Novozymes’ Sebastian Søderberg on how the growing consumer trend to choose ‘green’ products can help the cellulosic ethanol industry take off. Why would people be willing to pay more for an environmentally friendly product? I believe consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the damage their consumption can cause to the planet. With this […]
By Brent Erickson, Executive Vice-President, BIO After a painful and damaging two-year delay, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week published Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) for 2014, 2015 and 2016. Unfortunately, the agency finalized a rule riddled with contradictions and confusing logic. EPA asserts that Congress gave it the authority to slow down the RFS […]
By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest Two questions have dominated the responses received after my Lessons Learned series on commercializing industrial biotechnology (here) and the deep-dive into the industrial biotechnology commercialization process (here), the questions are what makes scale-up of industrial biotechnology so difficult and of course how can risk […]
By Vonnie Estes, Special to The Digest Around the world, manufacturers make everyday products, from food to containers to fabrics, using processes and ingredients developed decades to centuries ago. These manufacturing systems have enabled impressive economic growth and raised the global standard of living. But as the land, water, and fossil fuel resources those systems […]
By Marcel van Berkel, Chief Commercial Officer, GFBiochemicals, special to The Digest There is a clear and growing need for new chemical building blocks. As the world readies for COP 21 in Paris, this is more evident than ever before. Civil society, policymakers and industry are all demanding new solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. […]
By Matt Carr, Executive Director, Algae Biomass Organization, special to The Digest The 2015 conference season is coming to a close and a common theme seems to be that the state of the bioeconomy is one of transition. Speaking for the hundreds of innovating companies in the algae industry: We wouldn’t have it any other […]
By Brent Erickson, Executive VP, Biotechnology Industry Organization, special to The Digest With his planned visit to the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference in the coming weeks, President Obama seeks a leading role for the United States in addressing global climate change. Unfortunately, that leading role could be forfeited before the conference even gets under […]
By Joe Hrdlicka, Executive Director of the Iowa Biotechnology Association (IowaBio) Iowa’s investment in biofuels, driven by the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), has brought the state new business and job opportunities. Iowa is home to three of the first-in-the-nation cellulosic biofuel refineries that are producing the lowest-carbon fuels in the world. Iowa has also […]
At a time when carbon emissions should be dropping by 40%-80% EU transport emissions will actually increase by that amount, becoming the number one EU contributor to catastrophic global warming. By James Cogan, Special to The Digest Transport emissions can only be reduced in the 2030 timeframe by traffic efficiencies, biofuels and lower tailpipe emissions. […]
By Richard Lowrie, KROHNE, Water and Wastewater Industry Manager Many US wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are beginning to use anaerobic digesters to produce biogas that can be used in their combined heat and power plants to generate electricity and heat. In addition, the plants are selling the biogas into the gas grid. The growing interest […]
