotechnology, that is — not for the faint-hearted. How do the masters of scale-up get it done? For starters, with “no shortcuts to the top”. Veteran Everest mountaineer Ed Viesturs probably said it best when he […]

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Segetis, Green Biologics land Minn. grants as state heads for B10 biodiesel, re-ups on biofuels

Segetis, Green Biologics land Minn. grants as state heads for B10 biodiesel, re-ups on biofuels

May 20, 2014 |

In Minnesota, beginning July 1, diesel fuel sold in Minnesota will contain a B10 blend during the summer months. The escalation to B10 was part of a bill passed in 2008 which called for the move to happen in 2013. Because of inadequate blending infrastructure in on area of the state and a regulatory concern, […]

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Goodbye Fuel from Food, Hello Food From Fuel: Calysta’s Big Methane-to-Protein Play

Goodbye Fuel from Food, Hello Food From Fuel: Calysta’s Big Methane-to-Protein Play

May 20, 2014 |

Alan Shaw has a one-step solution for making the world food secure, and using up all that spare, cheap, greenhouse-nasty shale gas. Make proteins from methane. Solving two big problems at once — and Alan & Co, ahem, just happen to have the technology in hand. The Digest investigates. When we last left Alan Shaw, […]

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House Appropriations Committee slashes mandatory Farm Bill spending

House Appropriations Committee slashes mandatory Farm Bill spending

May 19, 2014 |

In Washington, the House Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations Bill would reduce mandatory spending levels – agreed to earlier this year – for important Energy Title programs, including the Renewable Energy for America Program, Biomass Crop Assistance Program, and the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. The Agriculture Energy Coalition […]

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