Category: Top Stories

The Sage of Hastings-on-Hudson: The Wit and Wisdom of Ron Cascone

The Sage of Hastings-on-Hudson: The Wit and Wisdom of Ron Cascone

March 7, 2021 |

In New York, Ronald F. Cascone died on Friday, March 5th from complications of COVID and after a long battle with esophageal cancer. He was 77. Cascone was known around the world as one of the foremost authorities on the advanced bioeconomy, an acerbic critic of cant, pettifoggery and hype and a champion of emerging […]

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Aquaman supports algae-based sneakers, hemp barrister wigs, mushroom leather, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of March 5th

Aquaman supports algae-based sneakers, hemp barrister wigs, mushroom leather, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of March 5th

March 4, 2021 |

Last week we had Iron Man and Bill Gates. This week it’s Aquaman’s Jason Momoa who is supporting a biobased economy with his support of algae-based sneakers. And if you thought no one was wearing barrister wigs anymore, check out the new vegan hemp wigs instead of traditional horsehair for UK’s barristers, who yes, apparently […]

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Fuels from thin air: Prometheus joins the chase to make captured CO2 into net zero hydrocarbon fuels

Fuels from thin air: Prometheus joins the chase to make captured CO2 into net zero hydrocarbon fuels

March 3, 2021 |

One more company to focus on in our tour of CO2 usage. It’s another electrofuels play called Prometheus Fuels using atmospheric CO2 using water, electricity, and nanotube membranes to produce commercially viable fuels. The project was one of two selected for investment in March of 2019 by Y Combinator, a prominent Silicon Valley business incubator, […]

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Hardened Storage: CarbonBuilt debuts as its concrete-based carbon sequester tech advances

Hardened Storage: CarbonBuilt debuts as its concrete-based carbon sequester tech advances

March 2, 2021 |

In California, CO2Concrete changed its name to CarbonBuilt to better align with its mission to store significant amounts of carbon dioxide in concrete used for the built environment. The company also announced the appointment of climate-tech veteran Rahul Shendure as Chief Executive Officer, known throughout the industry for his work in pre-IPO days at Amyris […]

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The return of Electrofuels: Amazon, Mitsubishi, AP Ventures invest in Infinium’s bid to make fuels from CO2, water

The return of Electrofuels: Amazon, Mitsubishi, AP Ventures invest in Infinium’s bid to make fuels from CO2, water

March 1, 2021 |

What is it? The Infinium Electrofuels process converts renewable power into green hydrogen, then uses this green hydrogen and waste carbon dioxide to produce net-zero carbon fuels. These fuels may be used in today’s plane, ship and truck fleets without changes in infrastructure. Nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions stem from the transportation sector, […]

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Washington state clean fuel standard bill passes House, heads to Senate

Washington state clean fuel standard bill passes House, heads to Senate

February 28, 2021 |

News came in late Friday from Washington state that the state House passed Bill1091 – a statewide clean fuel standard bill – and now is headed to the state Senate for voting. It passed the House with a vote of 52-46 and is the third year the House chamber has voted in support of the […]

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Competitive Edge: Codexis, Inc.

Competitive Edge: Codexis, Inc.

February 25, 2021 |

Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity? Codexis works to create a brighter future by improving the health of people, and our planet. By discovering, developing and […]

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Iron Man investments in bioplastic, Bill Gates’ beef with beef, biobased clogs, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of February 25th

Iron Man investments in bioplastic, Bill Gates’ beef with beef, biobased clogs, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of February 25th

February 24, 2021 |

What do Bill Gates and Robert Downey, Jr. have in common? Apparently, they both are looking for ways to alleviate climate change by getting involved in the bioeconomy. Bill Gates is talking about plant-based or lab-grown beef as a way to save the world since cows burp, fart, and poop too much methane. And Iron […]

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8 Key Federal Resources Supporting Anaerobic Digestion

8 Key Federal Resources Supporting Anaerobic Digestion

February 23, 2021 |

By Bill Hagy, Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. Special to The Digest One of President Biden’s Clean Energy initiatives includes partnering with farmers, ranchers and businesses engaged in livestock production to implement environmentally sound agriculture practices and deploy methane digesters that generate new sources of energy and revenue. Agriculture producers and businesses engaged in the livestock […]

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The Old King Coal Switcheroo: Coal’s out, biomass residues are in, the UK’s AEG’s got the tech, strategy in North Carolina

The Old King Coal Switcheroo: Coal’s out, biomass residues are in, the UK’s AEG’s got the tech, strategy in North Carolina

February 22, 2021 |

Today, I’d like to share a story of coal-switching, and Active Energy, (that’s a company, not a health supplement). They’ve recently raised several million, are in the midst of constructing a first commercial, and received a first order from PacifiCorp, the largest grid operator in the western United States. AEG’s CoalSwitch will be burnt at […]

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