Search Results for 'Enter Search Terms'

1st commercial-scale production of 5-HMF, 1st hydrogen-based residential area, largest fuel cell system ever on major ship, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of February 20th

February 19, 2020 | Jim Lane

It’s fun to be 1st and this week is full of them…from the first hydrogen-based residential area in the Netherlands to the world’s first commercial-scale production plant of 5-HMF via AVA Biochem and Michelin Group’s new Joint Development Agreement. Times, they are a’changin’ and the news continues with the development of the largest fuel cell […]

Limited Biofuels M&A Activity in 2019, Stage Set for Potentially Busy 2020

February 18, 2020 | Jim Lane

By Bruce Comer, Founder and Managing Director, Ocean Park Special to The Digest Slowdown in North American biofuels Mergers and Acquisitions as thin margins and policy uncertainty hung over industry. Biofuels Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity in North America was subdued in 2019. Only four operating biodiesel, ethanol and advanced biofuels plants were sold during […]

Living robots, fungus homes, biobased aquaculture ropes, biopolymer food films, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of January 23rd

January 22, 2020 | Jim Lane

It was a week of lots of deal-making, like edible straw startup Loliware’s raising of $5.9 million to scale production, and deal-breaking, like Itaconix and Nouryon’s break-up over biobased chelating agents for detergent applications. But it was also a week of innovating like the development of biobased food packaging films made from biopolymers based on […]

The Democratic Party’s Choice for President: The Digest’s endorsement

January 22, 2020 | Jim Lane

The first votes of the 2020 Presidential election season are due to be cast in Iowa in less than two weeks, and it is fitting that this farm state is where the journey towards Decision 2020 begins. Iowa touches all of us, as the epicenter of the world’s bioeconomy. The bioeconomy is the source of […]

Cannabinoid, meet biochem – Lygos acquires Librede to scale up and commercialize cannabinoid production

January 18, 2020 | admin

While Cheech and Chong now say that marijuana’s coolness is gone, cannabinoids on the other hand are taking off like crazy and Lygos is pushing the gas pedal to the max to scale up and commercialize cannabinoids. In California comes the hot news that Lygos, who you may know for their sugar converting advanced biotech […]

World’s 1st hydrogen fuel-cell powered yacht, hemp airplane, rock snot to biomaterials, sisal-based thermal insulation, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of January 3rd

January 2, 2020 | Jim Lane

The bioeconomy is kickstarting 2020 with a flurry of innovations, like a millennial entrepreneur who developed a method to convert invasive toxic algae commonly called “rock snot” into various materials including paper, fabric and bioplastic. Another entrepreneur developed thermal insulation made from sisal, a plant found in east Africa. And a for sure way to […]

The Digest’s 10 Top Advanced Bioeconomy Markets & Predictions for 2020

January 1, 2020 | Jim Lane

A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we sail into 2020? Not the good ship Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and offer our predictions for the year ahead. As the sunset of 2019 gives way to the dawn of 2020, once again roll the dice as we list the Digest’s 10 Top […]

Confessions of a Biorefiner: Green Plains’ journey into the land of high-value proteins, and the who, what and why of that

December 18, 2019 | Jim Lane

This week news came out of a partnership between Novozymes and Green Plains to use biological technology to extract more value from corn protein, at what used to be known as corn ethanol plants, but with this news we might finally and forever begin to think of them as something else. This provided us an […]

The Kodak Moment: The world’s airlines consider their low-carbon options in an era of flight-shaming

November 19, 2019 | Jim Lane

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” — Anne Dudley Bradstreet For the airlines, which met this past week in New Orleans for the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Symposium, it’s a Kodak Moment. As in the moment when Kodak […]

Biobased polycarbonate breakthrough, seaweed diapers, bamboo toothbrushes, one cow’s manure can power Toyota’s new Mirai hydrogen car and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of October 31st

October 30, 2019 | Jim Lane

It’s Halloween and things are getting pretty scary out there with stinky, petroleum based, disposable, plastic diapers and plastic toothbrushes being discarded all over the world but have no fear, for a new seaweed-based reusable diaper and Colgate’s new bamboo toothbrush is here to save the day! But wait there’s other news that will calm […]