Category: Thought Leadership

Looking Beyond the Headlines during COVID-19 Pandemic

Looking Beyond the Headlines during COVID-19 Pandemic

March 25, 2020 |

Gerard J. Ostheimer, Ph.D., Managing Director, below50 and Douglas L. Faulkner, “the Clean Tech Conservative” & President, Leatherstocking LLC Special to The Digest One can be forgiven these days for thinking the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have saddled up. Global deaths from COVID-19 are rising fast; Stock markets entered bear market territory; Oil prices […]

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There’s More than One Way to Save the Planet! Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) another new market for Bioenergy

There’s More than One Way to Save the Planet! Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) another new market for Bioenergy

March 17, 2020 |

By Mike Newman. COO of Parhelion Underwriting Special to The Digest Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is an important strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate climate change.  CCS is a process by which large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) are captured, compressed, transported, and sequestered.  The sequestration component of CCS includes CO2 injection into geologic formations […]

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Why Airlines Should Sell Sustainable Jet Fuels

Why Airlines Should Sell Sustainable Jet Fuels

March 11, 2020 |

By Merlin Woodman Special to The Digest An open letter to the airline industry Dear airlines, please sell us sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). It’s the only feasible way to green up aviation at the moment.* I’ve cleaned up most of my CO2-emitting activities, but now flying remains as the largest remaining slice of the pie. […]

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5 Lessons Learned on Controlling Fermentation Facility Capital Costs

5 Lessons Learned on Controlling Fermentation Facility Capital Costs

March 9, 2020 |

By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC Special to The Digest Biotechnology funding is surging and contract fermentation options remain limited, so companies seeking to commercialize advanced biotechnologies are again evaluating options to build required production capacity.  While the “build” approach comes with many benefits, capital costs and requisite funding required to build a […]

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A Decade of Progress in California? Not for Its Recycling Rate

A Decade of Progress in California? Not for Its Recycling Rate

March 2, 2020 |

By Jim Stewart, Chairman of the Bioenergy Producers Association, Consultant in Renewable Energy Project Development and Finance Special to The Digest The volume of post-recycled municipal solid waste (MSW) being placed in California’s landfills has been steadily climbing for the past decade, during which time the state’s legislature, with its waste management agency following meekly […]

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No such thing as a drop-in – how Circa developed a novel bio-based solvent

No such thing as a drop-in – how Circa developed a novel bio-based solvent

February 26, 2020 |

By Tony Duncan, CEO and co-founder of Circa Group Special to The Digest Bringing a new product with a unique manufacturing process to market comes with its challenges – it’s not the classic business strategy proposed by most MBA courses! However, as a company founder who had belief in the process, we know it can […]

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USDA’s 30 Year Vision – No Need to Wander Like Moses

USDA’s 30 Year Vision – No Need to Wander Like Moses

February 25, 2020 |

By Douglas Durante, Executive Director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition Special to The Digest As the U.S. biofuels industry struggles to regain the luster it had during the golden years of phenomenal growth, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) came out recently with a puzzling claim of a “bold new vision” for agriculture and […]

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

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

February 18, 2020 |

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 […]

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7 New Changes in USDA Biorefinery Funding Opportunities – Now is the Time to Take Advantage

7 New Changes in USDA Biorefinery Funding Opportunities – Now is the Time to Take Advantage

February 11, 2020 |

By Cynthia Thyfault, Founder & CEO, Global Biofuture Solutions Special to The Digest The USDA Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program, also known as the “9003” program, provides loan guarantees up to $250 million to assist in the development, construction, and retrofitting of commercial scale biorefineries using eligible technology and of biobased […]

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From the Other Side: Bio-Fuels Co-Products

From the Other Side: Bio-Fuels Co-Products

February 3, 2020 |

By Matthew L. Gibson, Ph.D., Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. Special to The Digest “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now” – Joni Mitchell I’ve been in the ethanol industry, directly, for about half of my career.  The other half has been on “the other side”; that is, in the production of human food – […]

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