Category: Top Stories

100% drop-in aviation fuels are “closer” as Blue Sun demo plant goes 24/7 in Missouri

100% drop-in aviation fuels are “closer” as Blue Sun demo plant goes 24/7 in Missouri

March 24, 2014 |

ARA, CLG, Blue Sun take 100% drop-in aviation fuels a big step forward with a 100 barrel per day demo plant. Exciting economics as well. Let’s take a closer look. This week, Blue Sun Energy, ARA, and Chevron Lummus Global achieved a key development milestone with their 100 barrel/day (4,200 gallon/per day) demonstration-scale Biofuels ISOCONVERSION […]

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Waste Management, Velocys, NRG, Ventech form renewables, natgas-to-fuels JV

Waste Management, Velocys, NRG, Ventech form renewables, natgas-to-fuels JV

March 24, 2014 |

First plant go/no-go expected in 2014; target: Oklahoma. Future expansion in North America, UK, China. In Oklahoma, Velocys, Waste Management, NRG Energy, and Ventech Engineers International announced a joint venture to develop gas-to-liquids plants in the United States and other select geographies. The JV will pursue the development of multiple plants utilising a combination of […]

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Commerzbank, IDB close $115M green line for Banco Pine in Brazil

Commerzbank, IDB close $115M green line for Banco Pine in Brazil

March 24, 2014 |

$115 million A/B loan will expand access to financing primarily for renewable energy In Washington, the Commerzbank, Inter-American Development Bank and Banco Pine S.A. closed a $115 million syndicated A/B loan to expand access to financing for environmentally sustainable projects in Brazil. The Green Line Finance Partnership entails a $75 million A loan from the […]

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The birth of an affordable, sustainable, more-powerful gunk-getter

The birth of an affordable, sustainable, more-powerful gunk-getter

March 24, 2014 |

Step aside, you crud-caked brushes and surfaces. Here comes the improbably green and affordable Steposol to add power to the “clean” in Cleantech. And illuminate a path towards commercialization for those with technologies that will follow. In Illinois, Stepan is debuting the “surfactant as a solvent” Steposol MET-10U — one of the first commercial products to […]

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Siluria Technologies unveils next step in natural gas-to-liquid fuels

Siluria Technologies unveils next step in natural gas-to-liquid fuels

March 23, 2014 |

Fuels based on Siluria’s technology projected to “dramatically reduce the cost, complexity and overall emissions” of transportation fuels. In California, Siluria Technologies debuted its development unit for producing liquid fuels from natural gas based on Siluria’s proprietary oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) and ethylene-to-liquid (ETL) technologies. Earlier this year, Siluria announced that it will build […]

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Urban Mining: Biofuels and municipal solid waste, in review

Urban Mining: Biofuels and municipal solid waste, in review

March 20, 2014 |

Urban waste: It’s nasty, here, inevitable and aggregated.  The feedstocks are available at fixed, affordable prices and in long-term supply contracts from credit-worthy entities. Everyone loves the idea. So, where are the gallons? The Digest investigates.  We reported earlier this week on a project underway for the Hampton Roads, Virginia area that will, if successful, […]

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As KiOR stumbles, Aemetis soars: what made the difference?

As KiOR stumbles, Aemetis soars: what made the difference?

March 19, 2014 |

Is it just coincidence that KiOR’s stock is down sharply as Aemetis has been on a tear?   Just a lucky break for ethanol based on attractive “crush spreads”? Or something important about the strategy and how it has played out? The Digest looks at the companies and the results. On a clear morning last […]

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If you can’t join em, beat ’em: The day that Gasoline went Clean, and got Whacked. Part II

If you can’t join em, beat ’em: The day that Gasoline went Clean, and got Whacked. Part II

March 18, 2014 |

In 1970, an oil company launched the first major ad campaign around environmental benefits of a new fuel formulation. Then, a radical shift in gasoline pricing occurred just as those remarkable ads went off the air. What were lessons that industry learned about alternative fuels? How might it be still impacting us today?  The Digest […]

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KiOR announces $347M loss for 2013: “We have substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

KiOR announces $347M loss for 2013: “We have substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

March 17, 2014 |

Delayed 2013 results includes going concern statement. Future Khosla financing contingent on milestones. Default looms as soon as April. Financing after August unclear. In Texas, KiOR announced a $347.5M net loss for 2013, and issued a “going concern” statement that focused on its ability to raise future capital to sustain operations and build its next […]

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If you can’t join em, beat ’em: The day that Gasoline went Clean, and got Whacked.

If you can’t join em, beat ’em: The day that Gasoline went Clean, and got Whacked.

March 17, 2014 |

In 1970, an oil company launched the first major ad campaign around environmental benefits of a new fuel formulation. Then, a radical shift in gasoline pricing occurred just as those remarkable ads went off the air. What were lessons that industry learned about alternative fuels? How might it be still impacting us today?  The Digest […]

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