Oil’s #1 and Craig Venter re-up on algae fuels R&D effort In California, Synthetic Genomics announced a new co-funded research agreement with ExxonMobil to develop algae biofuels. The new agreement is a basic science research program that focuses on developing algal strains with significantly improved production characteristics by employing synthetic genomic science and technology. Financial [...]
You can sum it up in 10 words: Studebaker, Maxwell, Hudson, Checker, DeSoto, Duesenberg, LaSalle, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Tucker. The names of beloved auto brands that went by the wayside — great in their day, but unable to adapt to modern times. The passing of a great brand is a sad thing, but it doesn’t mean [...]
#1 chemco acquires Henkel’s detergents enzyme technology; licenses Dyadic’s C1 platform; inks R&D pact with Direvo. In Germany, BASF has strengthened its technology footprint in industrial enzymes, one of BASF’s identified growth fields, with three separate transactions. Er, who is BASF again? BASF is the world’s leading chemical company, ranked by sales. Its portfolio ranges [...]
We noted earlier this week the changes at Bio Architecture Lab, including a change in CEO and strategy. The story attracted a report in Bloomberg, citing that “Bio Architecture Lab has given up on the technology [and] is seeking to sell Chilean operations including a 20-hectare (49-acre) seaweed farm in a bay near the island [...]
Moniz confirmed as US Secretary of Energy. The US Senate confirmed MIT professor Ernest Moniz as US Secretary of Energy, in a 97-0 vote. Mike McAdams, president of the ABFA said, “The Advanced Biofuels Association strongly supports the confirmation of Ernest Moniz to be the next Secretary of Energy. We are pleased that President Obama tapped [...]
In California, Edeniq announced the company’s first demonstration plant, located at its Visalia, CA headquarters, has completed a successful “performance test” that exceeded the benchmark of 1,000 hours of continuous operation. The Corn-to-Cellulosic Migration plant utilizes Edeniq’s proprietary technology to process over one metric ton of cellulosic feedstock per day to cellulosic ethanol, exceeding the plant’s [...]
In the EU, Fox Business is reporting that the office of Statoil and Royal Dutch Shell were subjected to “announced inspections,” also known as raids, over charges that unnamed companies have been allegedly reporting faked commodity prices to Platts’ Market-On-Close (MOC) price assessment reports. The price reports are used to generate benchmarks for regional and [...]
In Luxembourg, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy filed a complaint with the EY General Court in Luxembourg challenging the European Union’s decision to impose a 9.6 percent antidumping duty on all ethanol imported from the United States. The complaint outlines 10 specific violations of one established trade law committed by the European [...]
In Canada, Methes Energies announced that Methes Energies Canada signed a Purchase and Cooperation Agreement with BioFuel Aruba of Oranjestad, Aruba, to initially purchase one Denami 600 biodiesel processor. As the first and only biodiesel producer in Aruba, BioFuel Aruba was planning to expand its biodiesel production capacity by as early as third quarter 2013. BioFuel [...]
In Missouri, the United Soybean Board is pointing readers towards a study commissioned by the Minnesota, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota soy checkoffs, that found that biodiesel production has boosted soybean prices by $0.74 per bushel. In total, the study found that biodiesel production had generated $15B in added farmer income, and soybean oil [...]
In Oklahoma, Southern Nazarene University (SNU) and Oklahoma State University (OSU) are collaborating to investigate the possibility of using sunlight as a way of enriching the energy content of biofuel. The primary goal for this summer is to develop a method for the conversion of acrylate esters into cyclobutanes. The question at the heart of [...]
In California, researchers at the University of California are engineering tobacco plants to produce oils for use as biofuel feedstock. The researchers hope that the results of the three-year, $4.8 million ARPA-E project known as PETRO, Plants Engineered to Replace Oil, will result in oils akin to those produced from algae.
In Washington, as part of the EPA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for RIN integrity, QAP providers were required to submit details of their QAP-A replacement plans to the EPA by May 1, 2013. Under the NPRM, the QAP-A RIN provides an obligated party zero liability if the RIN is ever to be found invalid. [...]
In Switzerland, Argentina has made an official complaint against the European Union at the World Trade Organizations in the latest chapter in their on-going spat over alleged biodiesel dumping. Argentina is complaining about specific trade policies in Belgium, Spain, Poland, France and Italy.
In Belgium, ePURE has asked the European Commission to investigate if EU customs legislation is properly applied in Finland. Evidence from several sources indicates that ethanol blended with gasoline coming from the US and destined for the EU market will be classified as an ethanol blend with much lower import duties than denatured ethanol, creating [...]
Today on Twitter: fuelfreedomnow What is cellulosic #ethanol anyway? @DuPont_ability breaks it down JhonCooper just had fundraising call from @GreenpeaceUK – apparently biofuels are better than arctic drilling… and artic is ‘like, a big bit of ice’ padotnet The Hazards of Biofuels
Today on Twitter: sputnik_nyc Updates: Scientists develop ‘green’ pretreatment of Miscanthus for biofuels BerkeleyLab Turning Up the Heat on Biofuels. Douglas Clark making enzymes tolerate higher heat. @AmerChemSociety ProSyn: Bjørn Lomborg: “Biofuels have become an almost unstoppable and unmitigated disaster.”
Today on Twitter: DuPont_ability: NEW Energy Whitepaper: A new science is needed to secure China’s energy future FuelsAmerica: Thank you @SenatorHeitkamp for supporting biofuels at today’s #FarmBill markup! RealLabRat Mighty algae could lead to biofuels breakthrough
In Washington, US ethanol production averaged 857,000 barrels per day (b/d) — or 35.99 million gallons daily. That is up 14,000 b/d from the week before and tied for highest of the year. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 853,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 13.08 billion gallons. Stocks of ethanol stood [...]
In France, the International Energy Agency released its 2013 Mid-Term Oil Market Report, projected that US ethanol growth will stall almost completely through 2018 due to political opposition to the US Renewable Fuel Standard, the ethanol blend wall, stalling gasoline demand, and rising feedstock costs. “Though there is no clear indication the RFS2 will be [...]
In Florida, Dyadic reports a net loss of $1.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 compared to a a net loss of $781,000 in Q1 2012. Dyadic’s cash and cash equivalents increased 3% to $4.1 million at quarter end, when compared to the cash balance of $4.0 million as of December 31, 2012. [...]
In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced Dawn Schueller Moore as head of communications. Moore previously served as Sen. Herb Kohl’s (D-WI) press secretary.
