Biofuels Personality of the Year, Finalist: Sir Richard Branson

December 24, 2007

Sir Richard Branson has been a high-flyer in many sectors, expanding from the music publishing business in the 1960s to become perhaps the most widely-known entrepreneur of his times. His interest in biofuels stems from a long-standing interest in humanitarian causes, and also a strong of investments in the transportation sector that have increasingly made him a major consumer of fossil fuels.

Branson feeds his empire on the brand advantages accumulated through a succession of positive headlines. The opportunity to be an early mover in biofuels must have appealed both in pragmatic cost terms, but above all in the opportunities for great publicity and “doing the right thing”.

Whatever his precise motivations, Branson has invested widely in biofuels and has put his Virgin Atlantic group at the forefront of the jet biofuels movement, committing one of his 747s (empty except for crew) for a biofuels test under flight conditions in 2008.

His investment partner of choice is Vinod Khosla, another finanlist for Biofuels Personality of the Year. Their joint investments include Cilion, a California-based ethanol producer. In 2007, Cilion closed on a $105 million first round of debt financing for the construction of two new ethanol plants in California. Cilion is helmed by Mark Noetzel, formerly a top exec with BP. Cilion has a third plant already under construction in Keyes, CA that will produce 55 million gallons per year, and is an investor in the proposed Lancaster Biofuels plant in Conoy Township, PA.

A more exotic investment is Gevo, which is developing new processes to make butanol commercially viable. Butanol has long been considered an attractive biofuel because it has a similar energy density (e.g. mileage) to gasoline and does not require modifications to vehicles or infrastructure such as pipelines. The negative for butanol is that the production process dates to World War One and is not cost-competitive.

In June, Branson’s Virgin Voyager train service launched a B20-based service from London to Llandudno, in a heralded sending-off conducted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Voyager will continue a six-month trial with service across England, Scotland and Wales. “It’s fantastic that we are leading the rest of Europe in developing this fuel,” said Branson at the time of the launch.

If test results are successful, Virgin expects to convert their entire Voyager fleet to biodiesel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent.

Branson is reported to be a potential investor in the group attempting to break the world record for circumnavigating the world in a powerboat using B100 biodiesel. The crew of four aim for a 65 day circumnavigation commencing in Malaga in March 2008, would break the current record by 10 days. It is not clear whether the combination of daring adventure and biofuels has proven more tempting for Branson or for the rumor mills which track his every move.

It was not a happy year on all fronts, for during the summer Branson’s great friend Steve Fossett, the famed adventurer, was lost while piloting a small plane in Nevada. Branson has been highly active in the search-and-rescue effort, even enlisting the help of Google to access satellite imagery.

But Branson retains a golden touch in all his biofuel adventures, just as he has shown in so many other sectors over the years. 2008 could be a breakout year for several of his investments, but 2007 will be a tough one for him to top.

Who will be the Biofuels Personality of the Year for 2007? Chavez? Gore? Ban Ki-Moon? Castro? Bush? Branson? Feature stories will continue through December 31st when the Biofuels Personality of the Year will be announced. Consideration is given to those who have made the most impact on the biofuels industry this year - for good or ill.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under News & Financial Analysis