CMEC and Green Biologics take mighty first steps towards another key hook-up between a US corn ethanol producer and a hot biobutanol technology. In Digestville, we look at the bioneer spirit — and how this deal differs from others pursued by Gevo, Butamax, Cobalt and other lusty pursuers of four-carbon fortunes. It’s not exactly clear […]
“Less is more” said Mies van den Rohe. Well, Robert Browning said it first, but never mind. The aphorisms of minimalism offer some pointers for the future of E85, ethanol’s blend wall and the Renewable Fuel Standard. The other day, we reviewed the status of the Renewable Fuel Standard — and went through some of the […]
What’s it all about? Finding the delta between the cost of feedstock, the price of fuel added to the D value (the RIN number). That’s the secret, says Aemetis CEO Eric McAfee. How’s that work again? “What you really are in the business of,” Aemetis CEO Eric McAfee reflects, “is capturing the arbitrage between the […]
Will Congress “mess with the RFS”? As choruses of opponents and supporters clash, today the Digest looks at how 2013-14 might look like if Congress declines to bring forward an energy bill, and it is “business as usual” Oh, see. Oh, see Rufus. Funny, funny Rufus. Run, Rufus, run! The fall US legislative season is […]
Will Congress “mess with the RFS”? As choruses of opponents and supporters clash, the Digest looks at how the RFS might be amended, or what 2013-14 might look like if it is “business as usual” Well, the fall US legislative season is upon us. The question is — from virtually all corners — will the […]
Is this the most one-sided corporate assassination in the history of bioenergy — ActionAid’s hit job on Addax Biofuels? We look at the ActionAid manifesto, and the 4200 words of correction (phew!). As we have presented elsewhere in today’s Digest, technology continues to pour out of labs around the world delivering substantial yield enhancements, that […]
Polyploidy – no, it’s not a carpet fiber, or a disease that years ago carried Grandma away. It’s something that could change biofuels, food, feed and fiber forever — and the company in the lead, Kaiima, just raised $65 million. So, let’s review the state of the art. Consider this situation. You are awaiting a […]
What can biofuels developers learn from Michael Lewis’s best-seller, Moneyball, and its analysis of professional baseball? Turns out, quite a lot, in the Department of Undervalued Microbes Varying biofuels have varying challenges in reaching commercial scale — including market access, enzyme or catalyst costs, the financing of first-of-kind technologies, technology hurdles, extraction and separation — and so […]
If you don’t reach the right profitability thresholds, you too might well be forced to “Kneel Before Zod!”. But, er, what’s right? We go through the data. If you are of a certain age, you my well remember that in Superman II, the evil General Zod arrives from Krypton and, after overhearing a pair of […]
How an integrated biorefinery uses carbon can greatly affect its carbon life cycle, and profitability. Here’s why, and how. So, your integrated biorefinery project is coming along great. Then comes the carbon lifecyle analysis — the horde of critics shouting about “indirect land use change” — somehow, your project, which you think reduces carbon emission, […]
