Today in Biofuels: Algae blooms in US, as two companies sold in Australian biofuel firesale

Top Story:

In Australia, Agri Energy has sold its Swan Hill ethanol project in Victoria to an undisclosed securities firm for $1 million. The company will use the funds for its Beatrice Biodiesel plant in the United States which is under construction. Agri Energy previously said they were shutting down development of the Swan Hill project and a similar project at Murtoa due to lack of support from the financial and policy sectors, and a transfer of company operations to the US.

Producer News:

Business Week published a roundup on developments in algae-based biodiesel, highlighting startups by Chevron, Honeywell and Boeing, as well as the technical challenges of producing algae in a controlled production environment and developing a commercially viable process to extract the oil. The report quoted a prediction by Martin Tobias, CEO of Imperium Renewables, that he expects the cost of algae oil to fall from as high as $20 per gallon today to $1.70 by 2011, with production capacity reaching 100 Mgy by that point. The report focused on the growing pains at algae farms, citing the GreenFuels demonstration of algae oil production that was shut down after two weeks over the summer because of problems in controlling the growth rate of the algae.

International News:

In England, British Sugar opened the first English ethanol plant. The Wissington facility has a production capacity of 18 Mgy of ethanol made from sugar beets. The plant adjoins a sugar processing facility that will provide energy for the ethanol process.

In New Zealand, Pure Power Global has acquired BioJoule, a development stage biofuels company with a goal of producing ethanol from shrubby willow. The transaction was valued at NZ$6 million in cash and 1.6 million shares in Pure Power. BioJoule had experienced difficulties in raising capital in New Zealand to execute its strategy.

In Australia, Ethtec will commence production on December 17 at its pilot cellulosic ethanol plant near Maclean in northern New South Wales. The company’s process uses hydrolysis to convert cellulose to sugars, which can then be fermented into ethanol. The Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile has pledged $5 million in support for the project if the ruling Coalition government is re-elected in federal elections this week.

In Barbados, the national government will provide $4.2 million in funding for a alternative fuel test project for Transport Board buses. The buses will be tested using compressed natural gas, biodiesel, and diesel-electric hybrids, and ethanol. The fleet would then be converted  to the new energy solution through attrition or fleet purchase.

In Canada, Leezamark announced that it will acquire Axiom Energy, an Australian company that is building a 40 Mgy biodiesel plant in Geelong in the state of Victoria, with a potential to expand capacity to 80 Mgy. Under the terms of the acquisition, Axiom shareholders will receive shares in Leezamark. The new owners will, under the terms of the agreement, provide $15 million in new equity through a private placement, and obtain A$25-$30 million in debt for plant completion funds and working capital.

In Vietnam, the government issued a directive for the country to produce 250,000 tons of biofuels by 2015, increasing to 1.8 million tons by 2025, or 5 percent of the projected national fuel consumption. Petrosetco, a subsidiary of the state oil company Petrovietnam, is constructing a tapioca-based ethanol plant in partnership with Itochu, a Japanese company. The $100 million facility is expected to open in 2009.

Research News:

In Malaysia, researchers at Universiti Putra Malaysia have developed a process to make biodiesel from the seeds of the inedible egusi melon. The melon produces oil which is lower in fatty acids and more economical than jatropha or palm oil, according to the research team.

Policy and Policymakers:

In Washington, prospects for the Energy Bill to emerge from congressional negotiations this year have brightened. The House and Senate leadership indicated that key compromises have been reached on CAFE standards that have plagued attempts to reconcile House and Senate versions of the bill. The House is expected to move in the first week of December on a bill that is expected to have sufficient Senate support.

Consumer and Fleet News:

In Iowa, the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Board announced $563,800 in grants to 21 Iowa fuel retailers to assist in installation of E85 and biodiesel pumps and equipment.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Index™, a basket of public biofuels stocks,  was unchanged yesterday at 100.62 as US stock markets were closed in observation of the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

In Oklahoma, both the founder and CEO of Syntroleum announced their resignations, as the company also announced 16 layoffs aimed at improving the company’s bottom line. The company, founded in 1984, has never recorded a profit. In June, Syntroleum formed a joint venture company, Dynamic Fuels, in partnership with Tyson Foods, which will build and operate a biodiesel plant in Geismar, Louisiana using Tyson’s animal wastes as feedstock. The Dynamic Fuels plant is scheduled to open in 2010 with an initial capacity of 76 Mgy.  Concurrent with the layoffs and management changes, the company announced that it will raise $12 million in new equity from Fletcher Asset Management of New York.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

Algal fuel pioneer John Benemann joins Australia’s Future Fuels Consortium

In Australia, algae research pioneer John Benemann has been appointed as specialist advisor to the Australian-based Future Fuels Consortium. The consortium consists of the national science agency CSIR...

Australian state government awards $166,000 in bid to jumpstart algae biodiesel industry

In Australia, the Queensland Government awarded $166,000 to James Cook University and MBD Biodiesel towards an algae farm and biodiesel plant in Townsville. MBD said that it would build a 35,000 tonne...

Researcher tells Aussie government: Get behind biofuels R&D before its too late

A researcher called on the Australian and South Australian governments to get behind biofuels research and development. The researcher noted that Australia's goal of 1% conversion to biofuels lags far...

Australian Renewable Fuels signs 10 million gallon biodiesel contract

In Australia, Australian Renewable Fuels has signed an agreement to sell 10 million gallons of biodiesel from its Picton plant over a 5-year period to an undisclosed Western Australian resource compan...

Australian Labor Party reverses biofuels opposition

The Australian newspaper reports that the Australian Labor Party, facing an upcoming election later this year, has publicly endorsed the joint venture between BP and biofuels company Manildra. The Lab...

Today in Biofuels Opinion: “If you fill up your car or tractor with a blend containing a percentage of biofuel, then that percentage is helping an Australian farming community somewhere.”

2007 Nuffield Scholar Ronald Thompson, in Farm Online Australia:  "A problem with this country in general is that we haven't been prepared to take alternative energy on board. Brazil went down this p...