ABM 2010 opens in San Francisco, as Dynamic Fuels, Solazyme, OriginOil report production ventures, breakthroughs

In California, as more than 270 delegates gathered in San Francisco for the opening of Advanced Biofuels Markets, Syntroleum and Tyson Foods announced that their jointly owned Dynamic Fuels renewable diesel plant in Geismar, Louisiana has commenced production at a rate of 2,500 barrels per day (38.3 million gallons per year) of drop-in fuels, using non-food grade animal fats and greases. Production is expected to grow until reaching nearly 5,000 barrels per day, or 75 million gallons per year.

To date, the Geismar, Louisiana, plant has manufactured renewable diesel with a cloud point as low as minus 26°F and cetane as high as 88, more than twice that of the ASTM petroleum diesel specification. The facility’s renewable diesel fuel product meets all ASTM D975 specifications for diesel fuel. Dynamic Fuels has been making jet fuel for testing by the Air Force Research Laboratory. This is the first renewable jet fuel to be tested by the Air Force that has been produced in a domestic commercial scale facility.

Syntroleum’s finance chief Ron Stinebaugh will be among the presenters at this year’s ABM conference, which has attracted companies representing 97 percent of current US advanced biofuels production.

Solazyme forms global nutritional JV with polyol giant Roquette Frères

Solazyme announced that they have signed an agreement to create a global nutritional joint venture with Roquette Frères, one of the world’s most advanced starch businesses and world leader in polyols (sugar alcohols). The JV, which will be 50% owned by each parent company, will be named Solazyme-Roquette Nutritionals, and will be operational by the beginning of 2011. Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson will head the JV.

Under the terms of the agreement, Roquette will fund and build a JV-owned, commercial-scale manufacturing plant with capacity in the tens of thousands of tons of annual production, sited at a Roquette corn wet mill.  In addition, Roquette will provide upfront licensing payments to Solazyme and working capital to fund the JV until reaching profitability. Solazyme’s president and CTO, Harrison Dillon, as well as Solazyme chairman Jerry Fiddler, will be participating in ABM this year.

OriginOil produces renewable hydrogen at rates comparable to solar PV

OriginOil announced that it has succeeded in producing hydrogen from the power of the sun at a level comparable to solar photovoltaics, using a pared-down version of the company’s Hydrogen Harvester. The company has, to date, achieved hydrogen energy corresponding to a solar energy conversion efficiency of about 12 percent continuously for several hours on a partially clouded day using the sun as sole energy input.

By comparison, commercial solar cells achieve conversion efficiencies between six and 20 percent. OriginOil noted that the process is the first renewable source for what has become a $39 billion global hydrogen market, and noted that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently stated that “Efficient photoelectrochemical hydrogen production is a holy grail of renewable hydrogen production.”

OriginOil CEO Riggs Eckelberry will participate in this year’s ABM conference.

Today at Advanced Biofuels Markets

Advanced Biofuels Markets will feature today the presentation of the Transformative Technology 30 Awards, as well as launch of the annual Selectors Data Book for the 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy rankings.