As the industrial biotechnology industry descends on the city where it can be safely said to have a home-court advantage, here’s what’s got people buzzing at BIO’s Pac Rim annual Summit. In California, 400 industry leaders, a record for this event, are gathered in San Diego this week for BIO’s Pac Rim Summit, which has […]
Synthetic biology to enable the production of bioprocessed precursors for specialty plastics made of synthesis gas. In Germany, Evonik Industries and LanzaTech have signed a three year research cooperation agreement which will see Evonik combining its existing biotechnology platforms with LanzaTech’s synthetic biology and gas fermentation expertise for the development of a route to bioprocessedn […]
Total elects to bottle up the IP and protect itself against Amyris “hardship” as it advances towards commercializing key biofuels. In California and France, Amyris and Total announced the formation of Total Amyris BioSolutions B.V., a 50-50 joint venture that now holds exclusive rights and a license under Amyris’s intellectual property to produce and market […]
In Brazil, an explosion at BioSev’s Usina Santa Elisa in the town of Sertaõzinho killed one worker instantly while seriously injuring another with severe burns to the face. The cause of the explosion is still being investigated. The mill is one of 12 owned by Louis Dreyfus’ BioSev.
In Zimbabwe, Green Fuels plans to build four more ethanol plants by 2018, boosting total production to 1.5 billion liters annually. The additional investment would see cane acreage more than quadruple to 45,000 hectares, up from 9,500ha currently, while it would produce 120MW of electricity, up from its current 18MW.
In Spain, the Institute for Plastic Technology in Valencia is running an EU program looking into various materials that can be produced from algae to create adhesives, paints and dyes using a technology developed by Alicante-based Biofuel Systems. The 42-month research program includes 13 different companies. The first stage of the project will be to […]
In Singapore, Ennovor Biofuels has announced a new set of three managers as the company expands to become the world’s second largest second generation global biodiesel producer by 2015. Chairman John Markham (formerly of ICI) will be brought on for strategic business development, David Frohnsdorff will be brought on as the managing director for production, […]
In the Philippines, coconut oil exports grew by nearly 50% in the last 9 months as the country failed to implement the shift to a B5 biofuel mandate. The current blending requirement is 2%, and the proposal to shift to B5 has yet to secure approval from the National Biofuels Board. Coconut oil export goals […]
In Nigeria, Green Energy and Biofuels are producing biofuel gel from saw dust and water hyacinths for use in clean cooking stoves in both Nigeria and Ghana. The company says that already 200,000 households are using the clean cookstoves and it plans to expand into the rest of West Africa, including Cameroon and Togo where […]
Authors: M. G. Kalyuzhnaya, S. Yang, O. N. Rozova, N. E. Smalley, J. Clubb, A. Lamb, G. A. Nagana Gowda, D. Raftery, Y. Fu, F. Bringel, S. Vuilleumier, D. A. C. Beck, Y. A. Trotsenko, V. N. Khmelenina & M. E. Lidstrom Abstract: Methane is an essential component of the global carbon cycle and one […]
In Indonesia, the Indonesian-Swedish Initiative for Sustainable Energy Solutions has been launched at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, the result of an MOU between Indonesia’s National Energy Council (DEN) and the Energy Agency of Sweden (SEA). The focus of the institute will be on the development of sustainable biodiesel that will reduce negative impacts […]
In Oregon, researchers at Oregon State University have discovered a master regulator gene in a common fungus, which expands access to new compounds that could have use in industrial biofuels. Scientists succeeded in flipping a genetic switc, activating more then 2000 genes in the fungus. “Our studies will open the door to future precise ‘epigenetic […]
In the UK, the government has proposed “double counting” biofuels as part of the renewable energy targets for 2020 that require 20% green energy. Up until now, the targets had been separate with 10% for transport and 20% for power, but the UK’s proposal would lower the 20% power target to 19.5%. The move in […]
In Washington, an EPA hearing last Thursday had supporters of the RFS arriving in force. The only EPA hearing scheduled on the RFS numbers, held in front of the EPA’s five-member panel, had testimony from policy organizations and private companies alike. Growth Energy’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Chris Bliley summed up the policy position: “The […]
In Illinois, as many as 20 ethanol plants are expected to be shuttered as a result of the cutbacks in ethanol blending for the RFS in 2014. Citigroup expects gasoline demand to be 13% less next year than estimated in 2007 when blending mandates were set, just 133 billion gallons compared to the 154 billion […]
The Biofuels Digest Index, an index of publicly traded biofuels stocks, fell 0.72 percent to 65.23 as chemicals retreated. For the day, Biox (BX.T) shed 14.29 percent to $0.30, while Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) dropped 5.52 percent to $4.28. Among other equities, Renewable Energy Group (REGI) sank 4.00 percent to $10.81. Overall, declines led advances 9 […]
The Biofuels Digest Index, an index of publicly traded biofuels stocks, gained 1.45 percent to 65.70 as chemicals surged. For the day, Metabolix (MBLX) soared 52.34 percent to $1,.63, while OriginOil (OOIL) improved 4.00 percent to $0.26. Among other equities, KiOR (KIOR) rose 3.23 percent to $1.92. Overall, advances led declines 2 to 1 for […]
The Biofuels Digest Index, an index of publicly traded biofuels stocks, fell 0.63 percent to 64.76 as advanced biofuels waned. For the day, Gevo (GEVO) dropped 5.56 percent to $1.70, while Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) recovered 5.36 percent to $4.52. Among other equities, Solazyme (SZYM) jumped 2.37 percent to $8.65. Overall, declines led advances 10 to […]
In Italy, bio-on reports that Ghepi – a company specializing in R&D, the injection molding of plastics and “metal replacement” designs – started an experiment 10 months ago which has demonstrated the excellent performance of the revolutionary bio-plastics developed by bio-on. As a result, bio-on is stating its biopolymer can now also be used to […]
In Virginia, Dr. Yixang Xu, food processing/engineering assistant professor in Virginia State University’s Agricultural Research Station, has been awarded a three-year USDA capacity-building grant in the amount of $291,165 which will fund research on the use of nanotechnology in food packaging. The research aims to develop antimicrobial, biodegradable-based food packaging films to address food safety, […]
In Canada, Anaergia announced a 20-year partnership with the City of Bridgeport Water Pollution Control Authority, Connecticut that will enable the city to utilize renewable electricity generated from organic waste including wastewater sludge and food scraps using advanced anaerobic digestion technology. The anaerobic digestion facility will generate over 10 million kWh of renewable electricity per […]
In Canada, Conifex Power Limited Partnership reports it has closed its secured project financing its planned 36MW bioenergy power project in Mackenzie, British Columbia with a syndicate of four institutional lenders led by a Canadian chartered bank. The financing is for an aggregate of up to $102.7 million and includes a development and construction loan […]
