In California, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been awarded almost $14 million in grant money from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy division of the U.S. Department of Energy. One of the lab’s projects, led by senior staff scientist Christer Jansson, will receive nearly $4.9 million in funding to produce biofuels. According to Jansson, the […]
In Indonesia, the Center for International Forestry Research recently released a new study showing that biofuel expansion has enormous potential to stimulate rural development in sub-Saharan Africa. The study cautions, however, that ensuring local community benefits and adequate protections for food production and forests will require strategic policy interventions and close collaboration among stakeholders. The […]
In Washington state, Washington State University researcher Bin Yang has won a $300,000 grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to fund research into the co-production of ethanol and jet fuel from biomass sources. The grant is part of the agency’s Young Faculty Award which was given to 39 researchers across the country.
In California, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab researchers have identified a new terpene that could replace standard fuel for diesel – bisabolane. Using synthetic biology, a JBEI research team engineered strains of two microbes, a bacteria and a yeast, to produce a precursor to bisabolane, a member of the terpene class of chemical compounds that are […]
In Washington D.C., the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to grant $80 million this year to 163 companies that produce biofuel from alternative sources such as animal fats and wood chips. The amount of each company’s payment is based on how much biofuel the company produces from sources other than corn. For example, Pennsylvania-based […]
In Washington state, Imperium Renewables and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing a catalytic process being developed at PNNL that converts biomass-based alcohols into renewable drop-in jet fuels. Imperium entered into the project in July 2010 through a collaborative research agreement with Battelle, the nonprofit research organization that manages PNNL for DOE. The ultimate […]
In Illinois, a new study by the University of Illinois shows that the EPAs right to waive one or more mandates under the Renewable Fuel Standard 2 such as the biodiesel mandate, the cellulosic mandate, or the overall blending mandate introduces uncertainty for biofuels and agricultural commodity markets in the future. The study looks specifically […]
In Michigan, Detroit-based NextCAT has been awarded nearly $500,000 in a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Science Foundation based on its commercialization of a class of biofuel catalysts developed at Wayne State University. The catalysts focus on waste-based feedstocks such as waste oils and animal fats. Total grant funding for […]
In California, Salk Institute researchers have developed a new strain of bacteria that may pave the way for new synthetic drugs and new ways of manufacturing medicines and biofuels. For the first time, the scientists were able to create bacteria capable of effectively incorporating “unnatural” amino acids – artificial additions to the 20 naturally occurring […]
In Nigeria, the University of Benin through its National Centre for Energy and Environment (NCEE) has developed new biodiesel production equipment that allows for more efficient transformation of jatropha oil into fuel, with 12 machines already produced under the prototype. The university is training local farmers to grow jatropha for use in the new equipment […]
