Any way you look at the US 2016 presidential elections or the turmoil within the European Union (e.g Brexit, or Italy’s referendum on membership), you can conclude that we are entering into in anti-federal cycle, and the most innovative public-private policies are likely for some time to proceed out of regions, provinces and states. In […]
Take-aways from Rana Foroohar’s Article Titled “Saving Capitalism” (Time Magazine, May 23, 2016) and her book titled ”Makers and Takers, The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business”. By Tim Sklar, A Concerned Project Development and Project Finance Professional Special to The Digest Background Over the last thirty years my firm Sklar and […]
By Dr. Bernard Cooker, Chemical Processing Solutions Special to The Digest This is a review of the biomass-fed chemical process projects to renewable chemicals which were published in Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) and Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN) from 1/1/16 to 10/31/16, including activity in bioplastics, biopolymers and biochemicals. It is based on a spreadsheet […]
Our story so far In 2011, KiOR raised $150 million in its June IPO, claiming that it was generating yields of 67 gallons per ton in its Demo unit operations. But it was miles short of that. In our previous installments, we have charted how KiOR moved from a promising early-stage technology to a public […]
By Jeff Olling, Australia and Pacific Rim Consultant for Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Australian state and federal governments from both sides of politics have shown varying levels of support for the biofuels industry over the past few decades. In 2000, the federal government enacted the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 (Cth), which […]
In California, Amyris has a new partner, described fetchingly yet with near-to-complete vagueness as a “a leader in food ingredients and nutraceuticals” which is roughly as helpful as describing a person as “someone who enjoys ice cream”. Some ice cream there is, nevertheless, in this agreement, which will bring a short-term collaboration investment of […]
By Susan Olson, Ph.D. Managing Director of Ag & Biofuels, Genscape Overview Biomass-based diesel mandates for blending in transportation fuel have increased in many nations worldwide over the last year. In several of these countries, domestic biodiesel production is underutilized and many of these same countries are net exporters. These increases don’t necessarily create the […]
Our story so far KiOR was hanging by a thread as the summer of 2010 commenced. In a few days, the first recorded visitors to Pasadena demo unit, representatives of the Mississippi Development Authority, were expecting to see the demonstration unit in action. The company was beginning to hurtle towards an IPO. But the fuel […]
In the UK, the British people voted to exit the European Union in a historic vote which was announced in the early Friday hours. Following the vote, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he would resign, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “highly likely” that the SNP would seek a referendum on leaving […]
The Blundermeisters of Media Misinformation are at it again. The world’s favorite advanced biofuel, biodiesel, gets another hit job from mainstream media. The Digest investigates. AFP, the major international news service, reported last week that “Palm oil produced on tropical plantations that drive deforestation has become a major biofuel for vehicles in the European Union, industry figures released Tuesday […]
