In Germany, Clariant opened its new Group Biotechnology Research Center in Planegg near Munich today. In a ceremony attended by Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology, the key to the facility was symbolically handed over to CEO Hariolf Kottmann and the Head of Clariant’s Group Biotechnology André Koltermann. The […]
In Washington, an amendment offered by Senator Pat Toomey that would end a key provision of the RFS – the requirement to blend traditional ethanol-based renewable fuels into U.S. gasoline failed in the Senate Committee on Banking, by a 15-7 vote. “Biofuels are a key part of energy independence and energy security,” said Jon Soltz, […]
In Washington, according to EIA data as analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, US ethanol production averaged 943,000 barrels per day (b/d)—or 39.61 million gallons daily. That is up 5,000 b/d from the week before. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 950,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 14.56 billion gallons. Stocks of […]
The 2015 Algae Biomass Summit opened in front of a packed audience at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. The first keynote and plenary speakers of the largest algae conference in the world were all in agreement that the industry advancements over the past year were proof that algae’s greatest potential was their […]
In Minnesota, Cargill announced the launch of EverSweet, “the great tasting, next-generation stevia sweetener” which the company co-developed with Evolva. EverSweet sweetener is made with the same sweetness found in the stevia leaf, Reb M and Reb D, and provides consumers the great taste they crave with better sweetness intensity, faster sweetness onset and improved sweetness […]
Part 3 – Project Execution By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest In the second release of the Understanding Advanced Biotechnology Commercialization series, the mechanics of taking the detailed concept and turning it into steel in the grounds was covered, culminating in a facility that is ready to be started up and […]
The Digest Bioeconomy Index, an index of publicly traded advanced bioeconomy stocks, slipped 0.16 percent to 50.37 as ethanol equites slid. For the day, Solazyme (SZYM) fell back 5.00 percent to $2.47, while Metabolix gained 12.32 percent to $1.55. Among other equities, Aemetis (AMTX) dumped 9.09 percent to $2.50. Overall, advances led declines 2 to […]
Sapphire’s Jamie Levine, Matrix Genetics’ Margaret McCormick, Algal Scientific’s Geoff Horst, Heliae’s Len Smith and USCD’s Steve Mayfield reflect on the commercial progress of algae. There is the dream of algae. All that photosynthetic productivity, all those products that algae can make, all those crushing needs that our society has for more, more, more — […]
Algae is an important example of the breadth of work at the Department of Energy, starting with genetics and proceeding all the way to commercial-sized systems and integrations. It’s fundamental science all the way to applied. Biofuels are an important component of our work, and though there are some who say that oil prices have […]
In Michigan, a new $1 million relationship between Michigan State University and ExxonMobil will expand research designed to progress the fundamental science required to advance algae-based fuels. David Kramer, MSU’s John Hannah Distinguished Professor in Photosynthesis and Bioenergetics at the MSU-DOE Plant and Research Laboratory, says that the overall goal of the partnership is to […]
