The top 20 trends and stories from biofuels’ most advanced commercial market, and its most intriguing focal point for expansion. It was just around the end of 2009’s Summer of Algae, when attention in advanced biofuels shifted decisively to Brazil, and it seemed that the best place to carry on an industry dialogue was the […]
Sapphire Energy, among other hardy survivors, press forward, as others melt away or re-focus on higher-value, smaller-market products. You remember algae biofuels, don’t you? The Summer of Algae 2009 was the ‘summer of algae,” when it seemed that every other day, there was another Mom-and-Pop, or even international behemoth, announcing that it was heading up […]
There’s water, water everywhere, hardly a drop to use. The latest on Sustainable, Affordable, Reliable, Available biomass feedstocks that keep down the stress on our water tables. Among the compelling presentations at ABLC this month, Daphne Preuss, CEO of Chromatin, one of the leading seed developers, gave one of the real waker-uppers, this on feedstock […]
Hybrids, plug-in electrics struggle to pass the consumer’s “compared to what” test – and how much do those tax credits cost, anyway? Perhaps the three most important words in technology development, bio-based or otherwise are “compared to what”. It’s a useful way to look at bioenergy – because most studies look at bio-based technologies in […]
What’s the buzz when 560 advanced biofuels delegates, including 120 C-level executives get together for deal-making, scuttlebutt, and comparing perspectives? Here’s our Top 10 from Day 2 at ABLC. Best line at ABLC? SynGest CEO Jack Oswald, comparing the opportunities between chemicals and fuels, opined “I pity da fuel.” Digest editor Jim Lane pulled some […]
Which technologies perform better than others with today’s feedstock costs, financing terms and fuel prices? Is your technology better, or miles better? The Digest’s updated Biofuels Venture Valuation Calculator provides a quick comparison tool. In Florida, Biofuels Digest released an updated version of its Biofuels Venture Value Calculator, downloadable here.. The purpose of the calculator […]
New reports from Bloomberg and the USDA focus on 2018 as a critical year for commercial-scale, affordable aviation fuels In New York, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said that jatropha-based fuels were the near-term candidate as sustainable aviation fuels available at prices competitive with conventional jet fuel. The BNEF research unit said that it expected jatropha-based […]
In Washington, the Obama Administration released its 2013 budget request. Highlights for bio-based industry include: Department of Agriculture “The Administration proposes over $200 million to continue support for the development of home- grown, advanced biofuels that have the potential to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and to bolster our rural economies. R&D The budgets […]
Biofuels industry splits over RFS. What are the options? Could a new technology expected this spring change the conversation forever? Around the halls of the Digest, we call him Rufus, the elephant in the room. Elsewhere, RFS, or the Renewable Fuel Standard, is the accepted descriptor. Under any name, there’s been an awful lot of […]
In Washington, Digest columnist and Growth Enerrgy co-chairman Gen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.), writing in the Huffington Post, said “For the first time in nearly a decade, the ethanol industry will exist without any government financial support: the blenders’ tax credit, created by Congress in 2004 to establish a healthy ethanol industry, expired on December […]
